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Thought Provokers

TP 1.

LO 13.1It is somewhat difficult to find current quotes on corporate bonds, but one source is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Using the link http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/BondCenter/Default.jsp, click on the “Search” tab. Make sure “Bond Type” is set to “Corporate” and enter “Nike” in the “Issuer Name” field and hit enter.

Write a brief summary explaining the results, including an explanation of each of the fields. Assume that an investor purchases a $1,000 bond and interest payments are made semi-annually. Be sure to include the price the investor would pay for the bond.

TP 2.

LO 13.2Below is select information from two, independent companies.

Additional information includes:

  • On January 1, Company A issued a 5-year $1,500,000 bond with at 6% stated rate. Interest is paid semiannually and the bond was sold at 105.5055 to yield a market rate of 4.75%.
  • On January 1, Company B sold $1,500,000 of common stock and paid dividends of $75,000.
  1. Prepare an income statement for each company (ignore taxes)
  2. Explain why the net income amounts are different, paying particular attention to the operational performance and financing performance of each company. (Hint: it may be helpful for you to create an amortization table).
TP 3.

LO 13.3Assume you are a newly hired accountant for a local manufacturing firm. You have enjoyed working for the company and are looking forward to your first experience participating in the preparation of the company’s financial statements for the year-ending December 31, the end of the company’s fiscal year.

As you are preparing your assigned journal entries, your supervisor approaches you and asks to speak with you. Your supervisor is concerned because, based on her preliminary estimates, the company will fall just shy of its financial targets for the year. If the estimates are true, this means that all 176 employees of the company will not receive year-end bonuses, which represent a significant portion of their pay.

One of the entries that you will prepare involves the upcoming bond interest payment that will be paid on January 15 of the next year. Your supervisor has calculated that, if the journal entry is dated on January 1 of the following year rather than on December 31 of the current year, the company will likely meet its financial goals thereby allowing all employees to receive year-end bonuses. Your supervisor asks you if you will consider dating the journal entry on January 1 instead of December 31 of the current year. Assess the implications of the various stakeholders and explain what your answer will be.

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