On October 1, 2020, Mertag Company (a U.S.-based company) receives an order from a customer in Poland to deliver goods on January 31, 2021, for a price of 1,024,000 Polish zlotys (PLN). Mertag enters into a forward contract on October 1, 2020, to sell PLN 1,024,000 in four months (on January 31, 2021). U.S. dollar-Polish zloty exchange rates are as follows: Forward Rate Spot Rate (to January 31, 2021) $ 0.30 Date October 1, 2020 December 31, 2020 January 31, 2021 $ 0.26 0.29 0.31 0.33 N/A Mertag designates the forward contract as a fair value hedge of a foreign currency firm commitment. The fair value of the firm commitment is measured by referring to changes in the forward rate, and, therefore, forward points are included in assessing hedge effectiveness. Mertag must close its books and prepare financial statements on December 31. Discounting to present value can be ignored. a. Prepare journal entries for the foreign currency forward contract, foreign currency firm commitment, and export sale. b. Determine the net benefit, if any, realized by Mertag from entering into the forward contract. No 1 Date 10/01/2020 General Journal Debit Credit No journal entry required 2 10/01/2020 No journal entry required 3 12/31/2020 Foreign exchange gain or loss Forward contract 30,720 30,720 4 12/31/2020 Firm commitment 30,720 Foreign exchange gain or loss 30,720 5 01/31/2021 Forward contract 30,720 Foreign exchange gain or loss 30,720 x 00 6 01/31/2021 Foreign exchange gain or loss Firm commitment 7 01/31/2021 Foreign currency (PLN) Sales 5 01/31/2021 Forward contract 30,720 x Foreign exchange gain or loss 30,720 x 6 01/31/2021 Foreign exchange gain or loss Firm commitment 7 01/31/2021 Foreign currency (PLN) Sales 8 01/31/2021 Cash Forward contract 9 01/31/2021 Sales Firm commitment Required A Required B > 317,440 x Answer is not complete. Complete this question by entering your answers in the tabs below. Required A Required B Determine the net benefit, if any, realized by Mertag from entering into the forward contract. (Do not round intermediate calculations. Negative amount should be entered with a minus sign.) Net benefit $ 307,200