(15-25 min.) Decision Case 2
Req. 1
This question provides a rich setting for a class discussion. There’s no
single correct answer to this question. Some students may favor Company
B because it reports higher net income than Company A. B may be
Other students may prefer Company A because it discloses the inventory
method it uses. Company B does not let outsiders know which method it
Professors can point out that A, the LIFO company, may be better off
because of the lower income taxes that A pays by using the LIFO method.
We don’t know whether Company B is making the most of this cash-flow
advantage of LIFO.
Req. 2
Yes, the authors would prefer managers to be faithful in representing the
disclosures for inventory — for all the reasons accountants are transparent
and truthful. We would prefer that the financial statements present the