Revenue recognition has always been one of the more deceptively complex accounting issues. You think that there's a sale when there's delivery of a product or fulfillment of a service - but things like a right of return, or customer creditworthiness, or multiple deliverables promised, to name few, serve to muck up the recognition picture. (Among other things, like false invoices, premature shipping of goods, lowball estimates of doubtful accounts reserves - to name a few.)

CFO.com reports on the FASB's decision last week to issue a discussion document in the fall that would unify the plethora of accounting standards now existing regarding revenue recognition. It's more of a "thought piece" with a four-to-six month comment period; a full exposure draft will arrive in fall of 2009, with a final standard to be issued by mid-2011.Ambitious, yet possible.

Can't wait for the discussion document to show up? You can get a handle on what it will cover by taking a look at the handout from the last Board meeting. Link here for your fix.