For example, one accounting concept that distorts financial realities is the principle of depreciation.

FORBES: The P/E Problem

Profits (or earnings), for instance, are largely an accounting concept that can easily be massaged by clever finance directors.

ECONOMIST: A survey of global equity markets: Valuation waltz | The

That is precisely why there should be a stewardship concept in accounting, which is been almost forgotten now by the International Accounting Standards Board.

FORBES: Whose Money Is It Anyway?

Since drilling wells is the only means of finding oil and natural gas, IDCs essentially amount to what any other industry would be able to deduct as a part of its cost of goods sold, a concept of accounting and tax law as old as the tax code itself.

FORBES: Oil & Gas Tax Provisions Are Not Subsidies For "Big Oil"

Comparatively speaking, financial bounties in fraud cases, specifically securities and accounting cases, within the private sector are a relatively new concept to encourage whistle-blowing.

FORBES: The Bounty Hunter In All of Us