Business Week's reporters take off after Halliburton as well:
Posted by DeLong at July 15, 2002 08:02 AMBusiness Week Online:The Cheney Question
At issue is how Halliburton accounts for cost overruns and changes on its billion-dollar contracts.... Until 1998, the company wouldn't report revenue from such claims until the customer agreed to pay.... But since 1998, Halliburton has estimated how much of the disputed costs it expects to collect and booked the not-yet-received payment immediately.... While it's aggressive, Halliburton's switch is supported by a 1981 accounting rule because it helps meet accountants' goal of matching revenues with associated costs as they occur.... More troubling: Halliburton didn't disclose the switch to the SEC or investors for more than a year, until March, 2000...