Welcome to the non-black-and-white world of gray. That mentality goes far beyond just accounting. Anything beyond a basic measurement is open to interpretation.

Which is why an accountant who is good at figuring out what's really going on is so valuable.

An accountant who specializes in making the numbers tell the story the CEO wants them to tell is not an accountant who can tell you anything useful about the company's financials. If you just want propaganda/marketting instead of accounting I guess that's fine, so long as you don't end up going to jail for it.

That things are open to interpretation doesn't mean there's no difference between trying to figure out what's going on, and trying to spin it to what you'd like to be going on.

Like a boss whose reports only tell him what he wants to hear. I'd tell the "what story do you want them to tell" guy -- what would I pay you for if you're just going to tell me the story I already know I'd like to be true?

Of course, plenty of people do pay that guy, because they're just trying to put one over on everyone else.

In other words, don't try to pass off jokes as anecdotes.