Many directors have a suspicion of there being an attempt

[jpeter.faulkner]

Hi,
I am doing the problem set in Ch 2 of the 4th edition of the SC Strategy Guide. These questions are on page 25. The instructions for 7 - 15 say "Rewrite each of the following sentences more concisely. Justify the changes you make." I want to know if there is only one answer for each of these questions. Since we are told to construct new sentences, are the only appropriate changes the ones that are specified in the answer key? For example:

Question 10 says:

"Many directors have a suspicion of there being an attempt by managers to conceal the extent of losses at the company."

The answer key said:

"Many directors suspect that managers are trying to conceal the extent of losses at the company."

My response was:

"Many directors suspect managers of concealing the extent of the company losses."

Whats wrong with my answer? Would it be considered wrong? Why is the other better?

[esledge]

On those "rewrite the sentence" exercises, more than one correct rewrite might exist.

In a contest between the original sentence and the solution rewrite, the solution rewrite would win.
Likewise, in a contest between the original sentence and your rewrite, your rewrite would win.

The answer key said:

"Many directors suspect that managers are trying to conceal the extent of losses at the company."

My response was:

"Many directors suspect managers of concealing the extent of the company losses."

Whats wrong with my answer? Would it be considered wrong? Why is the other better?

It's a little murkier when I compare your rewrite to the answer key's. There are a couple of things I prefer about the book's suggestion:

(1) "that" after the verb "suspect" creates a clear noun phrase to serve as the object of the verb. In other words: Many directors suspect something. The something is "that managers are doing xyz." In your sentence, "managers" follow the verb "suspect" and could be misconstrued as the object: Many directors supspect managers.

People talk like this: She suspects him of cheating.
But the GMAT tends to write like this: She suspects that he is cheating.

(2) There's a slight meaning difference between "extent of losses at the company" and "extent of the company losses." The former is a little more clear that the losses are of money, by the company. Yours could be misconstrued as losses of companies (a bit of a stretch, but...). I'd be happier with your ending if it read "extent of the company's losses," making it clear that losses are something the company possesses, and that "company" is not just an adjective describing a kind of loss.