Described below are six independent and unrelated situations involving accounting changes. Each change occurs during $2024$ before any adjusting entries or closing entries were prepared. Assume the tax rate for each company is $25\%$ in all years. Any tax effects should be adjusted through the deferred tax liability account.

Fleming Home Products introduced a new line of commercial awnings in $2023$ that carry a one$-$year warranty against manufacturer$$s defects. Based on industry experience, warranty costs were expected to approximate $3\%$ of sales. Sales of the awnings in $2023$ were $$3,500,000.$ Accordingly, warranty expense and a warranty liability of $$105,000$ were recorded in $2023.$ In late $2024,$ the company$$s claims experience was evaluated, and it was determined that claims were far fewer than expected: $2\%$ of sales rather than $3\%.$ Sales of the awnings in $2024$ were $$4,000,000,$ and warranty expenditures in $2024$ totaled $$91,000.$

On December $30,2020,$ Rival Industries acquired its office building at a cost of $$1,000,000.$ It was depreciated on a straight$-$line basis assuming a useful life of $40$ years and no salvage value. However, plans were finalized in $2024$ to relocate the company headquarters at the end of $2028.$ The vacated office building will have a salvage value at that time of $$700,000.$

Hobbs$-$Barto Merchandising, Incorporated, changed inventory cost methods to LIFO from FIFO at the end of $2024$ for both financial statement and income tax purposes. Under FIFO, the inventory at January $1,2024,$ is $$690,000.$

At the beginning of $2021,$ the Hoffman Group purchased office equipment at a cost of $$330,000.$ Its useful life was estimated to be $10$ years with no salvage value. The equipment was depreciated by the sum$-$of$-$the$-$years$-$ digits method. On January $1,2024,$ the company changed to the straight$-$line method.

In November $2022,$ the State of Minnesota filed suit against Huggins Manufacturing Company, seeking penalties for violations of clean air laws. When the financial statements were issued in $2023,$ Huggins had not reached a settlement with state authorities, but legal counsel advised Huggins that it was probable the company would have to pay $$200,000$ in penalties. Accordingly, the following entry was recorded:

Account Name Debit Credit

Loss$$litigation $200,000$

Liability$$litigation $200,000$

Late in $2024,$ a settlement was reached with state authorities to pay a total of $$350,000$ in penalties.

At the beginning of $2024,$ Jantzen Specialties, which uses the sum$-$of$-$the$-$years$-$digits method, changed to the straight$-$line method for newly acquired buildings and equipment. The change increased current year net earnings by $$445,000.$