The final deal they reached last week added about $500 million in new spending, financed mostly through clever accounting devices, including $200 million for schools.

Murdoch himself seems to have few illusions about such accounting devices.

Good will is essentially an accounting device to allow for the premium above market value paid for an acquisition.

A similar accounting device was used to shift the cost of US farm support.

But the shift is largely an accounting device, for the service itself remains unchanged.

Including this accounting device will give the decision-making process a bias toward more efficient projects, Shell says.

Glendale officials have asserted the Government's abrupt withdrawal of that accounting device cost them $1.5 billion.

Only 16 out of all 208 use none of the accounting devices.

To try to keep this pledge, they have used every accounting device in the book, and some previously unrecorded.

In fact, the Social Security trust fund is nothing but an accounting device.