Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA)

[Robbay]

Perhaps a Education you are missing.

Unusual accounting and a web of partnerships to help sustain the explosive earnings growth that made its stock one of the best performers in late 1990s. Thousands of stock and mutual-fund investors came to own shares.

The partnerships were an efficient way to raise money to fuel growth, in some cases without adding debt to its own balance sheet. Too much debt would imperil its credit rating, particularly important to its vast trading operations. In one case, the CFO recorded earnings from a deal long before it generated meaningful revenue.

Assembling these partnership deals required complex arrangements, many details of which were shielded from the view of investors and regulators. Through it all, Enron, its auditor and its lawyers say they believed they were operating within the letter of the law.

In the end, the carefully constructed partnership deals came toppling down like a house of cards.

Geez how many shielded partnership deals has Walgreens announced in the last 2 years. and a managements retraction of 2016 earnings was announced.

And here is your CEO's statement.
Walgreen Chief Executive Greg Wasson said management was working on the timing and structure of the deal as well as on how to combine management teams, cut costs and work out potential changes in the company's capital structure[].

Lots of work for a company that is just doing a buyout..

LOL..