Writing Homework Help

Note :  For this Portfolio Project, please check with your instructor for instructions, including the user name and password, which CSU-Global pays for and provides for access to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) which you will need.

Read the Accounting for Software Development Activities Case Study (link below). After reading the case study, answer the questions provided.

While Ms. Larson is confident with the U.S. GAAP reporting of the CRM system developed in 2018 and used by MRM, she is less certain of the accounting for the software product developed for customers in 2019 due to the unique nature of the transaction as it relates to the company’s business. You have been asked to research the relevant guidance to determine the proper course of action for the 2019 financial statements. Specifically, Ms. Larson is interested in how the fees paid to ZD for the activities from March 1 to August 31 should be accounted for and how these costs, along with the fees generated from the three customers, should be  presented  on the 2019 financial statements. 

As part of this task, perform the following activities:

First, consult the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification®  to find appropriate guidance on the issues presented in the case. 

Next, prepare the following three responses in paper format:

1. Prepare a detailed 3-page minimum double-spaced memorandum and analysis to Ms. Larson that includes the relevant issues for this situation, the appropriate financial reporting guidance, and your conclusion regarding the treatment of the fees generated and costs incurred for the software sold in 2019.
2. Prepare a detailed 3-page minimum double-spaced memorandum and analysis of Ms. Larson’s accounting for the CRM system in 2018. Specifically, determine whether her decisions regarding the (1) capitalization versus expensing of costs and (2) amortization of the CRM system are supported by U.S. GAAP. Address the specific evidence from the case, the relevant guidance from the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification®, and make adjustments, if any, to the 2018 financial statement.
3. After reviewing the following additional details, prepare a 3-page double-spaced memorandum and analysis summarizing the issues identified, and then providing guidance and a conclusion with appropriate treatment of each issue.

Additional details:

MRM management felt that its first three software clients could play a crucial role in MRM’s future strategy to create market awareness for its software product. Through discussions with the three companies, MRM management learned that each company was scheduled to participate in industry conventions in the first quarter of 2020. 

According to the clients, these conferences typically provide companies and their employees the opportunity to interact with industry association members and competitors and discuss industry-specific developments. 

Companies normally receive booth space in the main convention area, and some of the industry participants give presentations in adjacent conference rooms on topics of interest. 

MRM management believed that these conferences would be a strategic venue to market their software products. However, admission to the conferences was exclusive to industry participants who paid significant association dues, and thus MRM had no way of attending the conferences independently, nor did they have established business connections with other companies within these industries. 

Because of the significant opportunity, though, MRM management asked the three initial clients if they would promote the product at their respective conventions. Specifically, MRM wanted the companies to offer a demonstration of the software to other conference attendees and devote booth space to marketing pamphlets for the software. 

Each company agreed to MRM’s request, but demanded a substantial fee given the significance of the promotional efforts and the uniqueness of such activity at the conferences. As such, MRM’s sales contracts for each of the three customers included an agreement for the customers to provide the software demonstrations and display pamphlets in exchange for a fee of $15,000 (for a total of $45,000), payable on December 19, 2019.

Considering the evidence from the case, including the additional information provided, identify the revenue recognition issues that potentially impact the accounting for the sales contracts in 2019. In the process, research the appropriate guidance from the Financial Accounting Standards Board  Accounting Standards Codification®  to determine how these issues should be addressed.