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    PracticeCPA®CPA BAR Practice Exam 2Question 03
    Hard1 markMultiple Choice
    Area I: Business AnalysisBARArea IData Analytics

    CPA · Question 03 · Area I: Business Analysis

    An analyst is reviewing a company's quarterly revenue data using a visualization tool. The trend line shows consistent 5% growth quarter-over-quarter for the last three years. However, in Q4 of the current year, there is a significant spike in revenue (20% growth) while cash collections for the same period remained flat compared to Q3. Accounts Receivable Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) jumped from 45 days to 75 days. Which of the following is the MOST LIKELY explanation for this anomaly requiring investigation?

    Answer options:

    A.

    The company successfully launched a new product line with shorter payment terms.

    B.

    The company experienced a seasonal increase in cash sales.

    C.

    The company may be engaging in channel stuffing or recognizing revenue prematurely.

    D.

    The company wrote off a significant amount of bad debt in Q4.

    How to approach this question

    Correlate the metrics: Revenue Up + Cash Flat + DSO Up = Receivables are growing faster than sales are being collected. This is a classic red flag for quality of earnings issues like channel stuffing.

    Full Answer

    C.The company may be engaging in channel stuffing or recognizing revenue prematurely.✓ Correct
    A divergence between revenue growth and cash collections, manifesting as a sharp increase in DSO, indicates that the 'sales' recorded have not converted to cash. This is a hallmark of 'channel stuffing' (shipping excess inventory to distributors at period-end to book revenue) or premature revenue recognition.

    Common mistakes

    Confusing the direction of DSO impact; assuming sales growth always leads to immediate cash flow.
    Question 02All questionsQuestion 04

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