Food for thought, from a study on US companies' accounting practices cited by Gretchen Morgenson in the New York Times:
"Among 380 companies that were in existence both last year and in 2009, the study showed, non-GAAP net income was up 6.6 percent in 2015 compared with the previous year. Under generally accepted accounting principles, net income at the same 380 companies in 2015 actually declined almost 11 percent from 2014."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/business/fantasy-math-is-helping-companies-spin-losses-into-profits.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2FFair%20Game&action=click&contentCollection=Business%20Day&module=Collection®ion=Marginalia&src=me&version=column&pgtype=article
"Among 380 companies that were in existence both last year and in 2009, the study showed, non-GAAP net income was up 6.6 percent in 2015 compared with the previous year. Under generally accepted accounting principles, net income at the same 380 companies in 2015 actually declined almost 11 percent from 2014."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/business/fantasy-math-is-helping-companies-spin-losses-into-profits.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2FFair%20Game&action=click&contentCollection=Business%20Day&module=Collection®ion=Marginalia&src=me&version=column&pgtype=article
