You are CFO of Goforit, Inc., a wholesale distribution company specializing in emerging technologies. Your CEO is a brilliant marketer, but relies on you to explain issues and choices in accounting and finance. She has heard from other members of a CEO organization to which she belongs that a company's net income can vary widely depending on which accounting choices are made from the "GAAP menu."
Assuming the goal is to maximize net income, choose an accounting treatment from each of the following scenarios, and explain to your CEO why the choice will produce the desired effect on reported Net Income for the current year. Include in your answer the effect of the choice on both the income statement and balance sheet.
a. Goforit carries significant electronics inventory in a competitive environment where prices are actually falling. Which inventory valuation method would you choose-LIFO, FIFO, or average cost? Assume that unit purchases exceed unit sales.
b. Goforit has a large investment in warehouse equipment including conveyor belts, forklifts, and automated packaging systems. Which depreciation method would you choose: Straight line (SL) or double declining balance.