I’ve learned that there have been several inquiries at the reference desk relating to a revenue recognition assignment (2 pages) for an accounting class. Apparently they need to locate three companies in the same industry and make some comparisons.
Based on this limited information, and a student’s comment that he had an hour to locate the information, I would make the following suggestions:
Revenue recognition is a very broad topic.
The SEC has a topical index of revenue recognition issues at:
http://www.sec.gov/interps/account/sabcodet13.htm
To quickly identify three companies in the same industry with some revenue recognition problems (which would likely provide something to write about), I would suggest:
Go to the Audit Analytics Database
Select restatements in the right column and a text search.
Then, select an industry from choices available in the Industry box.
(If a company has had to restate their earnings, it’s usually a news making event.)
Restatements can occur for many reasons. All four of these options in Audit Analytics
include revenue recognition as a choice, so the student can select the choice(s) the student wants. The results can be downloaded and the three companies selected.
Databases such as Factiva, Business Source Complete, ABI Inform Global may have specific articles about the companies identified. Edgar Online I-Metrix, Metrix, and other resources can be selected for keyword searching of SEC filings relating to revenue recognition by the companies.
Another possible search is on Factiva, limiting the search to specific industries, geographically to the the U.S. and the subject Commodities, Financial Market news, and a specific time period and doing a keyword search like (revenue recognition) and (FASB or SEC), and news articles for companies in the same industry will be retrieved.
The “gift card” assignment that some students have had in the past would be an example of a revenue recognition issue. Searching ABI Inform Global for “gift cards” and “revenue recognition” brings up 14 articles, some which mention specific companies.
Since most retail companies have some form of gift cards, or customer loyalty programs, it would be easy to identify three retail companies and search their SEC filings as to how they account for them.
I hope that this information is helpful.