Ethics in Action Head Donuts Inc. is a retailer of designer headphones, earphones, and hands-free audio devices. Polly Ester, the company president, is reviewing the company’s financial statements after the close of the fiscal year and is troubled that earnings decreased by 10%. She shares her concerns with the company’s chief accountant, Lucas Simmons, who points out that the drop in earnings was balanced by a 20% increase in cash flows , from operating activities. Polly is encouraged by the increase in cash flows from operating activities, but is worried that investors might miss this information because it is “buried” in the statement of cash flows. To make it easier for investors to find this information, she instructs Lucas to include an operating cash flow per share number on the face of the income statement, directly below earnings per share. While Lucas is concerned about using such an unconventional financial reporting tactic, he agrees to include the information on the income statement. Is Lucas behaving in an ethical and professional manner? Explain your answer.

1. Margie Johnson is a staff accountant at ToolEx Company, a manufacturer of tools and equipment. The company is under pressure from investors to increase earnings, and the president of the company expects the Accounting Department to “make this happen.” Margie’s boss, who has been a mentor to her, is concerned that if earnings do not increase, he will be terminated. Shortly after the end of the fiscal year, the company performs a physical count of the inventory. When Margie compares the physical count to the balance in the inventory account, she finds a significant amount of inventory shrinkage. The amount is so large that it will result in a significant drop in earnings this period. Margie’s boss asks her not to make the adjusting entry for shrinkage this period. He assures her that they will get “caught up” on shrinkage in the next period, after the pressure is off to reach this period’s earnings goal. Margie’s boss asks her to do this as a personal favor to him. What should…

(Earnings Management) Charlie Brown, controller for Kelly Corporation, is preparing the company’s income statement at year-end. He notes that the company lost a considerable sum on the sale of some equipment it had decided to replace. Since the company has sold equipment routinely in the past, Brown knows the losses cannot be reported as an unusual item. Healso does not want to highlight it as a material loss since he feels that will reflect poorly on him and the company. He reasons that if the company had recorded more depreciation during the assets’ lives, the losses would not be so great. Since depreciation is included among the company’s operating expenses, he wants to report the losses along with the company’s expenses, where he hopes it will not be noticed. Instructions(a) What are the ethical issues involved?(b) What should Brown do?

As the controller of Take No Prisoners Perfume Company, you discover a misstatement that overstated net income in the prior year’s financial statements. The misleading financial statements appear in the company’s annual report, which was issued to banks and other creditors less than a month ago. After much thought about the consequences of telling the president, Jeb Wilde, about this misstatement, you gather your courage to inform him. Jeb says, “Hey! What they don’t know won’t hurt them. But, just so we set the record straight, we’ll adjust this year’s financial statements for last year’s misstatement. We can absorb that misstatement better in this year than in last year anyway! Just don’t make such a mistake again.” Instructions Who are the stakeholders in this situation? What are the ethical issues in this situation? What would you do as a controller in this situation?

George Costanza is an accountant for Vandelay Industries, a footwear and apparel company. The company's revenue and net income have increased by more than 100% over the past three years. During the same period, George and his colleagues in the Accounting Department have not received a raise or salary increase. Frustrated by not receiving a raise while the company has thrived, George has begun submitting expense reimbursements for personal purchases. George has a good relationship with his supervisor, and the supervisor simply "signs off" on George's expense reimbursements. George suspects that his supervisor knows that he is submitting personal expenses for reimbursement and is "looking the other way" because George has not received a raise in the past three years. Are George and his supervisor acting in an ethical manner? Why or why not?

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…

o Starlet Corporation manufactures and markets shoes under the brand name Start Rite and Keds. Three recent years produced a combination of declining sales revenue, and net income, culminating in a net loss of $8,430,000. Each year, however, Starlet Corporation was able to report positive cash flows from operations. Contributing to that positive cash flow was the change in accounts receivable. The current and prior year balance sheets reported the following: Current Year $48,000 (in thousands) Previous Year $63,403 Accounts receivable Required: 1. How would the change in accounts receivable affect cash flow from operations for the current year? Briefly explain why it would have this effect and how net earnings would be adjusted for the change in accounts receivable on the cash flow from operations including the amount. 2. Briefly explain how declining sales revenue often leads to (a) declining accounts receivable and (b) an excess of cash collections from customers over sales revenue.

