Sprout Company reported the following on the company's income statement in two recent years: Interest expense Income before income tax expense Current Year Prior Year $233,000 $256,300 2,679,500 3,024,340 a. Determine the times interest earned ratio for the current year and the prior year. Round to one decimal place. Current Year Prior Year 11.5 X 11.8 X b. Is the times interest earned ratio improving or declining?