Ding-Dong for Dell?

Apparently, the SEC has been investigating certain financial relationships between Dell Computer and Intel Corp. All that is being reported (by Miguel Helft of the NYT ), and his sources are mostly anonymous, is that the matter relates to “how Dell accounted for payments and rebates that it had received from Intel.”

Having recently been studying the prosecution of Samuel Insull, I am reminded of a more rational, more capitalist time, when one could use any manner of recording business finances that was acceptable to some generally reputable school of accountants. It was an approach that tended to put business in charge of accounting, rather than vice versa, and an approach that warned away investors who were not expert in evaluating financial reports for themselves.

‍