Originally Posted by TallestPoppy
Do you really think that Qantas, a company listed on the Stock Exchange can "hide figures"?
Do you seriously believe they
cannot? Do you honestly want to go over the histories of the rotting carcasses of various companies around the world which did
exactly that? These are companies whose executives are doing prison time in the USA, for example. Or whose executives managed to retire to a life of luxury in Majorca and avoid extradition until they died.
"My administration will do everything in our power to end the days of cooking the books, shading the truth and breaking our laws."
George W Bush, President of the United States of America, 2002 Speech to the New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street. Fat lot of notice they took of GW's speech. See below.
Originally Posted by TallestPoppy
Folks, the accounts of any large business such as QF are out there for all to see.
Actually, no they are not. It is naivety in the extreme to think they are. Qantas have point blank refused to have all their books forensically examined. They have offered nothing more than a careful selection. This should not surprise anyone at all. You need look no further than the huge accounting frauds of recent years. In fact, corporate accountants freely admit that they're only going on the information they're given, and whether or not that bears any resemblance to reality within the corporation is another matter entirely.
"FACTS", as you say, are hard to come by until someone removes power to the shredder, and even that doesn't usually happen before the receivers or administrators of a large corporation move in after bankruptcy.
A small selection of corporate scandals since Enron, Arthur Anderson accounting 2002, and a total train-wreck of other corporations around the world:
MCI-Worldcom, 2002. Accounting scandal. False reporting cost investors $100 billion. In 2005, former CEO sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.
Rite Aid, 2004. Accounting scandal. Vice Chairman imprisoned for 10 years, released after serving 6.
Shell, 2004. Deliberately overstated oil reserves. Chairman forced to resign. 17 million pound fine. $450 million lawsuit against company won by shareholders.
Tyco retrial, 2005. Chief Executive and CFO sentenced to minimum 8 years, maximum 25 years imprisonment. In 2007, shareholders awarded $3 billion in class action settlement.
Brocade Communications, 2005. CEO charged with stockmarket fraud. After trials and appeals, he was eventually convicted and sentenced to imprisonment and a $15 million fine. He is still in prison.
Madoff Investment Securities/Wealth Management, 2008. The Wall Street firm defrauded investors of $65 billion. In 2009, Chairman sentenced to
150 years imprisonment.
And mate, this is just the tip of the corporate, public company, stockmarket listed, shareholder-owned iceberg! We could go for many pages!