Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 26,099	$ 30,507	$ 33,758
Accounts receivable, net	74,871	54,478	43,686
Merchandise inventory	98,018	71,268	46,996
Prepaid expenses	8,491	7,926	3,641
Plant assets, net	243,906	224,946	206,219
Total assets	$ 451,385	$ 389,125	$ 334,300
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 112,395	$ 65,105	$ 43,686
Long-term notes payable	86,558	91,289	73,141
Common stock, $10 par value	162,500	162,500	162,500
Retained earnings	89,932	70,231	54,973
Total liabilities and equity	$ 451,385	$ 389,125	$ 334,300

The companys income statements for the current year and one year ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 586,801		$ 463,059
Cost of goods sold	$ 357,949		$ 300,988
Other operating expenses	181,908		117,154
Interest expense	9,976		10,650
Income tax expense	7,628		6,946
Total costs and expenses		557,461		435,738
Net income		$ 29,340		$ 27,321
Earnings per share		$ 1.81		$ 1.68

For both the current year and one year ago, compute the following ratios:

(3-a) Compute times interest earned for the current year and one year ago. (3-b) Based on times interest earned, is the company more or less risky for creditors in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?

Compute times interest earned for the current year and one year ago