Composing powerful paragraphs is essential when striving for clear communication. Familiarize yourself with basic paragraph elements, various paragraph patterns, and strategies for building coherence.

Use the following paragraphs to answer the questions that follow.

Paragraph A: Last week, three of our Xcite executives closed a lucrative merger deal with Editionplus. The merger will add more than 500 accounts to our business and will increase our profits by 39 percent in less than a year. Additionally, the executives met with several Editionplus product designers and agreed on three new computer prototypes that we will produce during the next five years. This means we will expand our business to both Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Paragraph B: Employee reaction has been mixed about our recent plans to expand to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Many Xcite employees are concerned that the Los Angeles site will not have the same relaxed corporate environment as the current site. However, this is not the case: The relaxed corporate environment at the San Francisco site will be replicated in Los Angeles. The culture we have developed works for the company and our employees, and we don't plan to change it. Human resources executives are already interviewing San Francisco employees so they can capture and replicate the culture with ease.

Paragraph C: The leadership at the Xcite San Francisco site has been phenomenal during the last ten years. Everyone in senior-level positions has worked his or her way up the corporate ladder and has contributed greatly to the company's success. This team has increased our profits by 6 percent, expanded office space, hired additional IT support, and strengthened our IT infrastructure. These are just a few of this leadership team's many accomplishments. In the next two months, a new leadership team will be formed for the Los Angeles site. This team will consist of transferred employees from the San Francisco site. We will be offering many of you a chance to be part of this move. Additional training will be required for all who are transferring, and moving costs will not be covered. Xcite looks forward to opening another location with excellent products, high profits, and 100 percent employee and customer satisfaction.

Required:
1. Which paragraph or paragraphs use the pivoting approach?

a. A, C
b. B
c. A

2. What is the main idea of Paragraph A?

Answer:

1. Which paragraph or paragraphs use the pivoting approach?

Pivoting writing uses the words even though, however, but, in spite off, etc., to pivot back to the main idea of the paragraph. In paragraph B, it starts talking about employee concerns about a bad corporate environment in the new offices (in Los Angeles or Las Vegas), and then it assures that this will not happen. It affirms that the company is taking care of the issue and the corporate environment in LA will be the same as in San Francisco.

2. What is the main idea of Paragraph A?

If informs the reader that the company just closed a merger with Editionplus and that soon profits should increase, new products will developed and the company will grow.

O’Hara Associates sells golf clubs, and with each sale of a full set of clubs provides complementary club-fitting services. A full set of clubs with the fitting services sells for $1,400. O’Hara estimates that it incurs $50 of staff compensation and other costs to provide the fitting services, and normally earns 20% over cost on similar services. Assuming that the golf clubs and the club-fitting services are separate performance obligations, estimate the stand-alone selling price of the club-fitting services using the expected cost plus margin approach.

Based on the preceding information, which of the following is an consolidating entry needed to prepare a full set of consolidated financial statements at December 31, 20X8:

A. Common Stock 200,000
Retained Earnings 150,000
Income from Tester Co. 40,000
Dividends declared 10,000
Investment in Tester Co. 285,000
NCI in NA of Tester Co. 95,000

B. Depreciation Expense 5,000
Income from Tester Co. 4,000
NCI in NI of Tester Co. 1,000

C. Common Stock 200,000
Retained Earnings 150,000
Income from Tester Co. 30,000
NCI in NI of Tester Co. 10,000
Dividends declared 10,000
Investment in Tester Co. 285,000
NCI in NA of Tester Co. 95,000

