Obtain Apple$$s fiscal year $201910-$K $($filed October $31,2019)$ either from the $$Investor Relations$$ portion of its website $($do a web search for $$Apple Investor Relations$)$ or from www$.$sec$.$gov by clicking $$Company Filings Search$$ under $$Forms$.$

Required:

Using Apple$$s $10-$K$,$ answer the following questions:

Looking at Note $1($Summary of Significant Accounting Policies$),$ how does Apple define cash equivalents?

Looking at the $$Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm,$$ supplying an opinion on Apple$$s internal controls over financial reporting $($p$.58$ of the $10-$K$),$ what was the auditor$$s opinion regarding the effectiveness of Apple$$s internal control over financial reporting? What criteria were used to evaluate the effectiveness of these controls?

What were Apple$$s accounts receivable turnovers $($rounded to two decimal places$)$ in $2018$ and $2019?($Accounts receivable were $$17,874$ million at the end of $2017.)$ Assuming the industry average for $2019$ was $8\mathrm{.}22$ times per year, describe Apple$$s relative efficiency with its accounts receivable.

What were Apple$$s inventory turnovers $($rounded to two decimal places$)$ in $2018$ and $2019?($Inventories were $$4,855$ million at the end of $2017.)$ Assuming the industry average for $2017$ was $20\mathrm{.}24$ times per year, describe Apple$$s relative efficiency with its inventory.

Describe the trend in Apple$$s accounts receivable and inventory turnover.

How many days$$ sales does Apple have in receivables and inventory for $2018$ and $2019?($When added together, this is its operating cycle.$)($Note: Round all answers to two decimal places.$)$

CONCEPTUAL CONNECTION Assuming $10\%$ interest, how much interest expense did Apple incur due to its lengthening operating cycle $($remember that the numbers are in millions$)?$

What were Apple$$s gross profit, operating margin, and net profit ratios in $2019?($Note: Round answers to two decimal places.$)$ Assuming industry averages for $2019$ were $27\mathrm{.}57\%,7\mathrm{.}87\%,$ and $4\mathrm{.}76\%,$ respectively, describe Apple$$s profitability.

Looking at Note $1($Summary of Significant Accounting Policies$),$ what method of depreciation does Apple use? What is the range of useful life for internally used software? Do you think this useful life is appropriate?