Business Fairy Tales: Grim Realities of Fictitious Financial Reporting

by Cecil W. Jackson

Book Overview

Uses real-world scandals to illustrate the seven most common financial reporting frauds. It explains each fraud with a detailed story of the company and its officials. It equips and empowers readers... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0324305397
• ISBN13: 9780324305395
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: Thomson
• Length: 281 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Business Fairy Tales

This books a very "heavy" and to some tedious subject understandable and even enjoyable. In my opinion, anyone interested in the subject of financial statement manipulation will find this book well worth while.

Very Useful Knowledge and Entertaining

One of the major functions of my department is to perform financial due diligence on companies we may purchase or involve in a joint venture. Just the author's list of points to consider in examining financial statements and the potential fraud they may contain is worth the price of the book. I have the book in my office and have suggested that our staff review those major points each time they begin a new due diligence. The points are also good to review before making personal investment decisions. The tales of corporate shenanigans are used to illustrate how his points indicated that something was going on and are very entertaining. You don't have to be an accountant to benefit from this book.

Business Fairy Tales

This book gives you exposure to all kinds of financial shenanigans that have taken place in the corporate world. He gives you real world facts. It makes one aware of what you should be concentrating on when analyzing a business that you are interested in putting in your investment portfolio. The author is also a great story teller and ends up with the outcome of the executives involved if they live happily ever after or had to serve time.

Absolutely Fascinating

This is really two books in one. First, and by far the biggest part of the book is a detailed report on how a series of companies published financial reports that were basically Fairy Tales. It goes into detail on what these companies did - almost a primer on how to do it to your own company - It's fascinating to see what these companies did. The second part is only one chapter long, Chapter 9. It's on how to fix the problem. And the biggest factor in trying to solve the problem is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, otherwise known as SOX. SOX puts in a bunch of rules that may or may not solve the problem but which might also be called the 'Giant Boost in Revenue for Auditing Firms Act.' Chapter 9 is short, but is the overall view of SOX that I've seen. For instance he reports on companies going private, or not going public to get around the expense. He reports on some aspects of SOX like a mandate for a whistle-blower hotline conflicts with the law in some European contries where anonymous whistle-blowing is illegal. Mr. Jackson, in your next edition, when you cover the new Fairy Tales that crooked management will inevitably devise, please expand Chapter 9, especially the parts about how it's working in the real world. I highly recommend this book to anyone who works for or invests in big corporations.

An entertaining handbook for investors

I found "Business Fairy Tales" engrossing and remarkably readable. When one considers the mystique that surrounds the scandals of questionable accounting techniques and poor corporate governance it is easy to believe that only an accountant could follow the details. Not so. Dr Jackson presents all of the material facts in very human narrative making it easy to follow the methods applied. He develops the key characters enough that I could sense the opportunities that tempted them and felt I gained some insight into their motivation. After exploring each case the author presents straightforward tests or indicators that any investor can apply. Perhaps the recent corporate scandals are themselves indicators that we have naively relied too much on regulators, analysts and auditors to protect us from risky investments. The measures set out in "Business Fairy Tales" won't replace professional guidance, but they can equip both investors and their advisers to spot risks early and raise the right questions. All this and an enjoyable read!