Supject: Creative accounting
From: Rupert Greene r.greene@intep.de
To: Javler Estrada j.estrada@intep.es
Hi javler
At our meeting yesterday you asked me to send you some background info on creative accounting, and in particular off-balance-sheet accounting.
Basicaily there’s quite a bit of flexibility in the way we can interpret the standarda and principles of accounting. For example, we may want to report bigger profits so that we can attract investors on the capital markets. On the other hand, smaller profits may be better so that we pay less tax. The problem is that the line between truthful and misleading representation of figures is sometimes very thin, and this is where people get into trouble.
Off-balance-sheet accounting is seen by some as on type of creative accounting. (People have been arguing, about it for years, though!) The key point to remember is that the accounting treatment of legitimate business transactions can vary greatly. For example, many companies are invoived in leasing for business reasons, and the question for the accountants is how to present the financial implications of such leases in the accounts. In theory, the idea is that teasing an asset (instead of buying it) allows the company to exclude the liability from its accounts.
Hope this helps-give me a call it you have any more questions.
Best wistes
Rupert