This screen finds companies with a Beneish M-Score above -2.22, the zone that flags a higher likelihood of earnings manipulation. The Beneish M-Score, created by professor Messod Beneish, combines eight financial ratios, such as receivables growth, margin changes and accruals, into one number that estimates the likelihood of earnings manipulation; -2.22 is the common cutoff. A high score is not proof of fraud, but it is a red flag that the model famously raised for Enron before its collapse, and it calls for a closer look at the accounts.
