On August $3,$ Franko Construction purchased special$-$purpose equipment at a cost of $$5,800,000.$ The useful life of the equipment was estimated to be eight years, with an estimated residual value of $$70,000.$

Required:

a$.$ Compute the depreciation expense to be recognized each calendar year for financial reporting purposes under the straight$-$line depreciation method $($half$-$year convention$).$

b$.$ Compute the depreciation expense to be recognized each calendar year for financial reporting purposes under the $200$ percent declining$-$balance method $($half$-$year convention$)$ with a switch to straight$-$line when it will maximize depreciation expense.

c$.$ Which of these two depreciation methods $($straight$-$line or double$-$declining$-$balance$)$ results in the highest net income for financial reporting purposes during the first two years of the equipment's use?