[Daniel_Newby]

> What I take from this story is that the financial law is so complex and unapproachable one can not reliably navigate it without landing in jail, even being a seasoned professional.

Because this story was written by a liar and/or idiot.

Option accounting law is simple and clear. Market value – exercise price = loss taken by shareholders. This goes in the quarterly report so the shareholders know how much they spent on employee compensation.

The financial planner "Michelle" was trying to simply not report the cost, to fraudently make the numbers look better. This is one of the oldest frauds in the book. Frankly I am amazed she did not get multiple life sentences for her crimes.

The story author falsely tried to make it look like some sort of terrifying subtlety, an accounting landmine that nearly blew off his leg. It is not. Every responsible accountant would start shitting kittens if confronted with this fraud in their company.

Edit: From other comments, the story was not even about the actual crimes. So the author is not an idiot, but manufacturing a scare story Daily Mail style.

[Mtinie]

Strangely, at the time that this all occurred, there was a glut of feral kittens wandering around Mountain View. I always wondered where they had come from, but now I've got a good explanation!