Margins of Error in Accounting

This original and readable book by an acknowledged expert discusses four main reasons why published company accounts cannot be completely 'accurate': the 'interim-ness' of annual accounts; the growing use of hypothetical current value estimates; the impact of cumulative inflation on financial statements using money as the unit of account; and creative accounting by managers. The book attempts to quantify the extent of these errors wherever possible - some of them are very large indeed. There is also a chapter on spurious accuracy, why it persists and why it matters.