The bestselling classic from the âœSherlock Holmes of Accountingââupdated to reflect the key case studies and most important lessons from the past quarter century.
This fourth edition of the classic guide shines a light on the most shocking frauds and financial reporting offenders of the last twenty-five years, and gives investors the tools they need to detect:
âCorporate cultures that incentivize dishonest practices
âThe latest tricks companies use to exaggerate revenue and earnings
âTechniques devised by management to manipulate cash flow as easily as earnings
âCompanies that use misleading metrics to fool investors about their financial performance
âHow companies use
Table of Contents
Preface: Reflections on My Last 25 Years
Part One: Establishing the Foundation
Chapter 1: 25 Years of Shenanigans
Chapter 2: Just Touch Up the X-Rays
Part Two: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigans
Chapter 3: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigan No. 1: Recording Revenue Too Soon
Chapter 4: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigan No. 2: Recording Bogus Revenue
Chapter 5: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigan No. 3: Boosting Income with One-Time or Unsustainable Activities
Chapter 6: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigan No. 4: Shifting Current Expenses to a Later Period
Chapter 7: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigan No. 5: Employing Other Techniques to Hide Expenses or Losses
Chapter 8: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigan No. 6: Shifting Current Income to a Later Period
Chapter 9: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigan No. 7: Shifting Future Expenses to the Current Period
Part Three: Cash Flow Shenanigans
Chapter 10: Cash Flow Shenanigan No. 1: Shifting Financing Cash Inflows to the Operating Section
Chapter 11: Cash Flow Shenanigan No. 2: Moving Operating Cash Outflows to Other Sections
Chapter 12: Cash Flow Shenanigan No. 3: Boosting Operating Cash Flow Using Unsustainable Activities
Part Four: Key Metrics Shenanigans
Chapter 13: Key Metric Shenanigan No. 1: Showcasing Misleading Metrics that Overstate Performance
Chapter 14: Key Metric Shenanigan No. 2: Distorting Balance Sheet Metrics to Avoid Showing Deterioration
Part Five: Acquisition Accounting Shenanigans
Chapter 15: Acquisition Accounting Shenanigan No. 1: Artificially Boosting Revenue and Earnings
Chapter 16: Acquisition Accounting Shenanigan No. 2: Inflating Reported Cash Flow
Chapter 17: Acquisition Accounting Shenanigan No. 3: Manipulating Key Metrics
Part Six: Putting it all Together
Chapter 18: The Unraveling
Chapter 19: The Forensic Mindset
Index
Acknowledgments
