Distinguishing between accounting by design, in which accounting techniques and solutions are selected because they fit a pre-established goal, and accounting by principle, in which accounting techniques and solutions are selected according to principle and regardless of whether they mesh with preconceived ideas about the outcome, Riahi-Belkaoui describes designed accounting in detail. Characteristics of accounting by design can be found in income smoothing, earnings management, creative accounting, fraud, and slack. Preparers and users of accounting information, and anyone interested in the burgeoning accounting crisis, should find this book very valuable.

AHMED RIAHI-BELKAOUI is University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Formerly he was CBA Distinguished Professor of Accounting at UIC. The author of numerous books published by imprints of the Greenwood Publishing Group, he is an equally prolific contributor to the journals of his field and has served on various editorial boards that oversee them.