Question & Answer

: Identify specific benefits and limitations of planning.

Many critics argue that greed in the mortgage markets caused the credit crisis. Yet many market advocates suggest that greed is good, as the thirst for profits by firms that participate in mortgage markets allows for economic growth. Write a short essay on how regulations can allow for greed while also ensuring proper transparency in the mortgage markets so that another credit crisis does not occur.

Remuneration plan    (LO2, 4, 5) Matahari Ltd manufactures and installs renewable energy systems. It has four divisions in Australia: Wind, Thermal Solar, Photo Voltaic (PV) and Installation. The company was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2013. The CEO, William Smith, believes that divisional managers should be given a high degree of autonomy and held accountable for the performance of their divisions. He believes that if the divisions prosper then the company and its shareholders will prosper. Before the beginning of each financial year, William reviews performance and then sets a return-on-investment (ROI) target for each division for the coming year. ROI is defined as the operating profit as a percentage of the book-value of the assets employed. Targets are set in consultation with the respective divisional manager with due regard to the prevailing market conditions. William makes sure that the ROI target is challenging but achievable. Over the past 10 years, the ROI targets have tended to increase slightly each year. Key personnel within each division are awarded a performance bonus, if and only if, the ROI of that division exceeds the target. For the past 7 years, Matahari has been using a bonus and incentive scheme to motivate and reward key personnel. The scheme is based on the distribution of a bonus pool. The size of the bonus pool is 10% of Matahari’s residual income for the year and is capped at $1.5 million per year. The bonus pool is distributed to divisions on the basis of  the ROI achieved by each division. If a division does not reach its target, it does not receive a bonus. If a division achieves its target, it receives a bonus score equal to the division’s actual ROI less the division's target ROI, up to a maximum of 5.00 points. The bonus pool is then distributed according to each division’s score relative to the total bonus score. The bonus awarded to a division is then distributed to key personnel as determined by the divisional manager. William is disappointed that Chloe Lee, the manager of the PV Division, has not taken the opportunity to increase her division’s production capacity. The shareholders are supportive and would be happy to finance the expansion. William recalls that divisional managers have been reluctant to submit investment proposals on several occasions in the past. William has also found himself starting to think more about the suitability of the bonus system and underlying performance measures. A member of William’s business network has suggested that Matahari would benefit from the adoption of a balanced scorecard. William gets nervous when people start talking about non-financial measures; he thinks his focus on a small number of key financial measures has worked well to date and aligns with shareholder interests.            Required (a)   For the year ended 30 June 2019, Matahari’s residual income was $13 939 000. The target and actual ROI’s for each division are given in the Table below. Calculate the bonus awarded to each division by completing the Table below.     (b) State two key strengths of the existing bonus plan. (c) Identify one key weakness of the existing bonus plan and suggest a change that would alleviate the weakness.

: Explain the fundamental characteristics of organizing, including division of labor, chain of command, span of management, and centralization versus decentralization.

Kelly Company had cash receipts from customers in 2014 of $142,000. Cash payments for operating expenses were $97,000. Kelly has determined that at January 1, accounts receivable was $13,000, and prepaid expenses were $17,500. At December 31, accounts receivable was $18,600, and prepaid expenses were $23,200. Compute (a) service revenue and (b) operating expenses.

If we would all like more money, why does the government not print a lot more? Could it not thereby solve the problem of scarcity ‘at a stroke’?

Within the current liabilities section, how do you believe the accounts should be listed? Defend your position.

How should consolidated financial statements be reported this year when statements of individual companies were presented last year?

Winsor Inc. recently purchased Holiday Corp., a large midwestern home painting corporation. One of the terms of the merger was that if Holiday’s income for 2014 was $110,000 or more, 10,000 additional shares would be issued to Holiday’s stockholders in 2015. Holiday’s income for 2013 was $120,000. Instructions (a) Would the contingent shares have to be considered in Winsor’s 2013 earnings per share computations? (b) Assume the same facts, except that the 10,000 shares are contingent on Holiday’s achieving a net income of $130,000 in 2014. Would the contingent shares have to be considered in Winsor’s earnings per share computations for 2013?

A perfectly competitive firm faces a price of £14 per unit. It has the following short-run cost schedule: Output 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 TC (£) 10 18 24 30 38 50 66 91 120 (a)  Copy the table and put in additional rows for average cost and marginal cost at each level of output. (Enter the figures for marginal cost in the space between each column.) (b)  Plot AC, MC and MR on a diagram. (c)  Mark the profit-maximising output. (d)  How much (supernormal) profit is made at this output? (e)  What would happen to the price in the long run if this firm were typical of others in the industry? Why would we need to know information about long-run average cost in order to give a precise answer to this question?

What are the disadvantages and drawbacks of soldering?

