Revenue Recognition and Financial Statement Disclosure for Gift Card Issuers

The primary subject matter of this case concerns the appropriate accounting for and disclosure of gift card revenue on the financial statements. Secondary issues examined include materiality, the quality of reported earnings, and contingent liabilities. Underlying these specific issues is the general issue of accounting policy choice and its effect on the comparability of reported financial results across companies. The case requires students to find and review authoritative accounting literature (including appropriate professional standards) and relevant financial filings (for example, Forms 10-K) for several companies. This case has a difficulty level of three, four, or five. The case is designed to be taught in two class hours and is expected to require five hours of outside preparation by students.