On January 1, 2007, Brub Lte acquired equipment costing $60,000. It was estimated at that time that this equipment would have a useful life of 5 years and a residual value of $4,500. The straight-line method of depreciation is used by the firm for its equipment, and its fiscal year emd is December 31.

At the beginning of 2009 (the beginning of the third year of the equipment's life), the company's engineers reconsidered their expectations. They estimated that the equipment's useful life would more likely be 7 years total, instead of 5.

a) Calculate the accumulated depreciation and carrying amount of the equipment at the beginning of 2009, immediately before the change in useful life.

b) Would you expect the depreciation expense to increase or decrease in 2009, after the change in useful life? Explain.

c) Should they treat the change in useful life retroactively or only for current and future periods? Explain.

d) If they had NOT revised the equipment's remaining useful life at the beginning of 2009, what would its total depreciation expense have been over the equipment's life? What would have been the accumulated depreciation and carrying amount at the end of the equipment's useful life?

e) Would you expect the total depreciation expense to change after the useful life has been revised? Would there be changes to the accumulated depreciation and carrying amount at the end of the equipment's useful life?