Horizon Corporation manufactues personal computers. The company began operations in 2012 and reported profits for the years 2012 through 2019. Due primarily to increased competition and price slashing in the industry, 2020's income statement reported a loss of $20 million. Just before the end of 2021 fiscal year, a memo from the company's chief financial officer (CFO) to Jim Fielding, the company controller, included the following comments: "If we dont do something about the large amount of unsold computers already manufactured, our auditors will require us to record a write-down. The resulting loss for 2021 will cause a violation of our debt convenants and force the company into bankruptcy. I suggest that you ship half of out inventory to J.B. Sales, Inc., in Oklahoma City. I know the company's presdient, and he will accept the inventory and acknowledge the shipment as a purchase. We can record the sale in 2021 which will boost our loss to a profit. Then J.B. Sales will simply return…

Lucas Hunter, president of Simmons Industries Inc., believes that reporting operating cash flow per share on the income statement would be a useful addition to the companys just completed financial statements. The following discussion took place between Lucas Hunter and Simmons controller, John Jameson, in January, after the close of the fiscal year: Lucas: Ive been reviewing our financial statements for the last year. I am disappointed that our net income per share has dropped by 10% from last year. This wont look good to our shareholders. Is there anything we can do about this? John: What do you mean? The past is the past, and the numbers are in. There isnt much that can be done about it. Our financial statements were prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles, and I dont see much leeway for significant change at this point. Lucas: No, no. Im not suggesting that we cook the books. But look at the cash flow from operating activities on the statement of cash flows. The cash flow from operating activities has increased by 20%. This is very good newsand, I might add, useful information. The higher cash flow from operating activities will give our creditors comfort. John: Well, the cash flow from operating activities is on the statement of cash flows, so I guess users will be able to see the improved cash flow figures there. Lucas: This is true, but somehow I think this information should be given a much higher profile. I dont like this information being buried in the statement of cash flows. You know as well as I do that many users will focus on the income statement. Therefore, I think we ought to include an operating cash flow per share number on the face of the income statementsomeplace under the earnings per share number. In this way, users will get the complete picture of our operating performance. Yes, our earnings per share dropped this year, but our cash flow from operating activities improved! And all the information is in one place where users can see and compare the figures. What do you think? John: Ive never really thought about it like that before. I guess we could put the operating cash flow per share on the income statement, underneath the earnings per share amount. Users would really benefit from this disclosure. Thanks for the ideaIll start working on it. Lucas: Glad to be of service. How would you interpret this situation? Is John behaving in an ethical and professional manner?

Terry House, the controller for MicroTech Software Company, is responsible for preparing the company’s financial statements. He learns that sales for the first quarter of the year have dropped so dramatically that the company is in danger of bankruptcy. As a result, he applies for an accounting position with another software company that competes with MicroTech. During his job interview, Terry is asked why he wants to leave MicroTech. He replies truthfully, “The company’s sales are down another 10% this quarter. I fear they will go out of business.” At that time, MicroTech had not released its sales results to the public. Discuss the ethics of this situation.

Letni Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of semiconductor chips for the computing and communications industries. During the past year, operating revenues remained relatively flat compared to the prior year but management notices a big increase in accounts receivable. The increase in receivables is largely due to the recent economic slowdown in the computing and telecommunications industries. Many of the company’s customers are having financial difficulty, lengthening the period of time it takes to collect on accounts. Below are year-end amounts. Age Group OperatingRevenue AccountsReceivable AverageAge AccountsWritten Off Two years ago $ 1,160,000 $ 136,000 5 days $ 0 Last year 1,460,000 146,000 7 days 1,000 Current year 1,560,000 316,000 40 days 0 Paul, the CEO of Letni, notices that accounts written off over the past three years have been minimal and, therefore, suggests that no allowance for uncollectible accounts be…

Letni Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of semiconductor chips for the computing and communications industries. During the past year, operating revenues remained relatively flat compared to the prior year but management notices a big increase in accounts receivable. The increase in receivables is largely due to the recent economic slowdown in the computing and telecommunications industries. Many of the company’s customers are having financial difficulty, lengthening the period of time it takes to collect on accounts. Below are year-end amounts. Age Group OperatingRevenue AccountsReceivable AverageAge AccountsWritten Off Two years ago $1,160,000 $ 136,000 5 days $0 Last year 1,460,000 146,000 7 days 1,000 Current year 1,560,000 316,000 40 days 0 Paul, the CEO of Letni, notices that accounts written off over the past three years have been minimal and, therefore, suggests that no allowance for uncollectible accounts be…

Letni Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of semiconductor chips for the computing and communications industries. During the past year, operating revenues remained relatively flat compared to the prior year but management notices a big increase in accounts receivable. The increase in receivables is largely due to the recent economic slowdown in the computing and telecommunications industries. Many of the company’s customers are having financial difficulty, lengthening the period of time it takes to collect on accounts. Below are year-end amounts. Age Group OperatingRevenue AccountsReceivable AverageAge AccountsWritten Off Two years ago $1,160,000 $136,000 5 days $0 Last year 1,460,000 146,000 7 days 1,000 Current year 1,560,000 316,000 40 days 0 Paul, the CEO of Letni, notices that accounts written off over the past three years have been minimal and, therefore, suggests that no allowance for…

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