16.4. Call the Shots on Accounting Policies
You may have heard the adage that war is too important to be left to the generals. Well, accounting is too important to be left to the accountants — especially when choosing which accounting methods to use. I'm oversimplifying, but measuring profit and putting values on assets and liabilities boils down to choosing between conservative accounting methods and more liberal (or aggressive) methods. Conservative methods record profit later rather than sooner; liberal methods record profit sooner rather than later. It's a "pay me now or pay me later" choice. (Chapter 7 gives you the details on accounting methods.)
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