Chapter 14: Problem 1
Describe comprebensive income. How does it differ from net income?
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Chapter 14: Problem 1
Describe comprebensive income. How does it differ from net income?
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
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Ace Construction Company accounted for all its long-term contracts on a deferred basis; that is, all revenue and expenses were deferred until the completion of the contract when all the costs were known with certainty. Although this is a conservative approach, Ace has been having difficulty with its auditors and with the IRS over this approach. It now desires to shift to a percentage-of-completion method. Assume that only one such contract is to be changed at this time. This contract for 5,000,000 dollars was initiated four years ago, and an equal amount of work was done each year. The contract work cost the firm 4,000,000 dollars. a. Show the effects of the 5,000,000 dollars on the accounting equation, assuming that it was all reported as income in the final year. b. Show the effects on the accounting equation of a retroactive adjustment to the firm's financial statements for each of the contract years. To answer this question, you may need to review Chapter 4, "The Income Statement". c. Does this set of adjustments seem important to investors or financial analysts? Does it seem to be a useful adjustment that would be viewed as helpful by the readers of the firms' financial statements? Why?
When the effects of a change in an accounting estimate are recognized, can prior financial statements be restated retroactively? Why?
In general, how are the financial statements changed when two firms merge or engage in some similar restructuring?
Fitzer, Inc. reported the following data in its 1999 income statement (dollars in millions): Fitzer's notes include the following explanations: In the fourth quarter of 1999, the Company adopted the provisions of SFAS No. 106, Employer's Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions. This statement requires the accrual of the projected future cost of providing postretirement benefits during the period that employees render the services necessary to be eligible for such benefits. In prior years, the expenses were recognized when claims were paid. The Company elected to immediately recognize the accumulated benefit obligation, measured as of January 1,1999, and recorded a one-time pretax charge of 520.5 million dollars (312.6 million dollars after taxes, or 0.93 dollars per share) as the cumulative effect of this accounting change. The Company adopted SFAS No. 109. The cumulative effect of the change increased net income by 30.0 million dollars (0.09 dollars per share) and is reported separately in the 1999 Consolidated Statement of Income. a. Describe, in your own words, the accounting changes Fitzer included in 1999's net income. b. since these changes were all adopted in fiscal 1999, what is the effect of these changes on prior years? c. Recalculate the effect on Fitzer's net income, assuming that neither change had been reported in 1999. d. Why might Fitzer's managers have wanted to lump both changes in the same year? Why might they have wanted to recognize the postretirement change in 1999 , rather than waiting until 2000? e. Suppose Fitzer recorded a charge of 55,000,000 dollars for restructuring the materials group in fiscal 1999. Why would managers want to lump several such changes into net income for the same year? f. Write a short statement describing your view of management's motivations about recognizing accounting changes. Why is the timing associated with recognizing such changes so important to managers?
Locate the most recent 10-K filing by Bank One and Time-Warner from the EDGAR archives (www.sec.gov/edaux/searches.htm). Refer to the note on significant accounting policies in "Notes to the Financial Statements" to identify changes in accounting policies. Identify any changes the companies might have made in their methods of accounting. How have changes in accounting principles impacted their consolidated income statements?
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