Financial Shenanigans, Fourth Edition: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports, 4th Edition

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Key Metric Shenanigan No. 2: Distorting Balance Sheet Metrics to Avoid Showing Deterioration

As well as writing books, we also love reading them. We always make it a point to step into bookstores as often as possible, whether they’re part of a mega chain like Barnes & Noble or the literary jewel of Portland, Oregon—Powell’s Books. Once we’re inside one of these places, it’s hard not to notice the scores of self-help and diet books. They are everywhere. No doubt, we all yearn to look, feel, and be better at work, play, and all the other stuff. It’s certainly a big business teaching people to feel better about their lives and to look fabulous.

Who knows if any of these plans really make us healthier or make us look any better? We do know, however, ...