Creative accounting is when companies present or organize their accounts in such a way that they gain money for themselves or give a false impression of their profits.
[disapproval]
Much of the apparent growth in profits that occurred in the 1980s was the resultof creative accounting.
creative accounting in British English
(krɪˈeɪtɪv əˈkaʊntɪŋ)
noun
the practice of using loopholes in financial regulations to present figures in a misleadingly favourable light
Much of the apparent growth in profits that occurred in the 1980s was the resultof creative accounting.