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)	2010	2009	2008
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 313,454	$ 459,871	$ 396,290
Accounts receivable (less allowances for doubtful accounts of $24,552, $25,850 and $26,481, respectively	762,895	624,910	589,416
Inventories, net	991,577	889,679	1,009,932
Prepaid expenses and other assets	87,125	88,364	73,359
Deferred income taxes	44,627	42,023	52,556
Prepaid income taxes	38,393	26,668	22,556
Total current assets	$ 2,238,071	$ 2,131,515	$ 2,144,109

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 ($ 000s)	2010	2009	2008
Allowance for doubtful accounts- accounts receivable
Balance at beginning of period	$ 25,850	$ 26,481	$ 25,830
Provision for uncollectable accounts	6,718	10,748	12,924
Write-off of uncollectible accounts, less recoveries	(8,302)	(12,254)	(11,501)
Foreign currency exchange impact	286	875	(772)
Balance at end of period	$ 24,552	$ 25,850	$ 26,481

(a) What amount do customers owe Grainger at each of the year-ends 2008 through 2010?

($ 000s)	2010	2009	2008
Gross accounts receivable	$Answer	$Answer	$Answer

(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. Round your answers to two decimal places.

($ 000s)	2010	2009	2008
Percentage of uncollectible accounts to gross accounts receivable	Answer%	Answer%	Answer%

(c) What amount of bad debts expense did Grainger report in its income statement for each of the years 2008 through 2010?

($ 000s)	2010	2009	2008
Bad debts expense (titled Provision for Uncollectible Accounts)	$Answer	$Answer	$ Answer

(d) Since 2008, did the allowance for uncollectible accounts increase or decrease as a percentage of gross accounts receivable?

The allowance for uncollectible accounts remained relatively the same as a percentage of gross accounts receivable.

The allowance for uncollectible accounts has decreased as a percentage of gross accounts receivable.

The allowance for uncollectible accounts has increased as a percentage of gross accounts receivable.

(e) If Grainger had kept its 2010 allowance for uncollectible accounts at the same percentage of gross accounts receivable as it was in 2008, by what amount would its profit have changed (ignore taxes)? HINT: Use rounded answer from part b. to calculate. Round answer to the nearest thousands. Profit would Answerincreasedecrease by $Answer($ 000s) (f) Which of the following statements about Grainger's allowance for uncollectible accounts and the related bad debts expense is false?

Since 2008, Grainger has decreased its allowance for uncollectible accounts as a percentage of gross receivables.

Grainger's current allowance account appears adequate since it is nearly three times the level of current-year write-offs.

Since 2008, Grainger has decreased its bad debts expense.

Since 2008 Grainger has decreased it allowance for uncollectible accounts by decreasing its write-offs.