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Accounting Errors

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The Accounting Errors of Overstock.com

In 2008, the companyOverstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) received some publicity when they made decisions that violate the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Their internal accounting policies and their relationship with external auditors caused the company to have to restate their financial statements dating back to 2003. Overstock.com improperly took income that it earned but under-billed its fulfillment partners during earlier reporting periods (Q3 2008 and earlier) and moved the income to future reporting periods (Q4 2008, Q1 2009, Q2 2009, and Q3 2009). Basically, Overstock.com took the income that they should have reported in earlier reporting periods (Q3 2008 and before) and moved it to future reporting periods (Q4 2008 and later). This action materially overstated their financial performance in later reporting periods. “Overstock.com admitted that they “incorrectly amortized the expense related to restricted stock units based on the actual three year vesting schedule rather than a three year straight line amortization and applied an outdated forfeiture rate in calculating its expense under the plans.”
Accounting errors are not unusual for a business. When an accounting error occurs that is at the level of the error of Overstock.com, it is an indication that involves some high-level company officials may be involved. The responsibility of the accounting department is to provide managers and investors with the most accurate financial information possible in order to make the best business decisions. Management’s responsibility is to analyze and interpret the information in the financial statements to make good business decision for the company.
The problem with what Overstock.com did was that they deliberately published inaccurate finance statements. Overstock.com effectively violated GAAP

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