these manipulations included such blatant subterfuges as simply erasing from the accounting records previously recorded expenses and liabilities as the of each quarter. A particularly popular accounting scam within Livent involed the transfer of preproduction costs from a show that was running to a show still in production. Such transfers allowed the company to defer, sometimes indefinitely, the amortization of those major cost items. To further reduce the periodic amortization charges for preproduction costs,Livent accountants began charging such costs to various fixed asset accounts. These assets were typically depreciated over 40 years, compared with the five-year amortization period for preproduction costs.Eventually the company accountants began debiting salary expenses and other common operating expenses to long-term fixed asset accounts.