D. Patents 50,000
Accumulated Depreciation 10,000
Investment in Tester Co. 30,000
NCI in NA of Tester Co. 10,000

FlanCrest Enterprises is a mid-sized auto supply company that manufactures electronic components for cars. It has approximately 200 employees, with about 150 working on the production line. Its primary customer is Widespread Motors, a large international auto manufacturer. Widespread Motors primarily sells their cars based on price, aiming to make the prices as low as possible in any particular market segment. The cars may not have as many features, but still operate and cost less than those of their competitors. FlanCrest, under the direction of Widespread, has been asked to reduce the price of its electronic components for the next order due to competitive pressure in the market for Widespread's best-selling car. To cut its prices and keep its biggest customer, FlanCrest announces that they will be eliminating the popular community college tuition reimbursement program and eliminating all overtime for production workers.
Which of the below choices most accurately describes the new HR strategy at FlanCrest Enterprises?
a. Commitment, because they are demonstrating commitment to the development of their workforce
b. Control, because they are attempting to control employees within the workplace
c. Commitment, because they are demonstrating commitment to their key customers
d. Control, because they are attempting to minimize labor costs

You have just been hired as a financial analyst for Barrington Industries. Unfortunately, company headquarters (where all of the firm's records are kept) has been destroyed by fire. So, your first job will be to recreate the firm's cash flow statement for the year just ended. The firm had $100,000 in the bank at the end of the prior year, and its working capital accounts except cash remained constant during the year. It earned $5 million in net income during the year but paid $750,000 in dividends to common shareholders. Throughout the year, the firm purchased $5.4 million of machinery that was needed for a new project. You have just spoken to the firm's accountants and learned that annual depreciation expense for the year is $450,000; however, the purchase price for the machinery represents additions to property, plant, and equipment before depreciation. Finally, you have determined that the only financing done by the firm was to issue long-term debt of $1 million at a 5% interest rate. The data has been collected in the Microsoft Excel Online file below. Open the spreadsheet and perform the required analysis to answer the question below.
What was the firm's end-of-year cash balance? Recreate the firm's cash flow statement to arrive at your answer. Write out your answer completely. For example, 5 million should be entered as 5,000,000. Round your answer to the nearest dollar, if necessary.

The following information is available for Mergenthaler Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2022:

Collection of principal on long-term loan to a supplier $16,000
Acquisition of equipment for cash 10,000
Proceeds from the sale of long-term investment at book value 22,000
Issuance of common stock for cash 20,000
Depreciation expense 25,000
Redemption of bonds payable at carrying (book) value 34,000
Payment of cash dividends 6,000
Net income 30,000
Purchase of land by issuing bonds payable 40,000

In addition, the following information is available from the comparative balance sheet for Mergenthaler at the end of 2022 and 2021:

2021 2022
Cash $148,000 $91,000
Accounts receivable (net) 25,000 15,000
Prepaid insurance 19,000 13,000
Total current assets $192,000 $119,000
Accounts payable $30,000 $19,000
Salaries and wages payable 6,000 7,000
Total current liabilities $36,000 $26,000

Required:
Prepare Mergenthaler's statement of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2014, using the indirect method.

Porter theorizes that the four attributes in his diamond model may promote or impede the creation of competitive advantage. Factor endowments are a nation's position in factors of production such as skilled labor or infrastructure necessary to compete in a given industry. Demand conditions are the nature of home demand for the industry's product or service. Related and supporting industries are the presence or absence of supplier industries and related industries that are internationally competitive. Firm strategy, structure, and rivalry are the conditions governing how companies are created, organized, and managed and the nature of domestic rivalry.

Required:
What is the most appropriate attribute of national competive advaritage from Porter's theory?

Lilla sees a search ad on her mobile phone for a restaurant. A button on the ad allows Jessica to click on the button and call the restaurant. This is a

Triec, Inc., is a small electrical contracting company in Springfield, Ohio, owned by its executives Yeazell, Jones, and Heaton. Employees contacted the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which began an organizing drive, and 6 of the 11 employees in the bargaining unit signed authorization cards. The company declined to recognize the union, which petitioned the NLRB to schedule an election. The company then granted several new benefits for all workers, including higher wages, paid vacations, and other measures. When the election was held, only 2 of the 11 bargaining unit members voted for the union. Did the company violate the NLRA?

