Anthony Menendez's Second SCU Visit
On May 29, the SCU Accounting Department and Accounting Association were lucky enough to welcome the guest speaker, Anthony Menendez, for the second time. Mr. Menendez is known as “The Man Who Blew the Whistle on Halliburton.” During his decade-long legal battle with Halliburton, he was eventually forced to represent himself pro se. In doing so, Mr. Menendez successfully beat Halliburton in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. As part of his journey, he advocated for employee and whistleblower rights in battles against powerful corporations.
Currently, he holds the position of a George A. Dasaro Distinguished Clinical Associate Professor of Accounting at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. In the past, he has held roles in both the private and public sectors, starting his career at Ernst & Young. Additionally, he worked for General Motors as a controller over U.S. sales, service, and marketing. In this role, he managed financial reporting for a division with over $100 billion in annual revenue while upholding high moral standards and GAAP regulations.
In his speech to over 60 Santa Clara students in the Locatelli Student Activity Center, Mr. Menendez discussed his corporate story and the events that precipitated his legal battle with Halliburton. Despite many challenges, his persistence led to victory. After having two lawyers tell him that he did not have a case and release him as a client, Mr. Menendez refused to give up because he knew that the revenue recognition method used by Halliburton was fraudulent. Through his determination, he beat the oil and gas juggernaut. His victory increased the protections of corporate employees coming forward against companies.
In his presentation, Mr. Menendez discussed how hard it can be to approach difficult situations. In his final slide, he included this quote about persistence, which he believed to be vital while approaching setbacks: “A river cuts through rock not because of its power but because of its persistence.” As professionals, we will all be faced with difficult decisions, and we should remember Mr. Menendez’s advice throughout our careers.
The officers of the Accounting Association had the privilege to get to know Mr. Menendez even better through dinner on Wednesday night at Maggiano's Little Italy in San Jose. Through this conversation, they learned about Mr. Menendez's teaching style at LMU, where he writes his own case studies. They also discovered his alternative career dreams: baseball player, Spider-Man, or paleontologist.
This is the second time that Mr. Menendez has spoken to the Santa Clara University accounting community, and we cannot wait for him to return!
Written by Greg Mackintosh (SCUAA Officer, Accounting, Class of 2026)