Question & Answer

Oliver Corporation has owned stock of Conrad Corporation since 2011. At December 31, 2014, its balances related to this investment were: Equity Investments $185,000 Fair Value Adjustment (AFS) 34,000 Dr. Unrealized Holding Gain or Loss—Equity 34,000 Cr. On January 1, 2015, Oliver purchased additional stock of Conrad Company for $475,000 and now has significant influence over Conrad. If the equity method had been used in 2011–2014, Oliver’s share of income would have been $33,000 greater than dividends received. Prepare Oliver’s journal entries to record th purchase of the investment and the change to the equity method.

Describe spinning and laddering in the IPO market. How do you think these actions influence the price of a newly issued stock? Who is adversely affected as a result of these actions? (LO3)

A horizontal true centrifugal casting process is used to make aluminum rings with the following dimensions: length = 5 cm, outside diameter = 65 cm, and inside diameter = 60 cm. (a) Determine the rotational speed that will provide a G-factor = 60. (b) Suppose that the ring were made out of steel instead of aluminum. If the rotational speed computed in part (a) were used in the steel casting operation, determine the G-factor and (c) centrifugal force per square meter (Pa) on the mold wall. (d) Would this rotational speed result in a successful operation?

The following data relate to the operation of Kramer Co.’s pension plan in 2015. The pension worksheet for 2014 is provided in P20-10. Service cost $59,000 Actual return on plan assets 32,000 Amortization of prior service cost 28,000 Annual contributions 51,000 Benefi ts paid retirees 27,000 Average service life of all employees 25 years For 2015, Kramer will use the same assumptions as 2014 for the expected rate of returns on plan assets. The settlement rate for 2015 is 10%. Instructions (a) Prepare a pension worksheet for 2015 and accompanying computations and amortization of the loss, if any, in 2015 using the corridor approach. (b) Prepare the journal entries (from the worksheet) to reflect all pension plan transactions and events at December 31. (c) Indicate the pension amounts reported in the financial statements.

Explain how the investment account is affected by investee activities under the equity method.

Benjamin, a new staff accountant for Local Firm CPAs, LLC, takes a CPA review course to help prepare for the CPA exam. Benjamin is not reimbursed for the cost of the course ($1,500), but his firm expects him to take and pass the exam. Use an available tax research service to determine if Benjamin may deduct the cost of the CPA exam course.  Write a memo communicating the results of your research.

Describe the dilemma of securities firms that served as underwriters for Facebook’s IPOs when attempting to satisfy Facebook and the institutional investors that invested in Facebook’s stock. Do you think that those securities firms satisfied Facebook or the investors in the IPO? Explain. (LO3)

Cecil cashed in a Series EE savings bond with a redemption value of $14,000 and an original cost of $9,800. For each of the following independent scenarios, calculate the amount of interest Cecil will include in his gross income assuming he files as a single taxpayer:

This year Lloyd, a single taxpayer, estimates that his tax liability will be $10,000.  Last year, his total tax liability was $15,000.  He estimates that his tax withholding from his employer will be $7,800.   a. Is Lloyd required to increase his withholding or make estimated tax payments this year to avoid the underpayment penalty?  If so, how much?

At December 31, 2014, Suffolk Corporation had an estimated warranty liability of $105,000 for accounting purposes and $0 for tax purposes. (The warranty costs are not deductible until paid.) The effective tax rate is 40%. Compute the amount Suffolk should report as a deferred tax asset at December 31, 2014.

What are the arguments for giving separate accounting recognition to the conversion feature of debentures?

A silicon wafer has a processable area of 35.0 in2. The yield of good chips on this wafer is Ym = 75%. If the defects are all assumed to be point defects, determine the density of point defects using the Bose-Einstein method of estimating yield.

Erin’s basis in her Kiybron Partnership interest is $3,300. Erin receives a distribution of $2,200 cash from Kiybron in complete liquidation of her interest. Kiybron is an equal partnership with the following balance sheet: Assets: Tax Basis FMV Cash $ 2,200 $ 2,200 Stock (investment) 1,100 2,200 Land 6,600 2,200    Totals $ 9,900 $ 6,600 Liabilities and capital: Capital- Erin 3,300 - Carl 3,300 - Grace 3,300   Totals $ 9,900 a. What are the amount and character of Erin’s recognized gain or loss? What is the effect on the partnership assets? b. If Kiybron has a §754 election in place, what is the amount of the special basis adjustment?