Below is the Retained Earnings account for the year 2020 for Swifty Corp. Retained earnings, January 1, 2020 $261,300 Add:_______.
Gain on sale of investments (net of tax) $44,900
Net income 88,200
Refund on litigation with government, related to the year 2017 (net of tax) 25,300
Recognition of income earned in 2019, but omitted from income statement in that year (net of tax) 29,100 187,500 448,800
Deduct:
Loss on discontinued operations (net of tax) 38,700
Write-off of goodwill (net of tax) 63,700
Cumulative effect on income of prior years in changing from LIFO to FIFO inventory valuation in 2020 (net of tax) 26,900
Cash dividends declared 35,700 165,000
Retained earnings, December 31, 2020 $283,800
Prepare a corrected retained earnings statement. Waterway Corp. normally sells investments of the type mentioned above. FIFO inventory was used in 2020 to compute net income. (List items that increase adjusted retained earnings first.)

The Dean of Admissions at Pace University is considering a survey of high school seniors in order to design better promotional materials for Pace. Discuss the issues to be considered, the different methods of conducting this survey, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Pooling has been used for a long time by businesses as a way to reduce risk. Imagine that years ago a small paint factory employed 200 people, each with an annual salary of $600/year. The factory owner knew from experience that 4 percent of workers were being injured each year, becoming unable to work. The factory owner decided to set up a fund to pay injured workers three months of salary to help their families and build good will with employees. The owner did not contribute to the injury fund. The workers themselves contributed a fixed amount each year to fund the plan. Answer the following questions (1 point each):_____.
1. How much did the owner need to collect from employees in total to fully fund the plan each year?
2. How much did each employee have to contribute each year to fully fund the plan?
3. What percentage of salary did each employee contribute to have an injury fund like this?

Three different companies each purchased trucks on January 1, 2018, for $76,000. Each truck was expected to last four years or 250,000 miles. Salvage value was estimated to be $6,000. All three trucks were driven 81,000 miles in 2018, 55,000 miles in 2019, 46,000 miles in 2020, and 71,000 miles in 2021. Each of the three companies earned $65,000 of cash revenue during each of the four years. Company A uses straight-line depreciation, company B uses double-declining-balance depreciation, and company C uses units-of-production depreciation. Answer each of the following questions. Ignore the effects of income taxes.

Required:
a. Calculate the net income for 2021?
b. Which company will report the lowest amount of net income for 2021?
c. Calculate the book value on the December 31, 2020, balance sheet?
d. Which company will report the highest book value on the December 31, 2020, balance sheet?
e. Calculate the retained earnings on the December 31, 2021, balance sheet?
f. Which company will report the highest amount of retained earnings on the December 31, 2021, balance sheet?

Larkspur Incorporated factored $124,300 of accounts receivable with Cullumber Factors Inc. on a without-recourse basis. Cullumber assesses a 2% finance charge of the amount of accounts receivable and retains an amount equal to 5% of accounts receivable for possible adjustments.

Required:
Prepare the journal entry for Larkspur Incorporated and Cullumber Factors to record the factoring of the accounts receivable to Cullumber.

Lipscomb Corporation is estimating its WACC. Its target capital structure is 20 percent debt, 20 percent preferred stock, and 60 percent common equity. Its bonds have a 12 percent coupon, paid semiannually, a current maturity of 20 years, and sell for 1,000 USD. The firm could sell, at par, 100 USD preferred stock which pays a 12 percent annual dividend, but flotation costs of 5 percent would be incurred. Libscomb is a constant-growth firm which just paid a dividend of $2.00, sells for 27.00 USD per share, and has a growth rate of 8 percent. The firm's marginal tax rate is 40.

Required:
a. What is Rollins' cost of common stock using the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium approach?
b. What is Rollins' WACC?

Carmel Corporation is considering the purchase of a machine costing $38,000 with a 4-year useful life and no salvage value. Carmel uses straight-line depreciation and assumes that the annual cash inflow from the machine will be received uniformly throughout each year. In calculating the accounting rate of return, what is Carmel's average investment?

