EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, performs automated collection, validation, indexing, and forwarding of submissions by companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). All publicly traded domestic companies use EDGAR to make the majority of their filings. (Some foreign companies file voluntarily). Form 10-K or 10-KSB, which include the annual report, is required to be filed on EDGAR. The SEC makes this information available on the Internet. 

Required: 

1. Access EDGAR on the Internet. The web address is www.sec.gov. 

2. Search for Cisco Systems, Inc. Access the 10-K filing for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2017. Search or scroll to find the financial statements. 

3. Answer the following questions related to the company’s accounts receivable and bad debts: 

a. What is the amount of gross trade accounts receivable at the end of the year? 

b. What is the amount of bad debt expense for the year? (Hint: check the statement of cash flows). 

c. Determine the amount of actual bad debt write-offs made during the year. Assume that all bad debts relate only to trade accounts receivable. 

d. Using only information from the balance sheets, income statements, and your answer to requirement 3(c), determine the amount of cash collected from customers during the year. Assume that all sales are made on a credit basis, that the company provides no allowances for sales returns, that no previously written-off receivables were collected, and that all sales relate to trade accounts receivable.