1.       You have been hired to manage a 20-person staff for Nightlight Travels, a travel agency in Las Vegas. For a full year, sales have been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and staff morale has plummeted as key employees left for positions in more secure industries. The few remaining key customer relationships have been damaged by the sloppy and unprofessional work habits of the remaining staff members. Your first responsibility as a new manager is to create next year’s budget for all planned expenditures. But first you must decide if you will adopt a hierarchical approach or a decentralized approach to control. Which would you choose, and why?

What are the principal material handling functions in manufacturing?

ROI; residual income; breakeven point; contribution margin Mirror Industries laminating division, BrightShine, incurred the following costs and expenses in the last period.       During the period, BrightShine produced 300 000 units of industrial photo prints, which were sold for $2 each. Mirrors’s investment in BrightShine was $500 000 and $700 000 at the beginning and ending of the year, respectively. BrightShine’s weighted average cost of capital is 15 per cent.   Required (a)        Determine BrightShine’s return on investment for the year. (b)        Compute BrightShine’s residual income (loss) for the year. (c)        How many industrial photo print units did BrightShine have to sell during the year to break even? (d)        What was BrightShine’s contribution margin for the year?

There are 20 correct answers in the following multiple choice questions (some questions have multiple answers that are correct). To attain a perfect score on the quiz, all correct answers must be given. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. Each omitted answer or wrong answer reduces the score by 1 point, and each additional answer beyond the correct number of answers reduces the score by 1 point. Percentage score on the quiz is based on the total number of correct answers. 8.1 Of the three polymer types, which one is the most important commercially: (a) thermoplastics, (b) thermosets, or (c) elastomers? 8.2 Which one of the three polymer types is not normally considered to be a plastic: (a) thermoplastics, (b) thermosets, or (c) elastomers? 8.3 Which one of the three polymer types does not involve cross-linking: (a) thermoplastics, (b) thermosets, or (c) elastomers? 8.4 As the degree of crystallinity in a given polymer increases, the polymer becomes denser and stiffer, and its melting temperature decreases: (a) true or (b) false? 8.5 Which one of the following is the chemical formula for the repeating unit in polyethylene: (a) CH2, (b) C2H4, (c) C3H6, (d) C5H8, or (e) C8H8? 8.6 Degree of polymerization is which one of the following: (a) average number of mers in the molecule chain; (b) proportion of the monomer that has been polymerized; (c) sum of the molecule weights of the mers in the molecule; or (d) none of the above? 8.7 A branched molecular structure is stronger in the solid state and more viscous in the molten state than a linear structure for the same polymer: (a) true or (b) false? 8.8 A copolymer is a mixture of the macromolecules of two different homopolymers: (a) true or (b) false? 8.9 As the temperature of a polymer increases, its density (a) increases, (b) decreases, or (c) remains fairly constant? 8.10 Which of the following plastics has the highest market share: (a) phenolics, (b) polyethylene, (c) polypropylene, (d) polystyrene, or (e) polyvinylchloride? 8.11 Which of the following polymers are normally thermoplastic (four best answers): (a) acrylics, (b) cellulose acetate, (c) nylon, (d) phenolics, (e) polychloroprene, (f) polyesters, (g) polyethylene, (h) polyisoprene, and (i) polyurethane? 8.12 Polystyrene (without plasticizers) is amorphous, transparent, and brittle: (a) true or (b) false? 8.13 The fiber rayon used in textiles is based on which one of the following polymers: (a) cellulose, (b) nylon, (c) polyester, (d) polyethylene, or (e) polypropylene? 8.14 The basic difference between low-density polyethylene and high-density polyethylene is that the latter has a much higher degree of crystallinity: (a) true or (b) false? 8.15 Among the thermosetting polymers, the most widely used commercially is which one of the following: (a) epoxies, (b) phenolics, (c) silicones, or (d) urethanes? 8.16 The chemical formula for polyisoprene in natural rubber is which of the following: (a) CH2, (b) C2H4, (c) C3H6, (d) C5H8, or (e) C8H8? 8.17 The leading commercial synthetic rubber is which one of the following: (a) butyl rubber, (b) isoprene rubber, (c) polybutadiene, (d) polyurethane, (e) styrene-butadiene rubber, or (f) thermoplastic elastomers?

Lenexa State Bank has followed the practice of capitalizing certain marketing costs and amortizing these costs over their expected life. In the current year, the bank determined that the future benefits from these costs were doubtful.Consequently, the bank adopted the policy of expensing these costs as incurred. How should the bank report this accounting change in the comparative financial statements?

Use the information presented for Ottawa Corporation in BE10-14, but assume the machinery is sold for $5,200 instead of $10,500. Prepare journal entries to (a) update depreciation for 2015 and (b) record the sale.

Garcia Corporation purchased a truck by issuing an $80,000, 4-year, zero-interest-bearing note to Equinox Inc. The market rate of interest for obligations of this nature is 10%. Prepare the journal entry to record the purchase of this truck.