Sherrie, a member, performs various bookkeeping functions for her very small closely held clients including posting cash receipts and disbursements to the client's general ledger. The client provides Sherrie with copies of check stubs and deposit slips where the client has provided account codes that Sherrie merely records in the general ledger. In addition, on a monthly basis, Sherrie calculates adjusting journal entries for depreciation, amortization, and tax accruals and posts these entries to the client's general ledger. Which of the following statements is true regarding Sherrie's independence with regard to these bookkeeping clients?

a. Sherrie's posting of client coded cash receipts and disbursements does not impair independence.
b. Sherrie's posting of adjusting journal entries does not impair independence whether or not she discusses them withthe client because these are routine accounting entries that small clients do not understand.
c. Neither of the described functions would impair independence under any circumstances.
d. None of the above statements is true.

Parent Inc acquired 90% of Sub Inc on January 1, 20X8. Parent paid 50% of the acquisition price by cash and fund the rest with a notes payable. The book value of Sub’s individual assets and liabilities approximated their acquisition-date fair values. On the date of acquisition, Sub reported the following:

Cash and Receivables $116,000
Accounts Payable 531,000
Inventory 331,000
Buildings & Equipment (net) 621,000
Common Stock 585,000
Land 748,000
Retained Earnings 700,000
Total $1,816,000
Total 1,816,000

During the year Sub reported $800,000 in net income and declared $432,000 in dividends. Parent reported $506,000 in net income and declared $196,000 in dividends. Parent accounts for their investment using the equity method.

Required:
a. What journal entry will Parent make on the date of acquisition to record the investment in Son Inc.?
b. If Parent were to prepare a consolidated balance sheet on the acquisition date (January 31, 20X2), what is the basic consolidation entry Parent would use in the consolidation worksheet?
c. What is Parent’s balance in "Investment in Son Inc." prior to consolidation on December 31, 20X2?
d. What is the basic consolidation entry Parent would use in the consolidation worksheet on December 31, 20X2?

Pitt Enterprises manufactures jeans. All materials are introduced at the beginning of the manufacturing process in the Cutting Department. Conversion costs are incurred uniformly throughout the manufacturing process. As the cutting of material is completed, the pieces are immediately transferred to the Sewing Department. Information for the Cutting Department for the month of May follows.

Work in Process, May 1 (54,000 units, 100% complete for direct materials, 35% complete with respect to conversion costs; includes $78,500 of direct material cost; $42,050 of conversion costs).

Units started in May 233,000
Units completed in May 208,000

Work in Process, May 31 (79,000 units, 100% complete for direct materials; 15% complete for conversion costs).

Costs incurred in May

Direct materials $391,440
Conversion costs $401,900

Required:
If Pitt Enterprises uses the FIFO method of process costing, compute the cost per equivalent unit for direct materials and conversion costs respectively for May.

Post the journal entries to the​ T-accounts, using transaction dates as posting references in the ledger accounts.

Jul.
1. Yardley contributed $68,000 cash to the business in exchange for common stock.
5. Paid monthly rent on medical equipment, $510.
9. Paid $16,000 cash to purchase land to be used in operations.
10. Purchased office supplies on account, $1 ,600.
19. Borrowed $26,000 from the bank for business use.
22. Paid $1 , 100 on account.
28. The business received a bill for advertising in the daily newspaper to be paid in August, $250.
31. Revenues earned during the month included $6,300 cash and $5,300 on account.
31. Paid employees' salaries $1 ,900, office rent $1 ,400, and utilities $600. Record as a compound entry.
31. The business received $1 ,340 for medical screening services to be performed next month.
31. Paid cash dividends of $6,900.

Which of these is a way that politicians in the United States attempt to influence the media?

