Learn how to detect any corporate sleight of hand and gain the upper hand with smart investing Investing expert John Del Vecchio and Motley Fool Tom Jacobs offer a compelling arguement that the secret to stock-market success today isn t finding the next Google or eBay, but avoiding the next AIG or Enron. To that end, they offer simple, clear techniques for detecting when and how legitimate companies make their numbers look better than they are. What's Behind the Numbers? offers seven rules for finding companies playing with rather than by the numbers and explains how to avoid losing money by determining exactly when a stock is about to head south. John Del Vecchio, CFA, serves as a Principal of Ranger Alternative Management and principal of Parabolix Research, Inc. Tom Jacobs is an investment advisor and portfolio manager with Echelon Investment Management in Dallas. He applies this book's earnings quality tests to value investing for clients.