(Cash conversion cycle) Historical data for the firm's sales, accounts receivable, inventories, and accounts payable for the Crimson Mfg. Company follows:

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Sales 4,346 5,220 7,947 11,699 18,461 Receivables 602 811 1,086 1,368 2,268 Acounts payable 443 683 682 1,554 2,409 Inventories 341 456 655 378 354

a. Calculate Crimson's days of sales outstanding, days of payables outstanding, and days of sales in inventory for each of the 5 years. (Assume a 365-day year. Hint: Assume that the firm's cost of goods sold equals 70% of sales.) What has Crimson accomplished in its atempts to better manage its investments in account receivable and inventory? (Round to two decimal places.)

b. Calculate Crimson's cash conversion cycle for each of the 5 years. Evaluate the firm's overall management of its working capital. Assume a 365-day year.

Days of sales outstanding (DSO)

2014........2015........2016........2017.......2018 ? ? ? ? ?