Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	30,600			$	36,000		$	38,200
Accounts receivable, net			86,900				61,500			49,000
Merchandise inventory			110,500				82,600			54,000
Prepaid expenses			10,550				9,300			4,700
Plant assets, net			276,000				253,500			235,000
Total assets		$	514,550			$	442,900		$	380,900
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	129,200			$	75,000		$	51,000
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			97,000				100,250			81,000
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			125,850				105,150			86,400
Total liabilities and equity		$	514,550			$	442,900		$	380,900

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	775,000					$	610,000
Cost of goods sold	$	480,500					$	390,400
Other operating expenses		240,250						152,500
Interest expense		11,500						12,700
Income tax expense		9,600						8,925
Total costs and expenses					741,850						564,525
Net income				$	33,150					$	45,475
Earnings per share				$	2.04					$	2.80

For both the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, compute the following ratios:

(3-a) Return on total assets. (3-b) Based on return on total assets, did Simon's operating efficiency improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?

Return on total assets

Return On Total Assets
	Choose Numerator:	/	Choose Denominator:	=	Return On Total Assets
		/		=	Return on total assets
Current Year:		/		=		%
1 Year Ago:		/		=		%