Sold, or just shipped? How sales figures can be manipulated – and how you can spot it

Goods left the warehouse. The invoice went out. So it must be a sale, right? Not always. Under the rules, a sale counts only when the customer truly takes control of what was bought. Not when it ships. Not when the bill is raised. Not even when the cash comes in. Stretch that one moment, and a weak year can be dressed up as a strong one. This piece explains, in plain words, when a sale is really a sale, and how to spot the companies bending that line before the market does.

Raccontata daeconomictimes.indiatimes.com