You are a CPA working as a staff accountant at a large advertising agency with a calendar year reporting cycle. One of your duties is to post monthly revenue and deferred revenue journal entries. In December, the marketing team secured a contract to develop a television commercial for the next Super Bowl. The contract was signed December 19th, and project development is to begin in January. Accounting principles require the company to record the revenue for the contract as services are performed, which is January. The sales manager comes to you and asks you to record the contract in December to boost revenues for the current year-end. The manager says they will put in a good review for you with leadership and recommend you for promotion. You don't feel comfortable with this request but aren't sure how to proceed. You decide to consult an ethical decision tree and follow those steps until you are comfortable with the resolution. What should you do in this situation?
1) Record the contract in December as requested by the sales manager
2) Consult the company's ethical guidelines and follow the appropriate course of action
3) Ignore the sales manager's request and record the contract in January as per accounting principles
4) Seek advice from a senior colleague or supervisor