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[The following information applies to the questions displayed below.] Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 30,000	$ 36,000	$ 38,400
Accounts receivable, net	88,300	61,500	51,000
Merchandise inventory	113,000	80,200	52,000
Prepaid expenses	10,700	9,300	5,400
Plant assets, net	280,000	251,000	230,000
Total assets	$ 522,000	$ 438,000	$ 376,800
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 128,400	$ 72,250	$ 50,000
Long-term notes payable	97,500	98,500	82,800
Common stock, $10 par value	161,500	161,500	161,500
Retained earnings	134,600	105,750	82,500
Total liabilities and equity	$ 522,000	$ 438,000	$ 376,800

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 715,000		$ 620,000
Cost of goods sold	$ 443,300		$ 390,600
Other operating expenses	228,800		142,600
Interest expense	11,900		13,400
Income tax expense	9,550		8,600
Total costs and expenses		693,550		555,200
Net income		$ 21,450		$ 64,800
Earnings per share		$ 1.33		$ 4.01

For both the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, compute the following ratios:

(3-a) Compute return on total assets for the current year and one year ago. (3-b) Based on return on total assets, did Simon's operating efficiency improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?

Compute return on total assets for the current year and one year ago.

Return On Total Assets
	Numerator:	/	Denominator:	=	Return On Total Assets
		/		=	Return on total assets
Current Year:		/		=		%
1 Year Ago:		/		=		%

Based on return on total assets, did Simon's operating efficiency improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?

	Return on total assets