Inventory levels decreased from 2017 to 2018 for all of the following reasons except:

A . LIFO liquidation.

B . decreased sales volume.

C . fluctuations in foreign currency translation rates.

ZP Corporation is a (hypothetical) multinational corporation headquartered in Japan that trades on numerous stock exchanges. ZP prepares its consolidated fi nancial statements in accordance with US GAAP. Excerpts from ZP’s 2018 annual report are shown in Exhibits 1–3.

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EXHIBIT 1 Consolidated Balance Sheets ( Millions) December 31 Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents Inventories 2017 2018 542,849 608,572 814,760 : 486,465 Total current assets Total assets Total current liabilities 4,028,742 3,766,309 10,819,440 9,687,346 3,980,247 3,529,765 Total long-term liabilities 2,663,795 2,624,002 Minority interest in consolidated subsidiaries 218,889 179,843 Total shareholders' equity 3,956,509 3,353,736 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 10,819,440 9,687,346