[The following information applies to the questions displayed below.] Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 33,316	$ 38,944	$ 40,566
Accounts receivable, net	89,400	62,100	50,500
Merchandise inventory	112,500	83,500	51,000
Prepaid expenses	10,729	10,223	4,507
Plant assets, net	324,442	296,946	267,327
Total assets	$ 570,387	$ 491,713	$ 413,900
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 140,606	$ 82,269	$ 54,088
Long-term notes payable	106,160	111,963	90,557
Common stock, $10 par value	162,500	162,500	162,500
Retained earnings	161,121	134,981	106,755
Total liabilities and equity	$ 570,387	$ 491,713	$ 413,900

The companys income statements for the current year and one year ago follow. Assume that all sales are on credit:

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 741,503		$ 585,138
Cost of goods sold	$ 452,317		$ 380,340
Other operating expenses	229,866		148,040
Interest expense	12,606		13,458
Income tax expense	9,640		8,777
Total costs and expenses		704,429		550,615
Net income		$ 37,074		$ 34,523
Earnings per share		$ 2.28		$ 2.12

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

(2-a) Compute accounts receivable turnover. (2-b) For each ratio, determine if it improved or worsened in the current year.

(3-a) Compute inventory turnover. (3-b) For each ratio, determine if it improved or worsened in the current year.

(4-a) Compute days' sales in inventory. (4-b) For each ratio, determine if it improved or worsened in the current year.