Required information Use the following information for the Exercises below. (Algo) [The following information applies to the questions displayed below.] Simon Company's year-end balance sheets follow. At December 31 Assets Cash Accounts receivable, net Merchandise inventory Prepaid expenses Plant assets, net Total assets Liabilities and Equity Accounts payable Long-term notes payable Current Year 1 Year Ago 2 Years Ago $ 26,988 78,219 98,345 8,780 254,424 $ 466,756 $ 113,898 88,628 $ 32,512 54,643 75,928 8,365 230,928 $ 402,376 $ 66,642 90,696 163,500 81,538 $ 34,202 44,708 47,133 3,726 208,931 $ 338,700 $ 46,050 74,853 162,500 55,297 $ 338,700 Common stock, $10 par value Retained earnings Total liabilities and equity 163,500 100,730 $ 466,756 $ 402,376 For both the current year and one year ago, compute the following ratios: Exercise 17-9 (Algo) Analyzing risk and capital structure LO P3 The company's income statements for the current year and one year ago, follow. For Year Ended December 31 Sales Cost of goods sold Other operating expenses Interest expense Income tax expense Total costs and expenses Net income Earnings per share Current Year $ 606,783 $ 370,138 188,103 1 Year Ago $ 478,827 10,315 7,888 576,444 $ 30,339 $ 311,238 121,143 11,013 7,182 $ 1.87 450,576 $ 28,251 $ 1.74 (1) Debt and equity ratios. (2-a) Compute debt-to-equity ratio for the current year and one year ago. (2-b) Based on debt-to-equity ratio, does the company have more or less debt in the current year versus one year ago? (3-a) Times interest earned. On (3-b) Based on times interest earned, is the company more or less risky for creditors in the Current Year versus