Variances in application of GAAP

Are you only interested in how different industry standards dictate the use of GAAP, i.e. your example; or are you interested in the wiggle room within GAAP that allows for earnings management and fraud?

I am interested in examples similar to the one I provided. I have no interest in "wiggle room" within GAAP. Perhaps the following will clarify. If you are comparing your SG&A expense as a percent of sales with one or more companies in your peer group, you need to be familiar with variances in what items each company includes in its SG&A expense shown on the income statement. If not familiar with all of the elements, you risk showing a more positive or negative comparison. The real reason may be composition while staying within GAAP. The same could be said about debt to total capital and many other ratios used to measure the financial health of an organization.