A company decides to meet its profit target for 2016 by claiming that certain sales that it actually made and shipped in January of 2017 were made in December of 2016. This is an example of

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This is a clear case of fraud, as the company is intentionally misrepresenting the timing of its sales to meet its profit target. Accruals management and real earnings management involve legitimate accounting practices to manage the timing and amount of revenues and expenses, while expectations management involves communicating with investors about the company's future prospects.

A Company Decides to Meet Its Profit Target for 2016