In December 2013, Reike Technology Co. Ltd. (Reike), a Chinese information technology and outsourcing company, faced an accounting revenue recognition problem. Reike had a well-deserved reputation in the software outsourcing industry, having built partnerships with Fortune 500 companies since the 1990s. However, in 2012, it collaborated on a project with a multinational software company that included a “pay-when-paid” clause in the contract. According to this clause, payments to Reike would be based on the percentage of the project completed upon review, as long as the software company received the corresponding proportion of payments from the owner. As the project progressed, Reike’s managers became troubled by the following issues: Should the “pay-when-paid” contract containing legal risks have been signed? When should Reike recognize the project revenue? How should the company deal with the project costs considering there was unrecognized revenue at the end of the year? Would there be any effect on performance assessments?

In December 2013, Reike Technology Co. Ltd. (Reike), a Chinese information technology and outsourcing company, faced an accounting revenue recognition problem. Reike had a well-deserved reputation in the software outsourcing industry, having built partnerships with Fortune 500 companies since the 1990s. However, in 2012, it collaborated on a project with a multinational software company that included a "pay-when-paid" clause in the contract. According to this clause, payments to Reike would be based on the percentage of the project completed upon review, as long as the software company received the corresponding proportion of payments from the owner. As the project progressed, Reike's managers became troubled by the following issues: Should the "pay-when-paid" contract containing legal risks have been signed? When should Reike recognize the project revenue? How should the company deal with the project costs considering there was unrecognized revenue at the end of the year? Would there be any effect on performance assessments?