As always, it was too good to be true. When Sherron Watkins joined Enron in 1993, it was a “heady time,” when job perks included free ski trips. But in 2001, she decided to spend more time with her family and took a backseat position at the company.

“That’s when I stumbled across what I thought was the worst accounting fraud I had ever seen,” Watkins said when she spoke at the University’s Heroes of Ethics lecture. She took the matter to CEO Ken Lay, and then exposed her findings shortly after the company declared bankruptcy.

Watkins’ message to those attending the fall event: Ethics need to be a priority for everyone, and those who falter may find themselves paying the price.