Techniques to uncover and avoid accounting frauds and scams Inflated profits . . . Suspicious write-offs . . . Shifted expenses . . . These and other dubious financial maneuvers have taken on a contemporary twist as companies pull out the stops in seeking to satisfy Wall Street. Financial Shenanigans pulls back the curtain on the current climate of accounting fraud. It presents tools that anyone who is potentially affected by misleading business valuationsfrom investors and lenders to managers and auditorscan use to research and read financial reports, and to identify early warning signs of a company's problems. A bestseller in its first edition, Financial Shenanigans has been thoroughly updated for today's marketplace. New chapters, data, and research reveal contemporary "shenanigans" that have been known to fool even veteran researchers.
A comprehensive look at financial statement fraud from the experts who actually investigated them This collection of revealing case studies sheds clear insights into the dark corners of financial statement fraud. Includes cases submitted by fraud examiners across industries and throughout the world Fascinating cases hand-picked and edited by Joseph T. Wells, the founder and Chairman of the world's leading anti-fraud organization ? the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) ? and author of Corporate Fraud Handbook Outlines how each fraud was engineered, how it was investigated and how the perpetrators were brought to justice Providing an insider's look at fraud, Financial Statement Fraud Casebook illuminates the combination of timing, teamwork and vision necessary to understand financial statement fraud and prevent it from happening in the first place.
Successful methodology for identifying earnings-related reporting indiscretions Creative Cash Flow Reporting and Analysis capitalizes on current concerns with misleading financial reporting on misleading financial reporting. It identifies the common steps used to yield misleading cash flow amounts, demonstrates how to adjust the cash flow statement for more effective analysis, and how to use adjusted operating cash flow to uncover earnings that have been misreported using aggressive or fraudulent accounting practices. Charles W. Mulford, PhD, CPA (Atlanta, GA), is the coauthor of three books, including the bestselling The Financial Numbers Game: Identifying Creative Accounting Practices. Eugene E. Comiskey, PhD, CPA, CMA (Atlanta, GA), is the coauthor of the bestselling The Financial Numbers Game: Identifying Creative Accounting Practices.
Practical examples, sample reports, best practices and recommendations to help you deter, detect, and prevent financial statement fraud Financial statement fraud (FSF) continues to be a major challenge for organizations worldwide. Financial Statement Fraud: Prevention and Detection, Second Edition is a superior reference providing you with an up-to-date understanding of financial statement fraud, including its deterrence, prevention, and early detection. You will find A clear description of roles and responsibilities of all those involved in corporate governance and the financial reporting process to improve the quality, reliability and transparency of financial information. Sample reports, examples, and documents that promote a real-world understanding of incentives, opportunities, and rationalizations Emerging corporate governance reforms in the post-SOX era, including provisions of the SOX Act, global regulations and best practices, ethical considerations, and corporate governance principles Practical examples and real-world "how did this happen" discussions that provide valuable insight for corporate directors and executives, auditors, managers, supervisory personnel and other professionals saddled with anti-fraud responsibilities Expert advice from the author of Corporate Governance and Ethics and coauthor of the forthcoming Wiley textbook, White Collar Crime, Fraud Examination and Financial Forensics Financial Statement Fraud, Second Edition contains recommendations from the SEC Advisory Committee to reduce the complexity of the financial reporting process and improving the quality of financial reports.
Valuable guidance for staying one step ahead of financial statement fraud Financial statement fraud is one of the most costly types of fraud and can have a direct financial impact on businesses and individuals, as well as harm investor confidence in the markets. While publications exist on financial statement fraud and roles and responsibilities within companies, there is a need for a practical guide on the different schemes that are used and detection guidance for these schemes. Financial Statement Fraud: Strategies for Detection and Investigation fills that need. Describes every major and emerging type of financial statement fraud, using real-life cases to illustrate the schemes Explains the underlying accounting principles, citing both U.S. GAAP and IFRS that are violated when fraud is perpetrated Provides numerous ratios, red flags, and other techniques useful in detecting financial statement fraud schemes Accompanying website provides full-text copies of documents filed in connection with the cases that are cited as examples in the book, allowing the reader to explore details of each case further Straightforward and insightful, Financial Statement Fraud provides comprehensive coverage on the different ways financial statement fraud is perpetrated, including those that capitalize on the most recent accounting standards developments, such as fair value issues.
Learn how to detect any corporate sleight of hand—and gain the upper hand with smart investing Investing expert John Del Vecchio and “Motley Fool” Tom Jacobs offer a compelling arguement that the secret to stock-market success today isn’t finding the next Google or eBay, but avoiding the next AIG or Enron. To that end, they offer simple, clear techniques for detecting when and how legitimate companies make their numbers look better than they are. What's Behind the Numbers? offers seven rules for finding companies playing with—rather than by—the numbers and explains how to avoid losing money by determining exactly when a stock is about to head south. John Del Vecchio, CFA, serves as a Principal of Ranger Alternative Management and principal of Parabolix Research, Inc. Tom Jacobs is lead advisor for the Motley Fool Special Ops, a stock service where he manages a special situations and opportunistic portfolio. He is cofounder of Complete Growth Investor LLC.
