Andrew Ferris, was a financial analyst at Southern Cross Capital LLC, and was asked to assess salesforce.com accounting methods and recent financial performance in preparation for the portfolio manager's decision as to whether the firm's common stock should be obtained for the Growth Service fund. Salesforce.com was computer software company paying attention on providing customer relationship management (CRM) programs accessible by users on the "cloud," rather than through software resident on a user's own server.
Salesforce.com kept a direct sales force, which sold services to customers through telephone contacts, and all the way through a network of geographically dispersed sales representatives who made personal contacts with prospective customers. The direct sales force was compensated mainly through sales commissions, which were paid in cash after a noncancellable subscription contract was signed by a customer. The portfolio manager specifically requested Ferris to pay close attention to understanding how salesforce.com accounted for its percentage outlays, since several firms in recent years had experienced considerable declines in their stock price after financial press articles shown that the companies had inflated their gains by deferring expenses.
Revenue and Expense Recognition at salesforce.com case study solution
PUBLICATION DATE: October 04, 2012 PRODUCT #: TB0305-HCB-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about FINANCE & ACCOUNTING
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