Use the following information to prepare the September cash budget for PTO Co. The following information relates to expected cash receipts and cash payments for the month ended September 30.

a. Beginning cash balance, September 1, $41,000.
b. Budgeted cash receipts from sales in September, $258,000.
c. Raw materials are purchased on account. Purchase amounts are August (actual), $72,000, and September (budgeted), $108,000. Payments for direct materials are made as follows: 70% in the month of purchase and 30% in the month following purchase.
d. Budgeted cash payments for direct labor in September, $30,000.
e. Budgeted depreciation expense for September, $3,800.
f. Other cash expenses budgeted for September, $59,000.
g. Accrued income taxes payable in September, $10,800.
h. Bank loan interest payable in September, $1,700.

Skidmore Music Company had the following transactions in March:
a. Sold instruments to customers for $16, 700, received $10, 700 in cash and the rest on account. The cost of the instruments was $7, 100.
b. Purchased $4, 900 of new instruments inventory; paid $1, 700 in cash and owed the rest on account.
c. Paid $720 in wages for the month.
d. Received $3, 100 from customers as deposits on orders of new instruments to be sold to the customers in April.
e. Received a $280 bill for March utilities that will be paid in April.
Required:
Complete the following statements:
1. Cash basis Income Statement
2. Accrual basis Income Statement

Ken is 63 years old and unmarried. He retired at age 55 when he sold his business, Understock.com. Though Ken is retired, he is still very active. Ken reported the following financial information this year. Assume Ken files as a single taxpayer.
a. Ken won $1,200 in an illegal game of poker (the game was played in Utah, where gambling is illegal).
b. Ken sold 1,000 shares of stock for $32 a share. He inherited the stock two years ago. His tax basis (or investment) in the stock was $31 per share.
c. Ken received $25,000 from an annuity he purchased eight years ago. He purchased the annuity, to be paid annually for 20 years, for $210,000.
d. Ken received $13,000 in disability benefits for the year. He purchased the disability insurance policy last year.
e. Ken decided to go back to school to learn about European history. He received a $500 cash scholarship to attend. He used $300 to pay for his books and tuition, and he applied the rest toward his new car payment.
f. Ken's son, Mike, instructed his employer to make half of his final paycheck of the year payable to Ken. Ken received the check on December 30 in the amount of $1,100.
g. Ken received a $610 refund of the $3,600 in state income taxes his employer withheld from his pay last year. Ken claimed $6,250 in itemized deductions last year (the standard deduction for a single filer was $6,200).
h. Ken received $30,000 of interest from corporate bonds and money market accounts.
Determine Ken's gross income

For a program to be successful, readiness for training should be assessed on two dimensions: employee characteristics and work environment. The employee characteristics that are relevant to training are the ability to learn the subject matter, attitudes toward training, and motivation to learn. Even if these are present, however, training will not be effective unless there is a positive work environment—an environment that encourages learning and eliminates obstacles for trainee success.

An important characteristic of employee readiness is having basic learning skills, especially cognitive ability that includes using written and spoken language, solving math problems, and using logic to solve problems. If employees lack certain basic skills, they may have to attend some remedial classes before participating in job-related training. Seeing potential benefits from training programs may increase employee motivation to participate. Readiness for training also depends on work environment characteristics called situational constraints and social support. Constraints can include the limits of training's effectiveness from within the organization, such as lack of money or lack of time for training and practicing. Social support refers to the ways that the organization encourages training by expressing positive attitudes toward its training programs. The goal of this activity is to evaluate employee readiness for training.

