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Picasso Company is a wholesale distributor of packaging equipment and supplies. The company’s sales have averaged about \(900,000 annually for the 3-year period 2015–2017. The firm’s total assets at the end of 2017 amounted to \)850,000.

The president of Picasso Company has asked the controller to prepare a report that summarizes the financial aspects of the company’s operations for the past 3 years. This report will be presented to the board of directors at their next meeting.

In addition to comparative financial statements, the controller has decided to present a number of relevant financial ratios which can assist in the identification and interpretation of trends. At the request of the controller, the accounting staff has calculated the following ratios for the 3-year period 2015–2017.

2015

2016

2017

Current ratio

1.80

1.89

1.96

Acid-test (quick) ratio

1.04

0.99

0.87

Accounts receivable turnover

8.75

7.71

6.42

Inventory turnover

4.91

4.32

3.42

Debt to assets ratio

51.0%

46.0%

41.0%

Long-term debt to assets ratio

31.0%

27.0%

24.0%

Sales to fixed assets (fixed asset turnover)

1.58

1.69

1.79

Sales as a percent of 2015 sales

1.00

1.03

1.07

Gross margin percentage

36.0%

35.1%

34.6%

Net income to sales

6.9%

7.0%

7.2%

Return on assets

7.7%

7.7%

7.8%

Return on common stockholders’ equity

13.6%

13.1%

12.7%

In preparation of the report, the controller has decided first to examine the financial ratios independent of any other data to determine if the ratios themselves reveal any significant trends over the 3-year period.

Instructions

a) The current ratio is increasing while the acid-test (quick) ratio is decreasing. Using the ratios provided, identify and explain the contributing factor(s) for this apparently divergent trend.

Short Answer

Expert verified

Inventory turnover has decreased considerably during the previous three years, falling from 4.91 to 3.42.

Step by step solution

01

Meaning of Financial Statements

Financial management is the department interior and organization or trade that's concerned with cash flow, profitability, credits, costs, etc. in order to guarantee that the company has the resources essential to realize its trade targets and objectives.

02

Explaining the contributing factors for apparently divergent trend

The acid-test ratio is the current ratio with the subtraction of stock and prepaid costs(by and large inconsequential relative to stock) from current assets. Any disparity in drift between these two ratios would subsequently be subordinate to the inventory account.

Inventory turnover has declined strongly within the three-year period, from 4.91 to 3.42. Amid the same period, deals to settled resources have expanded, and total deals have expanded 7 percent.

The decline within the inventory turnover is subsequently not due to a decline in sales. The clear cause is that venture in stock has expanded at a quicker rate than deals, and this has accounted for the uniqueness between the acid-test and current ratios.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Distinguish between ratio analysis and percentage analysis relative to the interpretation of financial statements. What is the value of these two types of analyses?

Answer each of the questions in the following unrelated situations.

a) The current ratio of a company is 5:1 and its acid-test ratio is 1:1. If the inventories and prepaid items amount to $500,000, what is the amount of current liabilities?

The following statement is an excerpt from the FASB pronouncement related to interim reporting. Interim financial information is essential to provide investors and others with timely information as to the progress of the enterprise. The usefulness of such information rests on the relationship that it has to the annual results of operations. Accordingly, the Board has concluded that each interim period should be viewed primarily as an integral part of an annual period. In general, the results for each interim period should be based on the accounting principles and practices used by an enterprise in the preparation of its latest annual financial statements unless a change in an accounting practice or policy has been adopted in the current year. The Board has concluded, however, that certain accounting principles and practices followed for annual reporting purposes may require modification at interim reporting dates so that the reported results for the interim period may better relate to the results of operations for the annual period.

Instructions

The following six independent cases present how accounting facts might be reported on an individual company’s interim financial reports. For each of these cases, state whether the method proposed to be used for interim reporting would be acceptable under generally accepted accounting principles applicable to interim financial data. Support each answer with a brief explanation.

c) Republic Company wrote inventory down to reflect lower-of-cost-or-market in the first quarter. At year-end, the market exceeds the original acquisition cost of this inventory. Consequently, management plans to write the inventory back up to its original cost as a year-end adjustment.

(Effect of Transactions on Financial Statements and Ratios) The transactions listed below relate to Wainwright Inc. You are to assume that on the date on which each of the transactions occurred, the corporation’s accounts showed only common stock (\(100 par) outstanding, a current ratio of 2.7:1, and a substantial net income for the year to date (before giving effect to the transaction concerned). On that date, the book value per share of stock was \)151.53.

Each numbered transaction on the next page is to be considered completely independent of the others, and its related answer should be based on the effect(s) of that transaction alone. Assume that all numbered transactions occurred during 2018 and that the amount involved in each case is sufficiently material to distort reported net income if improperly included in the determination of net income. Assume further that each transaction was recorded in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and, where applicable, in conformity with the all-inclusive concept of the income statement.

For each of the numbered transactions you are to decide whether it:

  1. Increased the corporation’s 2018 net income.
  2. Decreased the corporation’s 2018 net income.
  3. Increased the corporation’s total retained earnings directly (i.e., not via net income).
  4. Decreased the corporation’s total retained earnings directly.
  5. Increased the corporation’s current ratio.
  6. Decreased the corporation’s current ratio.
  7. Increased each stockholder’s proportionate share of total stockholders’ equity.
  8. Decreased each stockholder’s proportionate share of total stockholders’ equity.
  9. Increased each stockholder’s equity per share of stock (book value).
  10. Decreased each stockholder’s equity per share of stock (book value).
  11. Had none of the foregoing effects.

Instructions

List the numbers 1 through 9. Select as many letters as you deem appropriate to reflect the effect(s) of each transaction as of the date of the transaction by printing beside the transaction number the letter(s) that identifies that transaction’s effect(s).

Transactions

  1. In January, the board directed the write-off of certain patent rights that had suddenly and unexpectedly become worthless.

Identify the segment information that is required to be disclosed by GAAP.

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