Business Case Studies & Business Publications

A New Era in Revenue Recognition: Genera...

Haskins, Mark E., ...

Case

A New Era in Revenue Recognition: General Dynamics and Ford

Haskins, Mark E.; Lynch, Luann J.

C-2414 | Published September 5, 2018 | 33 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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What had started out as an easy perusal of two recently issued 2017 corporate annual reports had morphed into a task of sleuthing when the reader had come across what some experts referred to as "the most historic accounting change to hit US capital markets in decades." It appeared that the issue of when a sale was a sale for financial reporting purposes was not simple. Among a handful of early adopters of a new revenue recognition mandate for calendar year 2017 annual reports, beginning of the year retained earnings for Ford Motor Company (Ford) was adjusted $36 million higher while General Dynamic's was adjusted down by $301 million, both a result of their early adoption of the new revenue recognition guidelines.