Simon Company's year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr				1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	25,146		$	29,393		$	30,930
Accounts receivable, net			71,451			49,421			39,219
Merchandise inventory			88,938			65,972			42,190
Prepaid expenses			7,780			7,413			3,302
Plant assets, net			224,527			208,010			190,659
Total assets		$	417,842		$	360,209		$	306,300
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	107,164		$	60,267		$	40,836
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			76,198			82,020			65,662
Common stock, $10 par value			163,500			163,500			163,500
Retained earnings			70,980			54,422			36,302
Total liabilities and equity		$	417,842		$	360,209		$	306,300

1. Express the balance sheets in common-size percents. (Do not round intermediate calculations and round your final percentage answers to 1 decimal place.) 2. Assuming annual sales have not changed in the last three years, is the change in accounts receivable as a percentage of total assets favorable or unfavorable? 3. Assuming annual sales have not changed in the last three years, is the change in merchandise inventory as a percentage of total assets favorable or unfavorable?

Req1

SIMON COMPANY
Common-Size Comparative Balance Sheets
December 31
	Current Year		1 Year Ago		2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash		%		%		%
Accounts receivable, net
Merchandise inventory
Prepaid expenses
Plant assets, net
Total assets		%		%		%
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		%		%		%
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets
Common stock, $10 par
Retained earnings
Total liabilities and equity		%		%		%

Req2&3

2.	Change in accounts receivable
3.	Change in merchandise inventory