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Articles Posted in accounting fraud

We often hear about accounting fraud when a big case hits the news. For example:  Xerox falsified its financial records for five years, inflating its earnings by $1.5 billion;  Lehman Brothers failed to disclose an accounting loophole that reported short-term loans as sales; and  Haliburton improperly overbooked cost overruns?  When the SEC announces large accounting fraud cases, we take notice. After all, many of these fraud cases involve companies with household names. The amounts in cases that hit the news often run into the billions. However, even though many accounting fraud cases aren't as notorious, fraud can still be just as damaging to shareholders in smaller cases. Sound financial practices and accurate accounting is a foundation of our securities markets.  Companies frequently cook their books to make their companies more attractive to investors and driving the stock price up.  However, absent a whistleblower reporting false numbers, this type of fraud can be very difficult to detect.  In some cases, companies inflate the valuations of their assets or hedge funds inflate the value of their investments. This can lead to exaggerated returns, excessive fees to the fund managers and, ultimately, significant losses for investors when assets are ultimately marked down. All of these actions can lead to a potential violation of the federal securities laws.We often hear about accounting fraud when a big case hits the news. For example:

  • Xerox falsified its financial records for five years, inflating its earnings by $1.5 billion;
  • Lehman Brothers failed to disclose an accounting loophole that reported short-term loans as sales; and
  • Haliburton improperly overbooked cost overruns.

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