A top Securities and Exchange Commission official said the agency's recent examinations of hedge funds uncovered a range of problems, including firms using a more favorable valuation strategy to boost their returns on paper.

Andrew Bowden, the director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, said Monday the agency has found a series of "deficiencies" at the roughly 185 hedge-fund firms where it completed exams. The findings included "flip flopping" in evaluation methods, with some firms frequently changing methodologies and choosing the one that led to the highest valuation in a given quarter or year. Such changes aren't always disclosed to investors, he said.