On January 1, 2019, Aspen Company acquired 80 percent of Birch Company's voting stock for $294,000. Birch reported a $307,500 book value, and the fair value of the noncontrolling interest was $73,500 on that date. Then, on January 1, 2020, Birch acquired 80 percent of Cedar Company for $148,000 when Cedar had a $164,000 book value and the 20 percent noncontrolling interest was valued at $37,000. In each acquisition, the subsidiary's excess acquisition-date fair over book value was assigned to a trade name with a 30-year remaining life.

These companies report the following financial information. Investment income figures are not included.

2019 2020 2021 Sales: Aspen Company $ 645,000 $ 652,500 $ 795,000 Birch Company 228,000 336,500 522,900 Cedar Company Not available 180,100 230,400 Expenses: Aspen Company $ 447,500 $ 470,000 $ 657,500 Birch Company 178,000 254,000 450,000 Cedar Company Not available 165,000 185,000 Dividends declared: Aspen Company $ 20,000 $ 30,000 $ 40,000 Birch Company 15,000 15,000 15,000 Cedar Company Not available 4,000 12,000

Assume that each of the following questions is independent:

a. If all companies use the equity method for internal reporting purposes, what is the December 31, 2020, balance in Aspen's Investment in Birch Company account?

b. What is the consolidated net income for this business combination for 2021?

c. What is the net income attributable to the noncontrolling interest in 2021?

d. Assume that Birch made intra-entity inventory transfers to Aspen that have resulted in the following intra-entity gross profits in inventory at the end of each year: Date Amount 12/31/19 $11,000 12/31/20 17,900 12/31/21 30,500 What is the accrual-based net income of Birch in 2020 and 2021, respectively?