Meanings
nouncreative accounting (uncountable)
- euphemistichumoroussometimesuncountablebusinessFinancial accounting practices which are usually not explicitly illegal, but which are unorthodox, imaginative, usually misleading, and of questionable ethics.
Italy’s public deficit is within the EU limit of 3 per cent of GDP, but only with the help of some creative accounting by the Government’s number-crunchers.
2002 December 23, R. Boyes, R. Owen, A. Sage, “Europe's economies face a winter of discontent”, in The Times, London
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 創意會計 /创意会计
- 創意會計 /创意会计 (chuàngyì kuàijì)unorthodox accounting
Czech kreativní účetnictví
- kreativní účetnictvíunorthodox accounting
Danish kreativ bogføring
- kreativ bogføringunorthodox accounting
Finnish luova kirjanpito
- luova kirjanpitounorthodox accounting
Greek δημιουργική λογιστική
- δημιουργική λογιστική (dimiourgikí logistikí)unorthodox accounting
Polish kreatywna księgowość
- kreatywna księgowośćunorthodox accounting
Cite this entry
APA
creative accounting. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/creative%20accounting
MLA
“creative accounting.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/creative%20accounting. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “creative accounting,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/creative%20accounting.
Source: creative accounting on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.