This has been especially true in China and other Asian countries during the past several decades of economic expansion in that region of the world (Bai et al. 2008). Government stakeholders in many of these countries have benefited along with corporations in obscure and outright false financial statements and analyses as they have attracted money form foreign as well as domestic investors an enabled national growth for many Asian nations (Bai et al. 2008). These investors, on the other hand, as well as many private citizens in these countries, have suffered avoidable losses and unnecessary economic disruptions when the misleading reporting and analysis practices are brought to light and the truth is revealed (Bai et al. 2008).
In the United States, the problem is possibly even more complex. More stringent government oversight supposedly limits issues of outright deception, but questionable and obfuscating techniques are still rampant in financial analysis in this country (Gauthier 2004). Many of the government regulatory offices and legislation also have very little real power in appropriating documentation of statements made on financial reports or supporting/outlining methods used by various firms and analysts in their analyses (Gauthier 2004). The recently released tape of Bernard Madoff's conversations regarding the SEC reflect this fact, and some government regulations might actually only complicate matters as various "suggestions on improved communications" and...
Smaller organizations ten to follow regulations more closely simply because there is les room to hide or "creatively shift" balances around, and analysts can therefore hold them to stricter standards and make competition more difficult.
Different stakeholders and organizations are affected differently by financial analyses practices, and might view them differently. Major corporations might feel that anything completely clear and understandable will necessarily be a misrepresentation of a their financial strength, and given the complexities of the market there is some truth to this. Yet when invalid conclusions are drawn based on spurious information and unfathomable analysis techniques, clarity can only be seen as a virtue. It would certainly have helped to mitigate or possibly prevent the current economic situation, as well.
References
Bai, B.; Yen, J, & Yang, X. (2008). "False financial statements: Characteristics of China's listed companies and cart detecting approach." International journal of information technology and decision making 7(2), pp. 339-59.
Gauthier, S. (2004). "Presenting information in financial reports." Government finance review. Accessed online 18 September 2009. http://www.allbusiness.com/finance/3584383-1.html
