2005 Interpreting Accounts Receivable and Its Footnote Disclosure Following is the current asset section from the W.W. Grainger, Inc., balance sheet. As of December 31 ($ 000s) Cash and cash equivalents Accounts receivable (less allowances fordoubtful accounts of $18,401, $23,375and $24.736, respectively Inventories, net , Prepaid expenses and other assets Deferred income taxes Prepaid income taxes Total current assets $544,894 518,625 791,212 54,334 88,803 2004 2003 $ 429,246 $402,824 $ 480,893 431,896 700,559 661,247 47,086 37,947 96,929 99,499 $ 1,997,868 $1,754,713 $1,633,413 Grainger reports the following footnote relating to its receivables. Allowance for Doubtful Accounts: The following table shows the activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts. For Years ended December 31 (5 000s) 2005 2004 2003 Allowance for doubtful accounts-accounts receivable Balance at beginning of period $ 23,375 $ 24,736 $ 26,868 Provision for uncollectable accounts 1,326 5,159 9,263 Write-off of uncollectible accounts, less recoveries (6,380) (6,662) (11,713) Foreign currency exchange impact 80 142 318 Balance at end of period $ 18,401 $ 23,375 $ 24,736 (a) What amount do customers owe Grainger at each of the year-ends 2003 through 2005? (5000) 2005 2004 2003 Gross accounts receivable $ 537,026 $ 506,272 x 5 458,635 x (b) What percentage of its total accounts receivable does Grainger feel are uncollectible? Hint: Percentage of uncollectible accounts = Allowance for uncollectible accounts/Gross accounts receivable. Note: Round your answers to two decimal places (example: 0.12345 = 12.35%). ($ 000) 2005 2004 2003 Percentage of uncollectible accounts to gross accounts receivable 3.42% X 4.62% X 5.39% X