Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	33,831			$	39,546		$	41,194
Accounts receivable, net			89,800				62,300			51,300
Merchandise inventory			111,000				84,500			60,000
Prepaid expenses			10,895				10,381			4,577
Plant assets, net			333,681				302,589			263,229
Total assets		$	579,207			$	499,316		$	420,300
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	142,780			$	83,541		$	54,925
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			107,802				113,694			91,957
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			166,125				139,581			110,918
Total liabilities and equity		$	579,207			$	499,316		$	420,300

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow. Assume that all sales are on credit:

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	752,969					$	594,186
Cost of goods sold	$	459,311					$	386,221
Other operating expenses		233,420						150,329
Interest expense		12,800						13,666
Income tax expense		9,789						8,913
Total costs and expenses					715,320						559,129
Net income				$	37,649					$	35,057
Earnings per share				$	2.32					$	2.16

Exercise 13-8 Part 1

(1-a) Compute days' sales uncollected. (1-b) For each ratio, determine if it improved or worsened in the current year.