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To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (137282)	1/19/2002 5:44:27 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164687

"Do you believe that was the norm in the late 1980s through 1993" Its a matter of degree. Accounting is story-telling, pure and simple. Accounting stories are intended for different audiences each of whom has different decision-making needs, and the story can be changed to some degree to suit the purpose and the audience without being dishonest. This undoubtedly led to many instances of stretching the truth before the bubble in the 1990s and early 90s. But when the concept of a 'new economy' was hijacked by stock speculators and fast-buck artists, I think we entered a phase where gross distortions and aggressive manipulation of the story became the tools of the trade to pump stock prices to levels that no honest person in his right mind could justify. The problem now is that the 'everybody is doing it defense' has raised deceptive reporting and dishonesty to the level of 'accepted practice'. This undermines the credibility of the whole system -- and that is a very damaging perception. I think a clean-up is long overdue. I also think that the concept of valuation is part of the return to a more 'honest' assessment of stock prices. We are going to have to learn to be honest with ourselves -- and it will take more time to come to terms with the idea that many stocks were not just a little overpriced and in need of a correction -- they were priced in many cases at 100 times anything that made sense from a valuation perspective. The market cannot have a solid foundation without a dose of honesty.