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Companies that lag their peers sometimes cut accounting corners to make themselves appear stronger than they really are. But is the risk of getting caught worth it?

The recent news that the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are looking at the accounting and disclosures of General Electric, Tesla and Snap does not bode well for the companies. An investigation of possibly faulty accounting typically looks deep into corporate books and public statements, and the government rarely commits resources without evidence that there may be significant misstatements.

Regulators are suspicious.

G.E. has been under scrutiny since January for an insurance charge totaling $15 billion over seven years related to long-term care and other policies. In October, the company announced a $22 billion accounting charge to write down the value of its power business. A division rarely loses that much value overnight. The S.E.C. and Justice Department expanded their investigations to include the latest charge, most likely to determine whether G.E. delayed recognizing such a sizable hit in the hope its fortunes would improve and allow it to avoid dealing with the problems.