Hard questions

25 important questions on Hard questions

For financial assets classified as available for sale, how are unrealized gains and losses reflected in shareholders’ equity?


A. They are not recognized.
B. They flow through retained earnings.
C. They are a component of accumulated other comprehensive income.

C. They are a component of accumulated other comprehensive income.

For financial assets classified as trading securities, how are unrealized gains and losses reflected in shareholders’ equity?
A. They are not recognized.

B. They flow through income into retained earnings.

C. They are a component of accumulated other comprehensive income.

B. They flow through income into retained earnings.

For financial assets classified as held to maturity, how are unrealized gains and losses reflected in shareholders’ equity?
A. They are not recognized.

B. They flow through retained earnings.

C. They are a component of accumulated other comprehensive income.

A. They are not recognized.
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A company has total liabilities of GBP35 million and total stockholders’ equity of GBP55 million. Total liabilities are represented on a vertical common-size balance sheet by a percentage closest to:


A. 35 percent.
B. 39 percent.
C. 64 percent.

39%, B



One appropriate method of preparing a common-size cash flow statement is to show each line item:

A. of revenue and expense as a percentage of net revenue.
B. on the cash flow statement as a percentage of net revenue.
C. on the cash flow statement as a percentage of total cash outflows.

B. on the cash flow statement as a percentage of net revenue.

To properly assess a company’s past performance, an analyst requires:

A. high earnings quality.

B. high financial reporting quality.

C. both high earnings quality and high financial reporting quality.

B. high financial reporting quality.

When earnings are increased by deferring research and development (R&D) investments until the next reporting period, this choice is considered:
A. non-compliant accounting.

B. earnings management as a result of a real action.

C. earnings management as a result of an accounting choice.

B. earnings management as a result of a real action.

A high-quality financial report may reflect:
A. earnings smoothing
B. low earnings quality.
C. understatement of asset impairment.

B. low earnings quality.

Which attribute of financial reports would most likely be evaluated as optimal in the financial reporting spectrum?
A. Conservative accounting choices

B. Sustainable and adequate returns

C. Emphasized pro forma earnings measures

B. Sustainable and adequate returns

If a particular accounting choice is considered aggressive in nature, then the financial performance for the reporting period would most likely:
A. be neutral.

B. exhibit an upward bias.

C. exhibit a downward bias.

B. exhibit an upward bias.

Which of the following concerns would most likely motivate a manager to make conservative accounting choices?
A. Attention to future career opportunities

B. Debt covenant violation risk in the current period

C. Unexpected strength in the business environment

C. Unexpected strength in the business environment

Which technique most likely increases the cash flow provided by operations?

A. Stretching the accounts payable credit period
B. Applying all non-cash discount amortization against interest capitalized
C. Shifting classification of interest paid from financing to operating cash flows

A. Stretching the accounts payable credit period



Which technique most likely increases the cash flow provided by operations?



A. Stretching the accounts payable credit period
B. Applying all non-cash discount amortization against interest capitalize
C. Shifting classification of interest paid from financing to operating cash flows



A. Stretching the accounts payable credit period

Which of the following would most likely signal that a company may be using aggressive accrual accounting policies to shift current expenses to later periods? Over the last five-year period, the ratio of cash flow to net income has:
A. increased each year.

B. decreased each year.

C. fluctuated from year to year.

B. decreased each year.

Overloading distribution channels (“channel stuffing”) would understate:



A. inventories
B. accounts receivable.
C. revenues.

A. inventories

Conservative, rather than aggressive, accounting is most likely associated with


A. increased sustainability of earnings.
B. higher current reported performance.
C. recognition of losses once certain.

A. increased sustainability of earnings.

Which of the following items is a non-GAAP financial measure?

A. Net income after taxes

B. Income from operations

C. EBITDA

EBITDA

Which of the following approaches will most likely reveal manipulation of financial reporting?


A. Using EBITDA to adjust for non-recurring items

B. Evaluating potential warning signals in isolation

C. Comparing a company’s methods and policies to those of its peers

C. Comparing a company’s methods and policies to those of its peers

Which of the following descriptions of financial reporting is considered to be of the highest quality?


A. Within GAAP but with earnings management

B. Within GAAP but with biased choices

C. Outside GAAP but with conservative choices

B. Within GAAP but with biased choices

An analyst would most likely conduct additional analysis when faced with which of the following financial presentations?
A. A non-GAAP financial measure that excludes an expense that is likely to recur

B. Reporting a non-GAAP financial measure in an SEC filing

C. A change from LIFO inventory accounting to FIFO

A. A non-GAAP financial measure that excludes an expense that is likely to recur

Compared to a company that uses the FIFO method, during periods of rising prices a company that uses the LIFO method will most likely appear more:
A. liquid.

B. efficient.

C. profitable.

B. efficient. LIFO will result in lower inventory and higher cost of sales. Gross margin (a profitability ratio) will be lower, the current ratio (a liquidity ratio) will be lower, and inventory turnover (an efficiency ratio) will be higher.

The most accurate statement regarding Annan’s reasoning for requiring Kern to select a competitor that reports under IFRS for comparative purposes is that under US GAAP:

B, Annan required Kern to use an IFRS-reporting competitor because LIFO is allowed under US GAAP but prohibited under IFRS, which affects comparability of inventory values and cost of goods sold.

Compared with a company that uses the FIFO method, during a period of rising unit inventory costs, a company using the LIFO method will most likely appear more:
A. liquid.

B. efficient.

C. profitable.

B is correct. During a period of rising inventory prices, a company using the LIFO method will have higher cost of goods sold and a lower inventory compared with a company using the FIFO method. The inventory turnover ratio will be higher for the company using the LIFO method, thus making it appear more efficient. Current assets and gross profit margin will be lower for the company using the LIFO method, thus making it appear to be less liquid and less profitable.

In a period of declining inventory unit costs and constant or increasing inventory quantities, which inventory method is most likely to result in a higher debt-to-equity ratio?
A. LIFO

B. FIFO

C. Weighted average cost

B is correct. In an environment of declining inventory unit costs and constant or increasing inventory quantities, FIFO (in comparison with weighted average cost or LIFO) will have higher cost of goods sold and lower net income and inventory. Because both inventory and net income are lower, total equity is lower, resulting in a higher debt-to-equity ratio.

A company that prepares its financial statements using IFRS wrote down its inventory value by €20,000 at the end of year 1. In year 2, prices increased and the same inventory at the end of the year was worth €30,000 more than its value at the end of the prior year. Which of the following statements is most accurate? In year 2, the company’s cost of sales:
A. was unaffected.



B. decreased by €30,000.

C. decreased by €20,000.

C. decreased by €20,000.

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