1. On January 2, 2018, Bluth Company began using straight-line depreciation for a certain class of assets. In the past, the company had used double-declining-balance depreciation for these assets. As of January 2, 2018, the amount of the change in accumulated depreciation is $40,000. The appropriate tax rate is 40%. The separately reported change in 2018 earnings is

a. Theres no cumulative effect of the change as reported in earnings.] b. A decrease of $40,000 c. An increase of $24,000 An increase of $40,000