The following accounting information pertains to Boardwalk Taffy and Beach Sweets. The only difference between the two companies is that Boardwalk Taffy uses FIFO, while Beach Sweets uses LIFO.

Boardwalk Taffy	Beach Sweets
Cash	$ 75,000	$ 75,000
Accounts receivable	330,000	330,000
Merchandise inventory	230,000	174,000
Accounts payable	205,000	205,000
Cost of goods sold	1,173,000	1,322,400
Building	400,000	400,000
Sales	2,000,000	2,000,000

Required

a-1. Compute the gross margin percentage for each company.

a-2. Identify the company that appears to be charging the higher prices in relation to its cost.

b-1. For each company, compute the inventory turnover ratio and the average days to sell inventory.

b-2. Identify the company that appears to be incurring the higher financing cost