Voodoo Accounting

Voodoo Accounting

Any accounting system that uses unscrupulous methods, especially to please investors. For example, voodoo accounting may inflate profits by transferring funds to an off-the-books account set aside just for that purpose. It may also hide losses in subsidiaries or do other things to misrepresent a company's financial state. In the early 2000s, voodoo accounting came into focus in the United States when it was revealed that Enron and several other companies were using the practice. See also: Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.