Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

Dean Witter was formed in the mid-1920s in San Francisco; Morgan Stanley was formed in the mid-1930s in response to the Glass-Steagall Banking Act which placed restrictions on the banking industry. The two firms competed throughout the twentieth century with Dean Witter often taking major steps several years ahead of Morgan Stanley (for example, Dean Witter gained a seat on the New York Stock Exchange well before Morgan Stanley. Mergers and acquisitions characterized Dean Witter's growth while Morgan Stanley generated growth from within. Both companies were early implementers of computers and electronic data processing within their organizations. Dean Witter became a publicly traded company in 1972 and was acquired by Sears in 1981; Morgan Stanley went public in 1986, the same year that Dean Witter launched the Discover card on a nationwide basis. In 1992 and 1993, Sears spun off Dean Witter, and the two companies merged in 1997 with headquarters in New York ("About MSDW," 1999, p. 1).

The most recent annual report available is for 1998 (the company's fiscal year ends on November 30). Filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the 10-K, or annual report, provides information about the companies activ

. . .
was correct or accurate, but instead audited the statements to determine whether they were created using accepted accounting principles. The auditors make no statement regarding the integrity of the information included on the statements, but do maintain that the information contained in the financial statements does meet the standards used throughout the industry (1998 Annual Report, 1998, p. 53). The auditors are also careful to note that the financial statements cover the period during which the merger of Dean Witter and Morgan Stanley took place. Deloitte and Touche were not the auditors for the organization prior to that merger, and so are not able to comment on the financial statements or information prepared before that time (1998 Annual Report, 1998, p. 53). This can be an important consideration if investors are concerned that the merger might be used to camouflage some critical pieces of financial information about one or the other companies involved. Given that both companies were publicly traded at the time of the merger, and that information regarding their financial position was available at the merger, this is an unlikely scenario in the current situation. Inventory Management and Depreciation Morgan S
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Annual Report, Dean Witter, Morgan Stanley, Touche LLP, Exchange Commission, Products Services, Van Kampen, Shareholders Outlook, morgan stanley, Inc Internet, dean witter, Deloitte Touche, annual report, 1998 annual report, 1998 annual, annual report 1998, stanley dean, financial statements, stanley dean witter, morgan stanley dean, report 1998, reporting purposes, dean witter inc, financial services, method depreciation,
Approximate Word count = 1220
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Morgan Stanley Dean Witter