Minor Change, Big Impact.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: Brief Article

Just what impact can seemingly minor accounting changes have on a stock? Wal-Mart found that out in mid-August when, in announcing its second-quarter earnings, it said it planned to revise its accounting practices for consumer layaways. The result was projected as a minor hit to third-quarter earnings of no more than two cents a share.

What Wal-Mart said was that it would wait to record sales on layaway items until the consumer paid off the entire balance, not when the sale itself was posted. The change was expected to affect about $400 million in sales, the company...