[link|http://www.theregister.co.uk/|The Register]'s John\r\nLettice wrote on this yesterday: [link|http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/29194.html|MS beanies\r\nworry about GNU/Linux, suits, nasty governments], including this note\r\non revenues:

\r\n

"In addition, the Company completed its transition to new OEM licensing\r\nterms under which OEMs are billed upon their acquisition of Certificates\r\nof Authenticity (COAs) rather than upon the shipment of PCs to their\r\ncustomers. This transition resulted in revenue related to COA inventory\r\naccumulation at OEMs."

\r\n\r\n

Sneaky. So the OEMs now have to bear the inventory cost of the little\r\nbits of paper (or stickers, or whatever they are these days), in\r\naddition to their other woes.

\r\n

This sound suspiciously like what Gaudette warned Cringeley to look\r\nout for back in the early 1990s, in the now very precient May 27, 1999\r\narticle [link|http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit19990527.html|How Clever\r\nAccounting Techniques are Used to Make Internet Millionaires]

\r\n"Watch for any changes in our accounting," said Gaudette. "If I need to\r\nI can start, depreciating the software and maintain earnings growth for\r\nyears on flat revenue. Watch for the accounting changes, wait for the\r\nnext uptick in the stock price, and then sell."\r\n

I'd say that a number of revenue adjustments have been made, some of\r\nthem more along the lines of turnip squeezing than restatements, but\r\nkeep a close eye on those financial footnotes.