Alcoa, Inc., is the worlds leader in the production and fabrication of aluminum and aluminum products. The

Question:

Alcoa, Inc., is the world’s leader in the production and fabrication of aluminum and aluminum products. The company has had a defined benefit pension plan for many years. Footnote W of the 10-K for December 31, 2011, reports pension obligations of $13,526 million. On the same date its pension assets totaled $10,311 million.
1. What is the impact of this defined benefit pension plan on Alcoa’s on December 31, 2011? Comment on how comfortable employees should be that they will receive their full pension benefits.
2. Optional question: What factors affect the balances in the Pension Assets and Pension Obligations accounts other than pension expense and pension funding?

Balance Sheet
Balance sheet is a statement of the financial position of a business that list all the assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity and shareholder’s equity at a particular point of time. A balance sheet is also called as a “statement of financial...