Simon Company's year-end balance sheets follow. At December 31 Current Yr 1 Yr Ago 2 Yrs Ago Assets Cash $ 33,817 $ 40,739 $ 42,420 Accounts receivable, net 100,012 69,175 53,814 Merchandise inventory 128,260 91,410 59,663 Prepaid expenses 11,001 10,482 4,576 Plant assets, net 311,773 292,386 255,527 Total assets $ 584,863 $ 504,192 $ 416,000 Liabilities and Equity Accounts payable $ 141,262 $ 85,208 $ 56,010 Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets 108,855 118,283 91,936 Common stock, $10 par value 163,500 163,500 163,500 Retained earnings 171,246 137,201 104,554 Total liabilities and equity $ 584,863 $ 504,192 $ 416,000 1. Express the balance sheets in common-size percents. (Do not round intermediate calculations and round your final percentage answers to 1 decimal place.) 2. Assuming annual sales have not changed in the last three years, is the change in accounts receivable as a percentage of total assets favorable or unfavorable? 3. Assuming annual sales have not changed in the last three years, is the change in merchandise inventory as a percentage of total assets favorable or unfavorable?

Simon Company's

Balance Sheets at December 31L

                                          Current Yr   %      1 Yr Ago     %     2 Yrs Ago   %

Assets

Cash                                    $ 33,817      6     $ 40,739    8     $ 42,420    10

Accounts receivable, net    100,012      17        69,175   14         53,814     13 Merchandise inventory      128,260     22        91,410    18       59,663     14

Prepaid expenses                  11,001       2        10,482     2          4,576      1

Plant assets, net                   311,773    53     292,386   57     255,527    61

Total assets                    $ 584,863    100  $ 504,192  100  $ 416,000  100

Liabilities and Equity

Accounts payable           $ 141,262      24    $ 85,208    17     $ 56,010    13

Long-term notes payable 108,855      19        118,283    23       91,936    22 Common stock,

        $10 par value           163,500      28       163,500   32     163,500    39 Retained earnings             171,246      29        137,201   27      104,554    25

Total liabilities & equity$ 584,863    100    $ 504,192  100 $ 416,000   100

2. Assuming annual sales have not changed in the last three years, the change in accounts receivable as a percentage of total assets is favorable.  It is always better to maintain low accounts receivable, thereby reducing credit risk exposures.

3. Assuming annual sales have not changed in the last three years, the change in merchandise inventory as a percentage of total assets is favorable.  Less inventory means that working capital is not being tied down to inventory.

Explanation:

Common-size percentages are used in analyzing the balance sheet.   The calculations set each line item as a percent of the total assets.