Read each statement, then select the appropriate category

1. When new employees arrive on the sales floor after training at Hamilton Department Store, experienced employees have a tendency. Forget what you learned. This is how we really do it.
2. Time and again, Brooke's employees complained that the statistical quality control training was too difficult to be useful.
3. As much as she would like to. Elizabeth really doesn't think top management is going to allocate enough money to train everyone on the new software this year.
4. Although Jane really wanted to participate in the diversity training program, she knew it was impossible to get away from the office for three days in order to participate.
5. Ed was excited to hear about the new technical training program, but disappointed when he heard his boss say that he really didn't think the training was the time and effort

a. Social Support
b. Situational Constraints
c. Employee Readiness

Hussein got a call yesterday from First Bank, the company that issued his credit card inquiring about an $105.00 charge made in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Upon learning that Hussein was in Detroit and had not made this purchase, the bank quickly took steps to cancel the card and issue a new one. Given the circumstances that Hussein's credit card number had an illegal transaction, he may also want to:____________.
A) check his computer's firewall to make sure it's working.
B) cancel his account and eliminate credit cards from his life.
C) change his passwords and store them in a password manager.
D) diversify his spending habits by using one of several credit cards when making purchases.

On January 1, 2021, Jasperse Corporation leased equipment under a finance lease designed to earn the lessor a 10% rate of return for providing long-term financing. The lease agreement specified ten annual payments of $90,000 beginning January 1, and each December 31 thereafter through 2029. A 10-year service agreement was scheduled to provide maintenance of the equipment as required for a fee of $5,000 per year. Insurance premiums of $4,000 annually are related to the equipment. Both amounts were to be paid by the lessor and lease payments reflect both expenditures (FV of $1, PV of $1, FVA of $1, PVA of $1, FVAD of $1 and PVAD of $1) (Use appropriate factor(s) from the tables provided.)
At what amount will Jasperse record a right-of-use asset?
PV factors based on
Table or Calculator function: PVAD of $1
Lease Payment
n = 10
i = 12%
Right-of-use asset

Kim is trying to decide whether she can afford a loan she needs in order to go to chiropractic school. Right now Kim is living at home and works in a shoe store, earning a gross income of $1,760 per month. Her employer deducts $199 for taxes from her monthly pay. Kim also pays $189 on several credit card debts each month. The loan she needs for chiropractic school will cost an additional $172 per month. Help Kim make her decision by calculating her debt payments-to-income ratio with and without the college loan.

Required:
a. Carl’s house payment is $1,640 per month and his car payment is $482 per month. If Carl's take-home pay is $3,250 per month, what percentage does Carl spend on his home and car?
b. Suppose that your monthly net income is $2,850. Your monthly debt payments include your student loan payment and a gas credit card. They total $1,140. What is your debt payments-to-income ratio?

The rule of 70 indicates that a 6% annual increase in the level of real GDP would lead to the output doubling in approximately _____ years.

Because there isn't one single measure of inflation, the government and researchers use a variety of methods to get the most balanced picture of how prices fluctuate in the economy. Two of the most commonly used price indexes are the consumer price index (CPI) and the GDP deflator.

The GDP deflator for this year is calculated by dividing the____________________ using by_____________________________ the using___________ and multiplying by 100. However, the CPI reflects only the prices of all goods and services .

Indicate whether each scenario will affect the GDP deflator or the CPI for the United States.

a. A decrease in the price of a Chinese-made car that is popular among U.S. consumers.
b. An increase in the price of a Waterman Industries deep-water reel, which is a commercial fishing product used for deep-sea fishing, made in the U.S., but not bought by U.S. consumers.

An internal control system consists of the policies and procedures managers use to protect assets, ensure reliable accounting, promote efficient operations, and uphold company policies. It can prevent avoidable losses and help managers both plan operations and monitor company and human performance. Principles of good internal control include establishing responsibilities, maintaining adequate records, insuring assets and bonding employees, separating recordkeeping from custody of assets, dividing responsibilities for related transactions, applying technological controls, and performing regular independent reviews.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires each of the following: (You may select more than one answer. Single click the box with the question mark to produce a check mark for a correct answer and double click the box with the question mark to empty the box for a wrong answer. Any boxes left with a question mark willl be automatically graded as incorrect.)
An effective internal control
Light penalties for violators
Auditors must evaluate internal controls
Auditor's work overseen by Public Accounting Board