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Essay on Sunbeam Accounting Analysis

Decent Essays

1. Analyze the changes that Al Dunlap had initiated at Sunbeam after being hired from a strategic perspective. Did the changes started by Dunlap allow him opportunities to manage earnings?

Following are the changes that Al Dunlap initiated after being hired by Sunbeam Inc and the probable opportunities that Dunlap used to manage earnings:
Fired the existing set of senior managers of Sunbeam and appointed his close friends and lieutenants in those positions.
Opportunity: Picked a close set of friends in the key positions like finance, purchasing and human resources. This provides an opportunity to gain control over the operational and financial aspect of the company, thereby eliminating whistle blowing chances and creating an easy …show more content…

The asset write off of 92M contributes to a lower depreciation charge which boosts profits.
Capitalizing advertising expenses
Support: As a % of revenue, the SG&A expense has decreased from 21% to 11% from 1996 to 1997, that’s aggressive considering the marketing activities the company carried out. This is associated with the year in which the company introduced a new product. Such years involve large expenses.
Reducing the allowance for doubtful accounts
Support: The Company’s revenues increased considerably (19%). However, the Accounts receivables also increased significantly (38%). Increase in revenues are generally associated with a proportional increase in the allowance for doubtful debts. By not reporting a significant ‘allowable for bad debt accounts’, the company is able to overstate its profits and could be a cause for concern in the long run, if the receivables turn out to be bad.
Increase in inventories
Support: The inventory increase in 1997, YOY, was 58%. Additionally, the COGS to revenue ratio reduced from to 72% in 1997. This combination of increase in inventory and reduction in COGS as a percentage of revenue seems to indicate that the fixed costs may have been spread over a larger base through over production, thereby causing the COGS to reduce. This may be a cause for concern and could be a potential red flag.
Extensive use of ‘Bill and Hold’ sales

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