Take UTStarcom (UTSI:Nasdaq - news - research). As fourth-quarter numbers started rolling in last month, it became clear that the wireless equipment company's anticipated slim profit was shaping up instead as a bulging loss. Unable to salvage the quarter, UTStarcom seems to have looked for ways to boost future profits. Help came calling in a rule issued by an obscure accounting organization. The Financial Accounting Standards Board ruled last month that U.S. public companies must start counting the cost of employee stock options against their earnings, starting in June. Fans of the rule, which overcame vocal opposition from some of Silicon Valley's biggest names, say it will give investors a more accurate picture of corporate compensation expense