John Kay

For a time, the coalition government seemed willing to let figures tell their own story rather than one written by their political advisers; but that time seems to have passed.

Ireland accounts for a share of global profit disproportionate to the size of the Irish economy. Not because business in Ireland is particularly successful but because reporting profits in Ireland is particularly attractive.

The common sense that says “I know the difference between a Cornish pasty and a ham sandwich when I see it” is appealing, but we would rightly find it unacceptable that the decisions of a tax inspector should be based on the principle that he knows what to tax when he sees it.

The core problem is that banks have no intention of abiding by the spirit, rather than the letter, of any regulatory rules.

The share of financial services in national income has increased. Should we be pleased, or concerned, by this development?

No one loves the bearer of bad news. But short sellers, Wikileaks, accountants who mark to market, and even rating agencies, should be applauded for telling people the news they do not want to hear.

Internal rates of return conflate rewards for risk with returns for patience.  That is why they are often misleading indicators of the profitability of alternative investments.
Students of corporate finance are taught the dangers of judging projects by their internal rate of return. The problem is that the attractiveness of a project depends not just on [...]

The true and fair view is subjective, and no accounting principles, however extensive, can cover all conceivable situations.

Bogus quantification attempts to compress complex problems and analyses into single observations.

Once loans can be bought and sold, what matters is not their soundness but their price – with the predictable consequences of instability and price fluctuations far in excess of any reasonable assessment of underlying change in fundamental value.