Are they hiding revenue. So many say they can't. Hmmm. 1. Accelerating Revenues
One way to accelerate revenue is to book lump-sum payments as current sales when services are actually provided over a number of years. For example, a software service provider might receive an upfront payment for a four-year service contract but record the full payment as sales for the period that the payment was received. The correct, more accurate, way is to amortize the revenue over the life of the service contract.
A second revenue-acceleration tactic is called "channel stuffing." Here, a manufacturer makes a large shipment to a distributor at the end of a quarter and records the shipment as sales. But the distributor has the right to return any unsold merchandise. Because the goods can be returned and are not guaranteed as a sale, the manufacturer should keep the products classified as a type of inventory until the distributor has sold the product.