"Preliminary and subject to change" are the words Northwest Pipe Co. used in a news release issued Nov. 12 to describe its financial results for the third-quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009.

Did Perspectives hear that right? Preliminary? For a period that ended six weeks ago?

We took a closer look and quickly discovered that the Vancouver, Wash.-based manufacturer of welded-steel pipe was in the midst of an "ongoing internal investigation of certain accounting matters, including...