Go to the website of Microsoft Corporation at http://www.microsoft.com/msft/reports/default.mspx. Click on About Microsoft, then Investor Relations, and then Annual Reports. Then click on the most recent Annual Report, then Financial Review, then Balance Sheet and Notes. In the Balance Sheet, find out how much unearned revenue was reported by Microsoft in each of the two years shown. In the Notes, read the section on “Revenue Recognition” and determine the source of the unearned revenue.
In the Web Field Trip, you were asked to examine Microsoft Corporation’s balance sheet and related notes. How much unearned revenue did Microsoft report? What was the source of that revenue? Do you think this amount of unearned revenue would be typical for a company like Microsoft? Why?
