Reversal of the rainy day reserves
In the first quarter of fiscal 1982, oak’s senior executive instructed the company’s accountants to “release” several million dollars of the reserves established during 1980 and 1981. The reversal of these reserves significantly reduced Oak’s reported expenses and allowed the company to sustain its smooth upward earnings trend by reporting a record quarterly profit. If the reserves had not been reversed, the company net income for the first quarter of 1982 would have been nearly 50 percent lower than the reported figure of $7.5 million. Oak’s top executive boasted in the company’s financial report for the first quarter in the company’s history.