Accounts receivable analysis

Xavier Stores Company and Lestrade Stores Inc. are large retail department stores. Both companies offer credit to their customers through their own credit card operations. Information from the financial statements for both companies for two recent years is as follows (all numbers are in millions):

Xavier Lestrade

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Merchandise sales $8,500,000 $4,585,000

Credit card receivables-beginnings

820,000 600,000

Credit card receivables-ending 880,000 710,000

a. Detemine the (1) accounts receivable turnover and (2) the number of days' sales in receivables for both companies. Round to one decimal place.

b. Compare the two companies with regard to their credit card policies.