worldcom

For many companies, meeting or beating quarterly earnings estimates matters more than anything else. All too often, the drive to perform bleeds into a temptation to cook the books. But astute investors can see behind the numbers to glimpse the truth. Here are a few of the major red flags.

Enron may be the most infamous, but it's just one of many instances of financial chicanery in recent corporate history. Examples of such shenanigans are rich, ripe, and recurring, right up to the present.

Last week, David Friehling, the auditor who had purportedly handled Bernie Madoff's books for years, pleaded guilty to nine charges having to with his auditing work, or lack thereof. The charges included securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, false filings with the SEC and obstructing or...

Did Bernard Madoff just wake up one day and decide to steal $50 billion from his investors? Probably not. Other figures in the growing pantheon of white-collar criminals -- names like Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco), Jeffrey Skilling (Enron, pictured) and Bernard Ebbers (WorldCom) -- most likely didn't...

As most investors are aware, these are not the best of times for the board of directors system. And in the quarters and years ahead, we'll likely hear a great deal about how a board of directors should function and what reforms to the system are needed. Briefly, the board system is under stress....