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Microsoft's Financial Reporting Strategy

By: Dawn Matsumoto, Robert Bowen

Explores Microsoft's overall financial reporting strategy by examining the company's treatment of two accounting issues--software capitalization and revenue recognition. For both issues, the company…

  • Length: 12 page(s)
  • Publication Date: Sep 13, 1999
  • Discipline: Accounting
  • Duration: 25 minutes
  • Product #: 100027-PDF-ENG

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Explores Microsoft's overall financial reporting strategy by examining the company's treatment of two accounting issues--software capitalization and revenue recognition. For both issues, the company selects accounting methods that are relatively conservative. Also discusses the issue of managing analysts' expectations and Microsoft's tendency to provide analysts with very conservative expectations for the future. Provides a forum to discuss possible reasons for Microsoft's accounting and disclosure choices and also discusses the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent investigation into Microsoft's accounting practices.

Details

Pub Date:

Sep 13, 1999 (Revised: Feb 16, 2000)

Discipline:

Accounting

Subjects:

Annual reports and financial statementsBusiness analysisBusiness modelsCorporate disclosureFinancial statementsInformation systems

Industries:

Software development industry

Source:

Harvard Business School

Product #:

100027-PDF-ENG

Length:

12 page(s)

Duration:

25 minutes