Compare Two Methods of Accounting for Uncollectible Receivables

Call Systems Company, a telephone service and supply company, has just completed its fourth year of operations. The direct write$-$off method of recording bad debt expense has been used during the entire period. Because of substantial increases in sales volume and the amount of uncollectible accounts, the company is considering changing to the allowance method. Information is requested as to the effect that an annual provision of $(1)/(2)\%$ of sales would have had on the amount of bad debt expense reported for each of the past four years. It is also considered desirable to know what the balance of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts would have been at the end of each year. The following data have been obtained from the accounts:

Year of Origin of Accounts Receivable Written Off as Uncollectible

Year

Sales Uncollectible Accounts

Written Off

$1$st

$2$nd

$3$rd

$4$th

$1$st $$1,250,000$ $$1,150$ $$1,150$

$2$nd $1,740,0002,9501,400$ $$1,550$

$3$rd $2,620,00011,4003,3002,600$ $$5,500$

$4$th $3,160,00015,5003,5505,250$ $$6,700$

Required:

Question Content Area

$1.$ Assemble the desired data. Enter a decrease in the amount of expense as a negative number and all other amounts as positive numbers.

Call Systems Company

Bad Debt Expense

Year

Expense

Actually

Reported

Expense

Based on

Estimate Increase

$($Decrease$)$

in Amount

of Expense Balance

of Allowance

Account,

End of Year

$1$st $fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_1$

$fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_2$

$fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_3$

$fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_4$

$2$nd fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_5$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_6$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_7$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_8$

$3$rd fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_9$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_10$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_11$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_12$

$4$th fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_13$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_14$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_15$

fill in the blank bf$96$ab$042$fc$1$ff$0\_16$

Question Content Area

$2.$ Experience during the first four years of operations indicated that the receivables were either collected within two years or had to be written off as uncollectible. Does the estimate of $(1)/(2)\%$ of sales appear to be reasonably close to the actual experience with uncollectible accounts originating during the first two years?

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