Predators and Profits: 100+ Ways for Investors to Protect Their Nest Eggs

Appendix B. A Glossary for Investor Survival

accounting irregularities

Usually a nice way of saying fraud. Clearly, it is in the interests of some accountants and companies to make the shenanigans sound less terrifying, and it succeeds wonderfully. In his book Accounting Irregularities and Financial Fraud, attorney Michael R. Young writes, “Perhaps out of a belief that the word fraud was too rude for its authoritative literature, accountants have historically avoided the term fraud altogether and, instead, divided financial statement misstatements into two categories: errors and irregularities.”

aggressive accounting

A form of accounting where a desired result, often higher earnings or sales, is put before prudent interpretation of accounting rules ...