What is a delay of recognition of an expense already paid or of a revenue already received is?

What is a delay of recognition of an expense already paid or of a revenue already received is?
Delay of recognition is an accounting term that refers to the practice of delaying the reporting of an expense or revenue until a later reporting period.

The accounting industry has developed certain standard and acceptable accounting practices that businesses should follow. Under an audit, the accountant can determine whether the company is following the standards, or is using misleading accounting practices, in violation of the standards.

According to an alert issued by the AICPA, (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) "A substantial portion of litigation against accounting firms and a number of SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases involve revenue recognition issues. Many of these issues result from alleged improper accounting treatment of sales recorded in the ordinary course of a client's business. Such improper accounting treatment ranges from allegedly stretching the accounting rules to falsifying sales in an effort to manage earnings."

While there can be an accepted use of this practice, the manager has to be very careful to follow the proper standards when he decides when to use the delay method.