Should you move the invoices?

“We are sooo close,” you say to your CFO in despair. “Another $300.000 to the bottom line, and we would have met expectations. Instead, we will lose credibility with the board and the bank. I hate it.”

Your CFO, who knows the numbers better than you, clears her throat. “Relax, there are things we can do. We only need to do these 2 maneuvers to meet our budget.” You raise your eyebrows with a slight relief. “What?”

“You know the consulting invoice we received for $150.000. I can call them and ask them to invoice us in January with a text that makes it look like it is for 2024. They want our business so badly that they will accept. Then, we plan to invoice $350.000 in the middle of January to our 2 retail customers. I´m certain we can move these to the end of this year with a 60-day credit instead of 30. With the profit from these transactions, we get a result of $300.000.” Your CFO looks proud.

You consider it for a few seconds before saying, “Can this be legal?” Your CFO nods. “Companies do it all the time.”

You are the CEO – what would you do?