creative accounting
noun1
Business Euphemistic, Humorous, Sometimes Financial accounting practices which are usually not explicitly illegal, but which are unorthodox, imaginative, usually misleading, and of questionable ethics.
- Italy’s public deficit is within the EU limit of 3 per cent of GDP, but only with the help of some creative accounting by the Government’s number-crunchers.2002 December 23, R. Boyes, R. Owen, A. Sage, “Europe's economies face a winter of discontent”, in The Times, London:
- Related terms
- cook the books