
Smoke & Mirrors, Inc.: Accounting for Capitalism is a primer and thought-provoker on accounting and its role in contemporary financial systems.
It was written for accountants or non-accountants who want to understand what underlies the ever more frequent headlines about accounting and financial reporting - such as Enron and WorldCom, stock options expensing, adoption in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Europe. Cornell University Press published it in July 2006.
Download Review_FT_100906.pdf to read Barney Jopson's review in the Financial Times on 10 September 2006.
Download SmokeandMirrors_Flyer.pdf for a summary and order form. You can also buy the book on Amazon.
The book was first published in French in May 2004 by Odile Jacob. However, Smoke & Mirrors, Inc. is much more than a mere translated version, and includes comprehensive updates for the English-speaking readership.
I wrote it with two younger co-authors, Matthieu Autret and Alfred Galichon, which at the time were still studying at Ecole des Mines in Paris and had worked on a joint thesis on accounting. They contributed much to Smoke & Mirrors, Inc.: for example, the imaginary story of the company eponymous with the book's title is their idea. They have now started successful professional careers, Matthieu at the European Commission and Alfred as an economist.