[KineticLensman]

> Every company I've worked for, from startups to Fortune 500, it was very clear what products the engineers contributed to

I joined a company that was a privatised spin-off from a large civil service organization. A new CEO interviewed each department head, asking them how their accruals were doing this FY. A couple, allegedly, said 'Our what?' and were immediately shown the door.

The next CEO, by the way, asked 'how many engineers do we have?'. The inability to answer that also led to some corporate soul-searching and eventually some major re-orgs.

[atorodius]

Out of curiosity, what are accurals and FY?

[ghaff]

FY = fiscal year

accruals: Larger companies especially do accounting on an accrual basis. So what most matters is when the service was delivered or the product sold--not when the cash was received. (Large companies care about cash flow too but cash is king at small companies.)

Basically what's being asked is "In what ways does our cash balance not reflect our income and expenses?" Perhaps more common would be ask about bookings but accruals is broader.

[HWR_14]

Is it asking for the discrepancy between cash and accrual accounting (which seems to be what you stated) or is it asking what they are booking in accrual revenue?

This is one of those annoying things where I can talk about either concept, but don't know the language that serves as a proof of competency.

[ghaff]

It probably requires some context based on the metrics that matter to a specific business. I'm not sure someone would ask the question that way where I am. (Not in finance, so may be wrong, but have been at numerous business reviews.)

Purely from the outside, I'd guess that yes they're asking for the discrepancy. Maybe they're asking for accrual revenue but I'm not sure I've ever heard the term used that way. I would expect someone would ask for bookings if that's what they wanted. (Which can get even more complicated for multi-year subscription deals.)

ADDED: It's been a long time since I got my MBA but, with all the data in front of me, if someone asked me that question, I'd have to ask what they actually wanted and, if they fired me a result, so be it.

[hardlianotion]

Accruals are revenue and costs that are not yet formally accounted for, I think (just looked it up). FY is financial year.

[ghaff]

Sorta. They've presumably been accounted for in some manner but revenue hasn't been collected or expenses paid out. (Doubtless lots of other things related to investment income etc.)