Earnings Magic and the Unbalance Sheet

Book excerpt: Praise for Earnings Magic and the Unbalance Sheet "Gary Giroux brings a breezy, entertaining writing style thatreally helps the reader untangle arcane accounting practices,including stock options, pensions, off-balance sheet items, and therest of his 'dirty thirty.'" —Edward Swanson, Durst Chair and Professor of Accounting,Texas A&M University "Earnings Magic and the Unbalance Sheet provides equityinvestors with clear explanations of today's financial environmenttogether with specific analysis tools to assess the quality ofearnings. Gary Giroux provides a valuable and easy-to-use scoringsystem where investors assign grades to help them in theirinvestment decisions. Earnings Magic is a must-read for anyinvestor in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow 30). Girouxthoroughly analyzes some of the biggest and best knowncompanies." —Andrew McLelland, Assistant Professor of Accounting, AuburnUniversity YOUR KEY TO EVALUATING A COMPANY'S EARNINGS QUALITY Wouldn't you like to know as much as you could about a companybefore you invest in it? Financial information on companies isreadily available, but not necessarily easy to interpret. With shrewd tips and state-of-the-art analytical tools,Earnings Magic and the Unbalance Sheet arms you with the keystrategies and principles to help you evaluate whether a company'sbottom line is headed toward excellence or financial abuse. Thiseye-opening guide expertly walks you through the tangle ofpotentially inflated earnings and misleading accounting disclosuresto determine a company's financial reality.