In money profit business accountancy, the system is designed so that the data are accurate and represent the money transaction correctly. The whole process of accounting and reporting is controlled with considerable rigor.

Modern accountancy seems to have deteriorated based on some high profile events in corporate reporting, whether it is events like the Enron bankruptcy or the implosion of the global financial sector. While these are serious failures in the accountancy sector, they are outliers, with most business financial reporting very reliable.

It should be relatively easy to be assured that the data are what they purport to be. Data should be easy to verify ... and data that cannot be verified should be treated with the utmost caution. It is relatively easy to verify data where the data are clearly identified as to time and place.

In my view some universal accounting principles have been superseded by various laws, rules and regulations that allow reporting of financial results that are in conflict with the underlying principles of accountancy but suit various stakeholders in the process.