Sara Jennings is the controller at the Dalton manufacturing site of Brighton Industries, Inc. As part of her responsibilities, she needs to prepare and submit an annual cost control report to the central office right after the New Year begins. Preferring to be proactive, Jennings decides to finalize a preliminary version of the report before the holiday season, knowing well that some post Christmas adjustments will be necessary. Below is the context leading up to the completion of the preliminary report on December :

Dalton Manufacturing Cost Control Report December  Preliminary Draft Actual Results Flexible Budget Spending Variance Labor

hours  Direct labor  $ $ $ U Power  U Supplies  U Equipment depreciation  U Supervisory salaries  F Insurance  Industrial engineering  F Factory building lease  Total expense  $ $ $  

Upon reviewing the draft, Michael Robertson, the plant manager at Dalton, requested an early look at the figures. Jennings presented the report in Robertson\'s office, which sparked the following conversation: Dialogue: Robertson: Im seeing a lot of red here, Sara. Unfavorable variances nearly across the board except for a couple of areas. Why is there an unfavorable variance in depreciation?\" Jennings: \"Remember the incident with the extruder last month? The damage from the incorrect maintenance was irreparable.\" Robertson: \"Yes, I recall that.\" Jennings: \"Unfortunately, we had to replace it entirely, which bumped up our depreciation unexpectedly.\" Robertson: \"This isn\'t going to sit well. Last year\'s few unfavorable variances already had us under tight scrutiny.\" Jennings: \"And there\'s more bad news. The preliminary figure for the industrial engineering budget item was for outsourcing we did with Carter Engineering. Initially, they quoted us $ but the additional tasks we requested weren\'t covered in the original estimate. The $ you see here accounts for invoices only until December  Their latest bill covered work up until the end of November, and they just wrapped up last week. Laura Carter, from their office, informed me yesterday about a forthcoming final invoice.\" Robertson: \"And how much is that going to set us back?\" Jennings: In total, we\'re looking at a final charge of $ Robertson: \"That\'s a tough pill to swallow.\" Jennings: \"Yes, the extra tasks we commissioned tacked on an additional $ It was necessary work, but it\'s going to hit our variance hard.\" Robertson: \"There\'s no way I can present this to the headquarters. That unfavorable overall variance will have serious repercussions. Maybe we should request Carter Engineering to delay their final bill until the new year? We need that favorable variance on record for now.\" 

Required:

Given Sara Jennings\'s ethical dilemma, what should her course of action be in this scenario? Should she comply with Robertson\'s request to manipulate the timing of the expense recognition, or should she adhere to the principles of accurate and honest financial reporting, regardless of the consequences? You are required to analyze the situation, consider the ethical implications, and propose a course of action for Jennings, substantiating their recommendations with reasoned arguments.