Hidden Financial Risk : Understanding Off-Balance Sheet Accounting

The parade of catastrophic accounting scandals, chief among them the Enron debacle, has intrigued business and the general public as few corporate scandals ever have. The extraordinary number of people materially affected by these episodes, coupled with the irresistible spectacle of base human greed run wild, guarantees that public attention will not soon recede. Everyone agrees that "mistakes were made." There are two very different responses, however, on what to do about it. Are there simply a few bad apples whose just punishment will bring the financial stars back into alignment? Or are the scandals the product of profound systemic failures, the remedy for which can only be revolutionary reform? Accounting professor and renowned authority, Edward Ketz, emphatically proclaims the latter and offers a comprehensive analysis of how firms bury risk, why nobody stops them, and what to do about it in Hidden Financial Risk: Understanding Off Balance Sheet Accounting. In Hidden Financial Risk, Ketz thoroughly and accessibly explains the dubious methods by which firms hide debt and the failings by managers, directors, auditors, regulators, and investors who allowed these methods to poison financial reporting. Ketz places particular emphasis on understanding Special Purpose Entities (SPEs), Enron’s preferred method of deception. Among other services, this compelling analysis: Identifies the incentives for managers to deceive investors and creditors about the firm’s financial risk Illustrates the equity method, lease accounting, and pension accounting, popular methods of Off Balance Sheet accounting, and explains how investors can deconstruct them Examines the failure of boards of directors, accountants, the FASB, and the SEC to minimize accounting failures Discusses what must be done to reduce the number of corporate managers who lie in financial reports Shows what individual investors must do to protect their investments in a world filled with accounting and auditing fraud Explains how the Sarbanes Oxley bill will affect financial reporting Ketz concludes with an illuminating look at Arthur Andersen who, while one of the biggest losers in the accounting scandals, may nevertheless hold the key to the industry’s resuscitation. Financial reporting is in critical condition. Edward Ketz supplies a compelling diagnosis, prescription, and vision of its road to recovery in Hidden Financial Risk.