Book keeping question: corporate speak

[Populist_Prole]

Trying to recall a name for term I've heard many many years ago:

Like if Company XYZ had a 10 million dollar profit one year, then an 8 million dollar profit the next, they claim they "lost" 2 million dollars. I know it has to do with sleight of hand statistics, even in cases not involving income; Like this obsession of "compared to this time last year" and the like, omitting any outstanding or unusual events that may have skewed last year's stats high or low.

Thanks

[Warpy]

1. The accounting shenanigans they do are to hide that 10 million dollar profit

so that they don't post any net profit at all. The following year, there's a 2 million shortfall in what they hid the year before, therefore a 2 million dollar paper "loss."

[Populist_Prole]

2. Is it legal, or is it just spin?

As in spin for public consumption.

[Warpy]

3. It's technically legal

but goes far against the spirit of the law since the net profit is also hidden from the stockholders.

[Populist_Prole]

4. Is there a name for that sort of book keeping? n/t

[Cleita]

5. Creative bookkeeping and it is one word not two.

However, CB became mainstream in the eighties taught by many mainstream universities in their business schools.

[Populist_Prole]

6. I see

Doesn't exactly serve to restore one's faith in "the system".

[Cleita]

7. Any system, no matter how tight can be corrupted.

Unfortunately.

[Cleita]

8. I forgot to add. Back then it was called modern age accounting or something like that

back in the eighties. Now that I think about it, it was after Reagan became President and all the rules started changing.