Earnings Magic and the Unbalance Sheet: The Search for Financial Reality Book

	Preface	ix
Section 1	Earnings Magic and the Unbalanced Sheet	1
Chapter 1	What Is Earnings Magic? Does the Balance Sheet Balance?	3
Chapter 2	Caught in the Act!	17
Chapter 3	The New Accounting	35
Chapter 4	Wading Through the Earnings Numbers	51
Section 2	The Big 8 and Dirty 30: Key Accounting Issues That Signal Earnings Magic	71
Chapter 5	Key Accounting Issues: An Overview	73
Chapter 6	Stock Options	89
Chapter 7	Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits	99
Chapter 8	Revenues	115
Chapter 9	Earnings, Expenses, and Expectations	127
Chapter 10	Strange Special Items and Other Things That Should Not Be on the Income Statement	139
Chapter 11	Treasury Stock and Dividends	149
Chapter 12	Off-Balance Sheet Items: Operating Leases and Special-Purpose Entities	159
Chapter 13	Acquisitions and All That Goodwill	173
Chapter 14	Dishonorable Mention: The Rest of the Dirty 30	187
Section 3	Putting It All Together	221
Chapter 15	Finding Signals of Financial Excellence and Earnings Magic	223
Chapter 16	A Checklist for Evaluating Financial Excellence	235
Chapter 17	An Investment Strategy	251
Chapter 18	Searching for Help: Useful Internet Sites	265
	Epilogue	271
	References	273
	Index	279