Explain why private equity funds use a very high degree of financial leverage, and how this affects their risk and potential return on investment. (LO1)

Using the facts in problem 37, if Campbell earns an additional $15,000 of taxable income, what is her marginal tax rate on this income?  What is her marginal rate if, instead, she had $15,000 of additional deductions?

Recently, your uncle, Carlos Beltran, who knows that you always have your eye out for a profitable investment, has discussed the possibility of your purchasing some corporate bonds. He suggests that you may wish to get in on the “ground floor” of this deal. The bonds being issued by Neville Corp. are 10-year debentures which promise a 40% rate of return. Neville manufactures  novelty/party items. You have told Neville that, unless you can take a look at its financial statements, you would not feel comfortable about such an investment. Believing that this is the chance of a lifetime, Uncle Carlos has procured a copy of Neville’s most recent, unaudited financial statements which are a year old. These statements were prepared by Mrs. Andy Neville. You peruse these statements, and they are quite impressive. The balance sheet showed a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10 and, for the year shown, the company reported net income of $2,424,240. The financial statements are not shown in comparison with amounts from other years. In addition, no significant note disclosures about inventory valuation, depreciation methods, loan agreements, etc. are available. Instructions Write a letter to Uncle Carlos explaining why it would be unwise to base an investment decision on the financial statements that he has provided to you. Be sure to explain why these financial statements are neither relevant nor representationally faithful.

A spot weld was made using an arc-welding process. In a spot-welding operation, two 1/16-in-thick aluminum plates were joined. The melted metal formed a nugget that had a diameter of ¼ in. The operation required the power to be on for 4 sec. Assume the final nugget had the same thickness as the two aluminum plates (1/8 in thick), the heat transfer factor was 0.80 and the melting factor was 0.50. Determine the rate of heat generation that was required at the source to accomplish this weld.

In each of the following independent cases, determine the taxpayer’s filing status and the number of personal and dependency exemptions the taxpayer is allowed to claim. a.Alexandra is a blind widow (spouse died five years ago) who provides a home for her 18-year-old nephew, Newt.Newt’s parents are dead, and so Newt supports himself.Newt’s gross income is $5,000.

Roland Company uses special strapping equipment in its packaging business. The equipment was purchased in January 2013 for $10,000,000 and had an estimated useful life of 8 years with no salvage value. At December 31, 2014, new technology was introduced that would accelerate the obsolescence of Roland’s equipment. Roland’s controller estimates that expected future net cash flows on the equipment will be $6,300,000 and that the fair value of the equipment is $5,600,000. Roland intends to continue using the equipment, but it is estimated that the remaining useful life is 4 years. Roland uses straightline depreciation. Instructions (a) Prepare the journal entry (if any) to record the impairment at December 31, 2014. (b) Prepare any journal entries for the equipment at December 31, 2015. The fair value of the equipment at December 31, 2015, is estimated to be $5,900,000. (c) Repeat the requirements for (a) and (b), assuming that Roland intends to dispose of the equipment and that it has not been disposed of as of December 31, 2015.

Why are historical and international comparisons of deficit and debt measures best presented as proportions of GDP?

Distinguish earned income from unearned income, and provide an example of each.

AMR Corporation (parent company of American Airlines) reported the following for 2011 (in millions). Service cost $366 Interest on P.B.O. 737 Return on plan assets 593 Amortization of prior service cost 13 Amortization of net loss 154 Compute AMR Corporation’s 2011 pension expense.

A solid cube of aluminum with each side = 1.0 m is converted into metallic powders of spherical shape by gas atomization. How much total surface area is added by the process if the diameter of each particle is 100 microns (assume that all particles are the same size)?

What are factors to be considered in estimating the useful alife of an intangible asset?

What is done to record properly a transaction involving the issuance of a non-interest-bearing long-term note in exchange for property?