Praise for Financial Statement Analysis A Practitioner's Guide Third Edition "This is an illuminating and insightful tour of financial statements, how they can be used to inform, how they can be used to mislead, and how they can be used to analyze the financial health of a company." -Professor Jay O. Light Harvard Business School "Financial Statement Analysis should be required reading for anyone who puts a dime to work in the securities markets or recommends that others do the same." -Jack L. Rivkin Executive Vice President (retired) Citigroup Investments "Fridson and Alvarez provide a valuable practical guide for understanding, interpreting, and critically assessing financial reports put out by firms. Their discussion of profits-'quality of earnings'-is particularly insightful given the recent spate of reporting problems encountered by firms. I highly recommend their book to anyone interested in getting behind the numbers as a means of predicting future profits and stock prices." -Paul Brown Chair-Department of Accounting Leonard N. Stern School of Business, NYU "Let this book assist in financial awareness and transparency and higher standards of reporting, and accountability to all stakeholders." -Patricia A. Small Treasurer Emeritus, University of California Partner, KCM Investment Advisors "This book is a polished gem covering the analysis of financial statements. It is thorough, skeptical and extremely practical in its review." -Daniel J. Fuss Vice Chairman Loomis, Sayles & Company, LP
From the “ Sherlock Holmes of Accounting,”the tools you need to stay a step ahead of the crooks “Howard Schilit is the authority on forensic accounting. Financial Shenanigans is invaluable readingfor market participants seeking to identify deceptive behavior in company financial statements.”Julian Robertson, legendary investor and founder, Tiger Management “A must-read! The authors teach forensic financial statement analysis in an easy-to-digest format withlots of war stories. Guaranteed to help investors in their questto avoid ticking time bombs in their portfolios.” Marc A. Siegel, board member, Financial Accounting Standards Board “This is a timeless guide to better understand how financial malfeasance can be spotted early.Financial Shenanigans teaches all of us fraud-detection-made-easy.” Jules Kroll, pioneering private investigator and founder of Kroll Associates and K2 Global “Required reading for every investor who desires to avoid financial losses.This new edition is a classic and better than ever.” Thornton L. O’glove, author, Quality of Earnings “If the original Financial Shenanigans was the Bible of detecting accounting frauds, then this latestversion is the Talmud of cooked books. Regulators, audit committee members, and business journalistsshould be required to read this work if they are involved in public companies.” Boris Feldman, partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto “An incisive and entertaining review of the recipes used by corporations and executives to ‘cook thebooks.’ It’s a must-read for investors, lawyers, corporate directors, and anyone else interested in theintegrity of the accounting and governance process.” Joseph A. Grundfest, professor of law and business and codirector,Rock Center on Corporate Governance, Stanford Law School About the Book: With major financial scandals poppingup in greater numbers—and with moreinevitably on the way—it has never been moreimportant for you to understand what dishonestcompanies do to trick investors.Since the early 1990s, Financial Shenaniganshas been helping investors unearth deceptivefinancial reporting at the most critical time—before they suffer major losses. Now, the thirdedition broadens its focus to include the newest,most sophisticated techniques companiesuse to mislead investors. Referred to as the “Sherlock Holmes ofAccounting” by BusinessWeek, Howard Schilitand renowned forensic accounting expertJeremy Perler take you deeper into the corporatebag of tricks, exposing new levels ofaccounting gimmickry and arming you withthe investigative tools you need to detect: Earnings Manipulation Shenanigans: Learnthe latest tricks companies use to exaggeraterevenue and earnings. Cash Flow Shenanigans: Discover new techniquesdevised by management that allow it tomanipulate cash flow as easily as earnings. Key Metrics Shenanigans: See how companiesuse misleading “key”metrics to fool investorsabout their financial performance. Financial Shenanigans brings you completelyup to date on accounting chicanery in the globalmarkets, shining a light on the most shockingfrauds and financial reporting miscreants.This insightful, detailed guide written by recognizedexperts on the subject provides theknowledge and tools you need to spot even themost subtle signs of financial shenanigans.
Praise for The Financial Numbers Game "So much for the notion 'those who can, do-those who can't, teach.' Mulford and Comiskey function successfully both as college professors and real-world financial mercenaries. These guys know their balance sheets. The Financial Numbers Game should serve as a survival manual for both serious individual investors and industry pros who study and act upon the interpretation of financial statements. This unique blend of battle-earned scholarship and quality writing is a must-read/must-have reference for serious financial statement analysis." --Bob Acker, Editor/Publisher, The Acker Letter "Wall Street's unforgiving attention to quarterly earnings presents ever increasing pressure on CFOs to manage earnings and expectations. The Financial Numbers Game provides a clear explanation of the ways in which management can stretch, bend, and break accounting rules to reach the desired bottom line. This arms the serious investor or financial analyst with the healthy skepticism required to drive beyond reported results to a clear understanding of a firm's true performance." --Mark Hurley, Managing Director, Training and Development, Global Corporate and Investment Banking, Bank of America "After reading The Financial Numbers Game, I feel as though I've taken a master's level course in financial statement analysis. Mulford and Comiskey's latest book should be required reading for anyone who is serious about fundamentally analyzing stocks." --Harry Domash, San Francisco Chronicle investing columnist and investment newsletter publisher
Learn to speak fluent finance—and ace your exams! Warren Buffett said that "accounting is the language of business." And for many accounting and business students, the obscure terminology of accounting makes fluency hard to achieve. Financial Accounting For Dummies can help to demystify abstract concepts in a straightforward, friendly way. With step-by-step examples and real-world scenarios practice, it helps you grasp the fundamentals of accounting until you're ready to interpret, analyze, and evaluate corporate financial statements like you've been doing it all your life. Packed with easy-to-understand examples, this book takes you from the big three financial statements all the way through to income taxes. Or join the anti-fraud squad by discovering how to spot the ten most common accounting shenanigans. Grasp introductory financial accounting course material Explore common concepts financial professionals use to compile reports Understand leases, free cash flow, and statement analysis Learn accounting for small businesses Whether you're studying for your bachelor's, MBA, or MAcc, you’ll find everything you need to speak the language of finance like a native—and use it to get to wherever you want to go!
