Anyone with an engineering frame of mind will look at [accounting standards] and want to throw up. — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Proper accounting is like engineering. You need a margin of safety. Thank God we don't design bridges and airplanes the way we… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
To say accounting for derivatives is Americais a sewer is an insult to sewage. — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
In engineering, people have a big margin of safety. But in the financial world, people don't give a damn about safety. They… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Accounting incomes were reduced by discrepancy [ but] "the net amount paid by lawyers for lawyerly discrepancy is close to zippo. In… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Accounting is a big subject and there are huge forces in play. The entire momentum of existing thinking and existing custom is… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Derivative trading with mark-to-market accounting degenerates into mark-to-model. Two firms make a big derivative trade and the accountants on both sides show… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
The SEC does way more good than harm - the last thing I would do is get rid of the SEC...if accounting… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
The stupid and dishonest accountants allowed the genie of totally inappropriate accounting to descend on derivatives books. And once this has happened… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Everyone caved, adopted loose [accounting] standards, and created exotic derivatives linked to theoretical models. As a result, all kinds of earnings, blessed… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Creative accounting is an absolute curse to a civilization. One could argue that double-entry bookkeeping was one of history's great advances. Using… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
I would argue that a majority of the horrors we face would not have happened if the accounting profession developed and enforced… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
I talked to one accountant, a very nice fellow who I would have been glad to have his family marry into mine.… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
You have to know accounting. It's the language of practical business life. It was a very useful thing to deliver to civilization.… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
I also want to raise the possibility that there are, in the very long term, "virtue effects" in economics- for instance that… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities. — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
I think time and time again, in reality, psychological notions and economic notions interplay, and the man who doesn't understand both is a damned… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
The tax code gives you an enormous advantage if you can find some things you can just sit with. — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
The great lesson in microeconomics is to discriminate between when technology is going to help you and when it's going to kill you. And… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
Some years ago one oil company bought a fertilizer company, and every other major oil company practically ran out and bought a fertilizer company.… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
They [Mc Donalds] take people and give them a first job, which enables them to get a second job. They do a very good… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
We believe that almost all really good investment records will involve relatively little diversification. The basic idea that it was hard to find good… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
It is way less certain to be a wonderful business in the future. The threat is alternative mediums of information. Every newspaper is scrambling… — Charlie Munger Copy Share Image
![“Anyone with an engineering frame of mind will look at [accounting standards] and want to throw up.” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2ad/charlie-munger-458_accounting_anyone-with-an-engineering-frame-of-mind_1070052.jpg)
![“Accounting incomes were reduced by discrepancy [ but] "the net amount paid by lawyers for lawyerly discrepancy is close to zippo. In this case, the goddess of justice was blind.” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/614/charlie-munger-458_accounting_accounting-incomes-were-reduced-by-discr_322437.jpg)
![“Everyone caved, adopted loose [accounting] standards, and created exotic derivatives linked to theoretical models. As a result, all kinds of earnings, blessed by accountants, are not really being earned. When you reach for the money, it melts away. It was never there. It [accounting for…” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3d3/charlie-munger-458_accountants_everyone-caved-adopted-loose-accounting_1383135.jpg)
![“I talked to one accountant, a very nice fellow who I would have been glad to have his family marry into mine. He said, "What these other accounting firms have done is very unethical. The [tax avoidance scheme] works best if it's not found out [by the IRS], so we only give it to our best clients…” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b14/charlie-munger-458_accountants_i-talked-to-one-accountant-a-very-nice-f_2980092.jpg)
![“They [Mc Donalds] take people and give them a first job, which enables them to get a second job. They do a very good job of educating troubled young people to be good citizens and they're probably more successful than charter schools.” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a55/charlie-munger-458_be-good_they-mc-donalds-take-people-and-give-the_41809.jpg)
![“It is way less certain to be a wonderful business in the future. The threat is alternative mediums of information. Every newspaper is scrambling to parlay their existing advantage into dominance on the Internet. But it is way less sure [that this will occur] than the certainty 20 years ago that…” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8d0/charlie-munger-458_advantage_it-is-way-less-certain-to-be-a-wonderful_59627.jpg)