When SGI bought super-computer maker Cray in 1996, our CTO who worked there at
> the time said the running joke was, "SGI sold no units this quarter, but made
> a healthy profit." That wasn’t magic accounting. It was the NSA requiring
> purchases not be disclosed.
Love this quote; when this kind of thing happens does it prove for some difficult finances/auditing? Can you even report the units sold (SKUs, quantities)?
There are/were Supercomputer manufacturers that you have never heard of because their sole clients are the NSA and/or DOD. It has been a joke, in Supercomputing circles for some time, that the real top 10 machines are missing from the top 500 list for this very reason.
I believe with the onset of better programmed accounting packages, now most money that flows from {{3letteragencies}} to companies goes via cursory legit looking shell companies.
Comments
Love this quote; when this kind of thing happens does it prove for some difficult finances/auditing? Can you even report the units sold (SKUs, quantities)?
There are/were Supercomputer manufacturers that you have never heard of because their sole clients are the NSA and/or DOD. It has been a joke, in Supercomputing circles for some time, that the real top 10 machines are missing from the top 500 list for this very reason.
I believe with the onset of better programmed accounting packages, now most money that flows from {{3letteragencies}} to companies goes via cursory legit looking shell companies.