The bookkeeping for the city's affirmative-action effort was riddled with similar discrepancies and errors, the analysis found, and as a result, the new program's achievement was substantially overstated.

In addition, it appears to have substantially overstated the value of software sold to the Indian Army.

The company said in January that it had substantially overstated those reserves.

The investigators also said they found that the felon, Richard Gottfried, had "substantially overstated" other work, for which the city paid him $97,000.

It's not often that companies voluntarily disclose that their profits may be substantially overstated.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in early December after a series of disclosures that it had substantially overstated its earnings and the value of its equity.

On Saturday evening, however, a special committee of Enron's board provided new details of the self-dealing and financial sleight-of-hand that had substantially overstated earnings.

He acknowledged that Mr. Harrell had diverted F.B.I. resources, but said that the government had "substantially overstated" the complexity of its investigation.

That is, the tax burdens of most Americans are substantially overstated by Tax Freedom Day.

Kathleen Vokes, a Ford spokeswoman, said plaintiff estimates of the costs involved are substantially overstated.