Accounting profit is not generally a great test of the long-term profitability of a business, because much depends on how revenue from customers comes in, how c

Accounting profit is not generally a great test of the long-term profitability of a business, because much depends on how revenue from customers comes in, how costs are timed, etc. Generally, if you have a business where there is a significant growth opportunity / market opportunity, the right strategy is to run at an accounting loss to grow faster. What matters is the cash situation, not the accrual accounting situation (and they are not that closely tied to each other.) Growing slower so that you show an accounting profit would be the wrong thing to do and the market would not consider it a positive indicator for a company coming to IPO.