Margaret is the manager of a medium-size company. A few years ago, Margaret persuaded the owner to base a part of her compensation on the net income of the company. Each December she estimates year-end financial figures in anticipation of the bonus she will receive. If the bonus is not as high as she would like, she offers several recommendations to the accountant for year-end adjustments. One of her favorite recommendations is for the controller to reduce the estimate of doubtful accounts. What type of internal control(s) might be useful for this company in overseeing the manager's recommendation for accounting changes?

June Xu is a registered nurse who earns $3,250 per month after taxes. She has been reviewing her savings strategies and current banking arrangements to determine if she should make any changes. June has a regular checking account that charges her a flat fee per month, writes an average of 18 checks a month, and carries an average balance of $795 (although it has fallen below $750 during 3 months of the past year). Her only other account is a money market deposit account with a balance of $4,250. She tries to make regular monthly deposits of $50–$100 into her money market account but has done so only about every other month. Of the many checking accounts June’s bank offers, here are the three that best suit her needs.• Regular checking, per-item plan: Service charge of $3 per month plus 35 cents per check.• Regular checking, flat-fee plan (the one June currently has): Monthly fee of $7 regardless of how many checks written. With either of these regular checking accounts, she can avoid…

Helen Hernandez, president of Double H Enterprises, applied for a $175,000 loan from Great Nations Bank. The bank requested financial statements as a basis for granting the loan. Helen instructed her accountant to provide the bank with a balance sheet, but to omit the other financial statements because her business incurred a net loss last year.   Helen contends that as the owner of the business, it is her right to withhold certain financial statements from the bank.  Do you agree with Helen? Why or why not?  What type of information would banks require from a loan applicant and why would the loan officer request this information?

You are an assistant in the accounting department of Hasher Electronics, a small electronicsretailer. Hasher has a loan that requires the company to maintain a minimum cash balance of$125,000, as reported on its year-end balance sheet. Although Hasher has struggled in recent years,as of yesterday it looked as though Hasher would be able to meet this requirement. The cash balance in Hasher’s general ledger was $130,000 and the company’s credit manager was expecting toreceive a $30,000 electronic funds transfer that day on account from your biggest customer. Yourdepartment supervisor had been worried about meeting the loan requirement, so she had delayedmaking payments to Hasher’s suppliers for several days. But in anticipation of receiving the EFT,she decided yesterday to issue checks to suppliers totaling $15,000.It is now the last day of the fiscal year and your supervisor approaches you with a problem.Your big customer had backed out at the last minute, indicating it had “some…

Margaret is the manager of a medium-size company. A few years ago, Margaret persuaded the owner to base a part of her compensation on the net income of the company. Each December she estimates year-end financial figures in anticipation of the bonus she will receive. If the bonus is not as high as she would like, she offers several recommendations to the accountant for year-end adjustments. One of her favorite recommendations is for the controller to reduce the estimate of doubtful accounts. What effect does lowering the estimate for doubtful accounts have on the income statement and balance sheet?

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…

Your client is preparing financial statements to show the bank. You know that he has incurred a refrigeration repair expense during the month, but you see no such expense on the books. When you question the client, he tells you that he has not yet paid the 1,255 bill. Your client is on the accrual basis of accounting. He does not want the refrigeration repair expense on the books as of the end of the month because he wants his profits to look good for the bank. Is your client behaving ethically by suggesting that the refrigeration repair expense not be booked until the 1,255 is paid? Are you behaving ethically if you agree to the clients request? What principle is involved here?

Margaret is the manager of a medium-sized company. A few years ago, Margaret persuaded the owner to base a part of her compensation on the net income of the company. Each December she estimates year-end financial figures in anticipation of the bonus she will receive. If the bonus is not as high as she would like, she offers several recommendations to the accountant for year-end adjustments. One of her favorite recommendations is for the controller to reduce the estimate of doubtful accounts. What effect does lowering the estimate for doubtful accounts have on the income statement and balance sheet? What type of internal control(s) might be useful for this company in overseeing the manager's recommendation for accounting changes?

Several years ago, your brother opened Niagara Appliance Repairs. He made a small initial investment and added money from his personal bank account as needed. He withdrew money for living expenses at irregular intervals. As the business grew, he hired an assistant. He is now considering adding more employees, purchasing addi- tional service trucks, and purchasing the building he now rents. To secure funds for the expansion, your brother submitted a loan application to the bank and included the most recent financial statements (shown below) prepared from accounts maintained by a part-time bookkeeper. Indicate the accounts that might need to be adjusted before an accurate set of finan- cial statements can be prepared. c. Why did the loan officer ask your brother whether he used the accrual basis of accounting for revenues and expenses? Why would it have been important to use this method?