Not sure of exactly what you're referring to but their is an...

Not sure of exactly what you're referring to but their is an element in IRI revenue reporting that may be what you were thinking about.
When they write a contract for, say, three years, they collect the revenue from the client annually but include the three years revenue in the year of signing. The collected revenue appears in their bank account while the further two years of expected revenue is reflected in "Non Current Trade Receivables" inside their Balance Sheet.
This "future" revenue in their Balance Sheet was:

2014 $ 2,632
2015 $13,260
2016 $23,373
2017 $23,299
2018 $26,892

It's a consistent approach that has been audit approved and is there for all to see but is a little "different" in my eyes especially as they don't appear to have made any attempt to include any linked forward expenditure in their results.