As a career analyst and opinion writer, I have gone the full nipple clamps and car battery on many a number to extract a high valuation or persuasive line. And I’ve exaggerated figures millions of times.
But my workings-out are always saved in case an editor or regulator comes knocking. And I sleep knowing every number is grounded in research and an honest desire to enlighten — however tortured or selectively chosen.
What a schmuck I am, though. Because who gives a wallaby’s about numbers anymore? Not politicians. Not investors. Not voters. No one, it seems. Numbers have become almost irrelevant. Real ones are ignored; the random embraced.