By the end of its first year of operations, Gallen Corporation has credit sales of $580,000
and accounts receivable of $200,000. Given it’s the first year of operations, Gallen’s
management is unsure how much allowance for uncollectible accounts it should establish.
One of the company’s competitors, which has been in the same industry for an extended
period, estimates uncollectible accounts to be 3% of ending accounts receivable, so Gallen
decides to use that same amount. However, actual write-offs in the following year were
10% of the $200,000 ($20,000). Gallen’s inexperience in the industry led to making sales to
high credit risk customers.
Required:
1. Record the adjustment for uncollectible accounts at the end of the first year of
operations using the 3% estimate of accounts receivable.
2. By the end of the second year, Gallen has the benefit of hindsight to know that
estimates of uncollectible accounts in the first year were too low. By how much did Gallen
underestimate uncollectible accounts in the first year? How did this underestimation
affect the reported amounts of total assets and expenses at the end of the first year?
Ignore tax effects.
3. Should Gallen prepare new financial statements for the first year of operations to show
the correct amount of uncollectible accounts? Explain.