Last year, it sold those assets to three separate off-balance-sheet entities.

Corporate chicanery has become hard to track, what with the use of arcane tools like backdated options and off-balance-sheet entities.

GAITS involved creating the appearance of stronger earnings via off-balance-sheet entities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating Elan's former practice of moving debt to off-balance-sheet entities.

In a securities filing, G.M. said none of its officers, directors or workers held any interest in its off-balance-sheet entities.

The practice was based on a decision in a sort-of-related case concerning off-balance-sheet entities.

More broadly, he said, regulators should determine whether other corporations that use off-balance-sheet entities are giving investors in those entities more information than public stockholders receive.

The subsidiary was accused of conspiracy to violate securities laws by transferring $762 million in troubled loans and investments to off-balance-sheet entities in 2001.

The money was lent by banks and bond buyers to the off-balance-sheet entities.

Secretive off-balance-sheet entities that should have been included on the company's financial statements but weren't.