Hewlett-Packard blames Autonomy for trumping up its value in their multi-billion dollar deal last year -- an accounting fiasco that's all too familiar in Silicon Valley.

HP alleges that Autonomy made hardware sales at low profits or a even loss, but listed them as high-profit software sales.

Francine McKenna is author of a popular Forbes accounting blog and a CPA herself.  She says HP isn't the only one getting duped, that technology companies are known for having a fake-it-till-you-make-it  way of reporting profits.

"I get frustrated when I see the media reporting numbers that are unaudited. They're not verified. So a company can fake it, fake it, fake it. Make their numbers look good. Pump up the revenue. Say they've got new customers."

McKenna wants to see securities regulators step up oversight of accountants, not just Wall Street bankers.