Concept explainers
Ethical Decision Making: A Mini-Case
Assume you work as an assistant accountant in the head office of a DVD movie kiosk business, similar to Outerwall’s Redbox machines. With the popularity of online movie rental operations, your company has struggled to meet its earnings targets for the year. It is important for the company to meet its earnings targets this year because the company is renegotiating a bank loan next month, and the terms of that loan are likely to depend on the company’s reported financial success. Also, the company plans to issue more stock to the public in the upcoming year, to obtain funds for establishing its own presence in the online movie rental business. The chief financial officer (CFO) has approached you with a solution to the earnings dilemma. She proposes that the
Required:
Discuss the CFO’s proposed solution. In your discussion, consider the following questions: Will the change in depreciation affect net income in the current year in the way that the CFO described?
How will it affect net income in the following year? Is the CFO correct when she claims that the change in estimated depreciation is allowed by GAAP? Who relies on the video company’s financial statements when making decisions? Why might their decisions be affected by the CFO’s proposed solution? Is it possible that their decisions would not be affected? What should you do?
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Fundamentals Of Financial Accounting
- Assume that you are the controller of a business that provides legal services to clients. Suppose that the company has had a tough year, so the revenues have been lagging behind, based on previous years standards. What would you do if your boss (the chief executive officer [CEO] of the company) asked to reclassify a transaction to report loan proceeds of $150,000 as if the cash came from service fee revenue from clients instead. Would following the CEOs advice impact the companys accounting equation? How would reclassifying this one transaction change the outcome of the balance sheet, the income statement, and the statement of retained earnings? Would making this reclassification change the perception that users of the financial statements would have of the companys current year success and future year potential? Write a memo, detailing your willingness (or not) to embrace this suggestion, giving reasons behind your decision. Remember to exercise diplomacy, even if you must dissent from the opinion of a supervisor. Note that the challenge of the assignment is to keep your integrity intact, while also keeping your job, if possible.arrow_forwardWhat Would You Do? You are responsible for preparing all of the journal entries for Regional Financial Services. You have correctly prepared the following entry for financial services provided on December 15: Your boss has asked you to change the date from December 15 to January 15 so that the business’s profit, and thus taxes, would be lower. Are you allowed to do this? What is your response to your boss? How should you handle this situation?arrow_forwardIdentify factors in an ethical decision. Jim Sandrolini is an accountant for a local manufacturing company, Jim's good friend, Dan Carruthers, has been operating a retail sporting goods store for about a year. The store has been moderately successful, and Dan needs a bank loan to help finance the next stage of his store's growth. He has asked Jim to prepare financial statements that the banker will use to help decide whether to grant the loan. Dan has proposed that the fee he will pay for Jim's accounting work should be contingent upon his receiving the loan. Required: What factors should Jim consider when making his decision about whether to prepare the financial statements for Dan's store?arrow_forward
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- Katie Murphy is preparing for a meeting with her banker. Her business is finishing its fourth year of operations. In the first year, it had negative cash flows from operations. In the second and third years, cash flows from operations were positive. However, inventory costs rose significantly in Year 4, and cash flows from operations will probably be down 25%. Murphy wants to secure a line of credit from her banker as a financing buffer. From experience, she knows the banker will scrutinize operating cash flows for Years 1 through 4 and will want a projected number for Year 5. Murphy knows that a steady progression upward in operating cash flows for Years 1 through 4 will help her case. She decides to use her discretion as owner and considers several business actions that will turn her operating cash flow in Year 4 from a decrease to an increase. Required 1. Identify two business actions Murphy might take to improve cash flows from operations. 2. Comment on the ethics and possible…arrow_forwardYou are a accountant, working for a small firm of accountants and report to the Accounts’ Manager. One of the trainees recently joined your company, and the Accounts’ Director has asked her to provide information on her previous company’s client base. This information would then be used to attract new clients and encourage them to change their accountants and move to your firm. This will increase the revenue of the firm. What advise will you give the trainees? Inform the trainee that she should keep confidentiality and should not reveal any information about her previous clients. Advise the trainee to contact her old employer and obtain permission to use the information on their client base. Advise the trainee that she should be loyal towards her new employer and should therefore provide the information to the Accounts’ Director as requested. Inform the trainee that revealing such information is illegal, and that it is a crime under the regulationsarrow_forwardSuppose that you have been given a summer job as an intern at Issac Aircams, a company that manufactures sophisticated spy cameras for remote-controlled military reconnaissance aircraft. The company, which is privately owned, has approached a bank for a loan to help finance its growth. The bank requires financial statements before approving the loan. Required: Classify each cost listed below as either a product cost or a period cost for the purpose of preparing financial statements for the bank. 8 00-45-49 Costs Product Cost / Period Cost 1. Depreciation on salespersons' cars. 2. Rent on equipment used in the factory. 3 lubricants used for machine maintenance Salaries of personnel who work in the finished goods warehouse 5. Soap and paper towels used by factory workers at the end of a shift. 6. Factory supervisors' salaries. 7. Heat, water, and power consumed in the factory. 8. Materials used for boxing products for shipment overseas. (Units are not normally boxed.) 9. Advertising…arrow_forward
- ACME Company sells computer components and plans on borrowing some money to expand. After reading a lot about earnings management, Bill, the owner of ACME, has decided he should try to accelerate some sales to improve his financial statement ratios. He has called his best customers and asked them to make their usual January purchases by December 31. Bill told the customers he would allow them, until the end of February, to pay for the purchases, just as if they had made their purchases in January. •Explain if you think there are ethical implications of Bill's actions. Which ratios will be affected, and how, by accelerating these sales?arrow_forwardShanice works in finance for a small manufacturing company and is working on next year’s budget. She has been doing research to compare the cost of outsourcing some upcoming jobs versus the cost of purchasing the equipment to keep the jobs in-house. In what step in financial planning is Shanice involved? Multiple Choice developing financial statements for outside investors forecasting short-term financial needs establishing financial controls and tax policy forecasting long-term financial needsarrow_forwardDorothy Koehl recently leased space in the Southside Mall and opened a new business, Koehl's Doll Shop. Business has been good, but Koehl frequently runs out of cash. This has necessitated late payment on certain orders, which is beginning to cause a problem with suppliers. Koehl plans to borrow from the bank to have cash ready as needed, but first she needs a forecast of how much she should borrow. Accordingly, she has asked you to prepare a cash budget for the critical period around Christmas, when needs will be especially high. Sales are made on a cash basis only. Koehl's purchases must be paid for during the following month. Koehl pays herself a salary of $5,000 per month, and the rent is $1,700 per month. In addition, she must make a tax payment of $11,000 in December. The current cash on hand (on December 1) is $500, but Koehl has agreed to maintain an average bank balance of $5,500 - this is her target cash balance. (Disregard the amount in the cash register, which is…arrow_forward
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