Required: Read the background information on Vine & Branches provided below, and then complete the following: Assume that you are the Accounts Payable clerk for Vine & Branches, and your job is to keep track of the bills and write checks for all 3 of the companies. One day during 2021, your boss (John Peters) approaches you, carrying an invoice issued to Sunflower Designs for materials pur- chased. John says, "Let's pay this one out of Walnut Grove instead of Sunflower Designs. We're running a bit low on cash in the Sunflower account, and Walnut Grove has plenty. We could use the tax write-off for Walnut Grove anyway." Write an essay of at least 1,000 words addressing the following key components of the scenario: 1. What is the ethical issue? 2. Who are the potential stakeholders? 3. What are the various alternatives that could be utilized by the Accounts Payable clerk in response to John Peters' request? 4. What is the appropriate course of action, according to relevant accounting standards? (Please cite appropriate professional resources to support your conclusion.) Vine & Branches Vine & Branches is owned by the husband and wife team of John and Mary Peters (both 38 years old). John and Mary both come from entrepreneurial backgrounds, and wanted to start their own company in order to have more time with their three children, Samuel (age 16), Elijah (age 12), and Josephine (age 8). Together, they had a vision of creating a company that their children could one day take over. The first issue that arose was the type of company they wanted to run. Before long, they had three very distinct companies; yet, the three companies could work together. Pinnacle Home Builders Before John met Mary, he worked for his father Silas in a custom home building business. John was exposed to all the different areas of the custom home building business, from bidding jobs, financing of jobs, actual construc- tion, to final delivery. John gained a wealth of experience, especially in the field where he learned how to do everything from concrete to finish work. With the collapse of the housing market, Silas chose to close his business and focus on his wife and grandchildren. While John went to work as a project manager for another construction company, the hours were much longer, the pay was less, and John didn't get to do what he really wanted to do - build. Then he met Mary. John continued to work for the other company until they too chose to close their doors. Currently, John is a project manager for a local general contractor that does mostly commercial buildings. John and Mary decide that John could start a small hometown custom home building business. John knew several highly qualified workers he could hire, as they had all expressed interest in working for him if he ever started his own business. Several of John's friends also requested he build homes for them - they saw the work he did when he built his own home! So, in March 2015, John and Mary started Pinnacle Home Builders in recognition of the successes they had achieved in the past, and of what was still to come. In their first year, they were able to complete one custom home for a very satisfied couple. They took their time, and did it right. As a result, they project they will be able to build at least two average sized custom homes per year, utilizing two crews. In addition, Samuel was able to gain valuable knowledge in the field of construction, and expressed interest in one day carrying on the tradition of Pinnacle. Walnut Grove As John was building his first custom home, he quickly realized not all suppliers were the same, and neither were their prices. Despite knowing John and his family, John had to pay much higher prices for some of his supplies than some of his competitors. This caused him to not make as high a profit, but it also bothered John that there seemed to be two different scales - one for those the suppliers liked, and one for those the suppliers didn't. The suppliers seemed to like John, but John never felt right about the prices he was being charged. After encouragement from Mary, John contacted a manufacturer directly, and asked what kind of prices the manufacturers would be willing to give him, if he bought direct for his own business (Pinnacle Home Builders) and if he became a retailer for them. The prices were consider- ably lower than what John had been paying - almost half! John and Mary couldn't believe how much they could save. And, those savings could easily be passed on to their customers. After discussing a line of credit with the bank, John and Mary opened Walnut Grove on October 1, 2016, in recognition of one of the sturdiest types of wood, much like the sturdiness of their family. Now, not only could they save money on the purchase of construction materials, other builders in the area could also save. It was a win for the community and the Peters family! By the time the store opened, Silas had grown weary of all the traveling, and was restless at home. Silas' wife, Elizabeth, encouraged Silas to help his son, much like John had helped him. Silas and Elizabeth quickly found themselves as new employees of Walnut Grove. Silas handled all of the ordering and cus- tomer service, while Elizabeth ran the counter and kept the books. Since most of their customers were construction companies, like Pinnacle, there wasn't a lot of foot traffic from individuals. Having four additional part-time employees, and only being open from 7:00 am until 1:00 pm - Monday through Saturday, helped John and Mary to manager their costs. They knew eventually they wanted to also man- ufacture custom cabinets - Silas' specialty, and possibly rent small tools. In order to do so, they would need even more employees, and would also need to extend the store's operating hours. Furthermore, Elijah expressed interest in the cabinet side of the business, as his woodworking shop class exposed him to this field. This would allow him to one day take over the store. For now, the material and supply shop was all the Peters family could handle. Sunflower Designs Mary loved being a stay-at-home mom. Now that the children were older, and were interested in other things, Mary found she had more time to do the things she liked to do, one of which was designing. She would occasion- ally go into Walnut Grove when someone called out sick, or if someone needed a day off. She loved being able to help John in this way, but she often found herself sketching when customers weren't around. One day, a new customer came in looking for a ramset. He had already been to all of the other supply stores, but Walnut Grove was the only one that carried the tool in stock. As Mary was ringing up the sale, the customer noticed Mary's sketches. He picked the sketches up and began commenting on much his wife would love them. He asked if he could take a picture of them to show her. Thinking he was being polite, Mary thanked him, and didn't think anything else about the conversation. Two days later, a woman walked into the store and asked to speak with the designer. Elizabeth was working the front counter, and politely told the woman they did not have a designer on staff. The woman insisted that her husband had been there just two days prior and had spoken to her. The women then showed Elizabeth the de- signs on her cell phone. Elizabeth quickly recognized the designs Mary had drawn, as they were of the very same window treatments Mary had designed for her! Just then, Mary walked into the store to deliver lunch for every- one. She did that on occasion, as she felt it was important to show all of the employees how much she and John appreciated them. Before long, the woman hired Mary to do all of the interior design work for her own personal home, as well as that of several of her husband's customers. She even received an advance payment for all of the work! After the woman left, Mary quickly called John and told him what had happened. Later that night, they tried to come up with a name for their new company. As they watched their children working on homework, Mary noticed that Josephine was sketching a sunflower - something she used to do when she was her age. They knew imme- diately they had their name and their logo - Sunflower Designs, to symbolize the loyalty they had for each other and their family. With the substantial advance, no additional monies were needed in the short-term, and Mary had found a potential very part-time assistant in Josephine. Vine & Branches Now with three companies fully functioning, John and Mary chose the name, Vine & Branches to serve as the umbrella for the individual companies. Each company was a separate entity, which had advantages; however, John and Mary knew there were also advantages to having them all under one name. Since each company was an extension of themselves and their skills, the name Vine & Branches seemed to fit. Some companies would be larger, and small would be smaller, much like vines are small compared to branches