Accountants Quote by Charlie Munger
![“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)
“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 derivatives] is just disgusting. It is a sewer, and if I'm right, there will be hell to pay in due course. All of you will have to prepare to deal with a blow-up of derivative books.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Annual Shareholder Meeting, Berkshire Hathaway, 2005
Overly lax accounting and complex derivatives create illusory earnings that evaporate, leading to financial disaster.
In simple terms: Bad accounting and crazy financial tricks make money disappear.
Key Takeaway
Demand transparent, simple accounting.
Themes
finance
risk
accounting
Mood
cautious
critical
Type
warning
analytical
When to use this quote
- corporate finance
- investment analysis
- regulatory oversight
Key Concepts
financial engineering
ethical standards
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we better detect hidden risks?
- What safeguards prevent accounting abuse?
A Different Perspective
Complex derivatives can hide true risk and cause systemic failures.
![“The beauty of a financial institution is that there are a lot of ways to go to hell in a bucket. You can push credit too far, do a dumb acquisition, leverage yourself excessively - it's not just derivatives [that can bring about your downfall].” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/628/charlie-munger-458_acquisition_the-beauty-of-a-financial-institution-is_1034580.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)
