You are the new CFO of Worldwide Faulty Enterprises, dealing with super models, rock bands, a “visionary” CEO and — as the name suggests — Murphy’s Law. Things may go awry as you guide the company’s financial fortunes through a series of tactical revenue decisions that will impact the stock price — and perhaps your own future!

Welcome to the Revenue Recognition Challenge Game, an interactive, educational experience sponsored by Softrax and produced in conjunction with RevenueRecognition.com. The game was introduced last year and has now been played by thousands of people — more than half of whom are CFOs, Controllers and other senior finance executives.

While amusing and lighthearted, the game’s aims are nonetheless serious. It demonstrates that complex accounting decisions can have a dramatic impact on publicly-reported revenue numbers — a fact understood by relatively few people outside of the accounting department. Gordon Graham, Editor of SoftwareCEO.com, strongly recommends the game and notes that it offers CEOs a reality check on pressuring a finance team to “chalk up every sale now.” “This,” he says, “gives you short term