If they did, they'd find that some of the more unsavory ingredients companies use these days are coming from aggressive accounting tactics after corporate acquisitions.

News reports had begun to emerge last fall that Lucent used several unusual accounting tactics to stretch its earnings.

The restatement uncovered similar accounting tactics, he said, although the inventory issues were responsible for the bulk of the restatement.

Indeed, throughout the day, the Andersen witnesses testified to a level of discomfort with the aggressive accounting tactics both of Enron and of the Andersen team.

In contesting the arguments of the savings institutions, the Government said that it had never guaranteed the accounting tactic could outlast changes enacted by Congress.

A federal crackdown on shady accounting tactics used by some states to extract more matching funds from Washington, although wholly justified, will add to the stress.

Federal lawmakers said the administration used questionable accounting tactics to mask a widening gap between revenue and expenses.

Earnings management usually involves the artificial increase (or decrease) of revenues, profits, or earnings per share figures through aggressive accounting tactics.

As companies find it imperative not to disappoint Wall Street with bad earnings reports, aggressive accounting tactics become more common.

During his testimony, Mr. Hacker said he had no knowledge that Enron had done anything improper but expressed a level of discomfort with its aggressive accounting tactics.