There was a question about their large inventory in the shareholder meeting. Furukawa points to the raw materials as the reason but doesn't elaborate on how they'll be used; non-answer pretty much.
Agreed that we need to wait for the official transcript. But if Furukawa did try to pass off the change in accounting standard as the reason for the explosive surge of inventories, it'd be a misdirection.I would not jump to any conclusions, based on the information that the tweet gave us it seems as though they changed how they are accounting things. But they do admit they are hoarding something, but we are unsure if it’s actually a significant amount or if it’s actually a relatively small amount increase that they are hoarding. It’s best to wait for an official transcript to make any conclusions on the matter.
According to Nintendo's own financial statements (source): "As a result [of the ASBJ accounting standard], at the end of the consolidated fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, inventories and other current liabilities increased by 36,559 million yen."
Note that it was only 36,559 million yen—shared between inventories and other current liabilities—against an increase of 117,366 million yen in inventories alone. Also, if I understand the accounting change correctly, the impact may fall mostly on the finished goods not raw materials.
Furukawa literally stated that Nintendo is working with ninjas to deal with the recent leaks from China. Uncles beware!