{Planning}Tesha works for a company that pays a year-end bonus in January of each defer the bonus income.  Assume Congress recently passed tax legislation that decreases individual tax rates as of next year.  Does this increase or decrease the benefits of the bonus deferral this year?  What if Congress passed legislation that increased tax rates next year?  Should Tesha ask the company to change its policy this year?  What additional information do you need to answer this question?year (instead of December of the preceding year) to allow employees to

What are the two basic methods of accounting for long-term construction contracts? Indicate the circumstances that determine when one or the other of these methods should be used.

What is the name of the process most commonly used to grow single crystal ingots of silicon for semiconductor processing?

In 2013, Grishell Trucking Company negotiated and closed a long-term lease contract for newly constructed truck terminals and freight storage facilities. The buildings were erected to the company’s specifications on land owned by the company. On January 1, 2014, Grishell Trucking Company took possession of the lease properties. On January 1, 2014 and 2015, the company made cash payments of $948,000 that were recorded as rental expenses. Although the terminals have a composite useful life of 40 years, the noncancelable lease runs for 20 years from January 1, 2014, with a bargain-purchase option available upon expiration of the lease. The 20-year lease is effective for the period January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2033. Advance rental payments of $800,000 are payable to the lessor on January 1 of each of the first 10 years of the lease term. Advance rental payments of $320,000 are due on January 1 for each of the last 10 years of the lease. The company has an option to purchase all of these leased facilities for $1 on December 31, 2033. It also must make annual payments to the lessor of $125,000 for property taxes and $23,000 for insurance. The lease was negotiated to assure the lessor a 6% rate of return. Instructions (a) Prepare a schedule to compute for Grishell Trucking Company the present value of the terminal facilities and related obligation at January 1, 2014. (b) Assuming that the present value of terminal facilities and related obligation at January 1, 2014, was $7,600,000, prepare journal entries for Grishell Trucking Company to record the: (1) Cash payment to the lessor on January 1, 2016. (2) Amortization of the cost of the leased properties for 2016 using the straight-line method and assuming a zero salvage value. (3) Accrual of interest expense at December 31, 2016. Selected present value factors are as follows. For an Ordinary Periods Annuity of $1 at 6% For $1 at 6% 1 .943396 .943396 2 1.833393 .889996 8 6.209794 .627412 9 6.801692 .591898 10 7.360087 .558395 19 11.158117 .330513 20 11.469921 .311805

The controller for Clint Eastwood Co. is attempting to determine the amount of cash to be reported on its December 31, 2014, balance sheet. The following information is provided. 1. Commercial savings account of $600,000 and a commercial checking account balance of $900,000 are held at First National Bank of Yojimbo. 2. Money market fund account held at Volonte Co. (a mutual fund organization) permits Eastwood to write checks on this balance, $5,000,000. 3. Travel advances of $180,000 for executive travel for the first quarter of next year (employee to reimburse through salary reduction). 4. A separate cash fund in the amount of $1,500,000 is restricted for the retirement of long-term debt. 5. Petty cash fund of $1,000. 6. An I.O.U. from Marianne Koch, a company customer, in the amount of $190,000. 7. A bank overdraft of $110,000 has occurred at one of the banks the company uses to deposit its cash receipts. At the present time, the company has no deposits at this bank. 8. The company has two certificates of deposit, each totaling $500,000. These CDs have a maturity of 120 days. 9. Eastwood has received a check that is dated January 12, 2015, in the amount of $125,000. 10. Eastwood has agreed to maintain a cash balance of $500,000 at all times at First National Bank of Yojimbo to ensure future credit availability. 11. Eastwood has purchased $2,100,000 of commercial paper of Sergio Leone Co. which is due in 60 days. 12. Currency and coin on hand amounted to $7,700. Instructions (a) Compute the amount of cash to be reported on Eastwood Co.’s balance sheet at December 31, 2014. (b) Indicate the proper reporting for items that are not reported as cash on the December 31, 2014, balance sheet.

Why would a financial institution holding a stock consider buying a put option on that stock rather than simply selling it? (LO4)

ROI, EVA, residual income Senior management at Harriot Industries, an Italian-based fashion house and cosmetics company, have been engaged in a debate around the best key financial measure relevant to evaluate the performance of senior executives and divisional managers. Currently, the performance of senior managers and divisional managers is based on return on investment (ROI), which forms the basis of the bonus payments, provided ROI increases are achieved each year.   The main source of tension seems to be that some of the accounting staff are pushing for the use of economic value added (EVA) or, at the very least, residual income (RI) to be used at both the senior executive and divisional levels.   You have been asked to contribute some views. On a recent visit to the head office of Harriot Industries you were able to access details on a printout from a digital whiteboard that represented a discussion about performance measures and a potential investment project in the Logistics Division. Some of this material is provided below.                                                   Required Using the information provided in the table, demonstrate (perhaps including calculations) the key arguments that might be put forward to support the view that the sole use of return on investment (ROI) may be inappropriate, particularly at the divisional level.