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

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 32,657	$ 37,410	$ 38,976
Accounts receivable, net	94,650	64,799	50,929
Merchandise inventory	116,625	90,041	56,464
Prepaid expenses	10,727	9,920	4,417
Plant assets, net	298,851	274,994	242,914
Total assets	$ 553,510	$ 477,164	$ 393,700
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 140,580	$ 79,028	$ 53,527
Long-term notes payable	106,141	109,748	86,138
Common stock, $10 par value	162,500	162,500	163,500
Retained earnings	144,289	125,888	90,535
Total liabilities and equity	$ 553,510	$ 477,164	$ 393,700

The companys income statements for the current year and one year ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 719,563		$ 567,825
Cost of goods sold	$ 438,933		$ 369,086
Other operating expenses	223,065		143,660
Interest expense	12,233		13,060
Income tax expense	9,354		8,517
Total costs and expenses		683,585		534,323
Net income		$ 35,978		$ 33,502
Earnings per share		$ 2.21		$ 2.06

For both the current year and one year ago, compute the following ratios: (1) Debt and equity ratios. (2) Debt-to-equity ratio. (3-a) Times interest earned. (3-b) Based on times interest earned, is the company more or less risky for creditors in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?

Required 1 Required 2 Required 3A Required 3B Compute debt and equity ratio for the current year and one year ago. Debt Ratio Numerator: 1 Denominator: = Debt Ratio 1 = Debt ratio Current Year: 1 = 11 % 1 Year Ago: / = % Equity Ratio Numerator: 1 Denominator: = 1 = Equity Ratio Equity ratio % Current Year: 1 1 Year Ago: / II = % Required 1 Required 2 Required 3A Required 3B Compute debt-to-equity ratio for the current year and one year ago. Numerator: Debt-To-Equity Ratio 1 Denominator: 1 Debt-To-Equity Ratio Debt-to-equity ratio = Current Year: / = to 1 1 Year Ago: / = to 1 Required 1 Required 2 Required 3A Required 3B Compute times interest earned for the current year and one year ago. Times Interest Earned Numerator: Denominator: = Times Interest Earned 1 Times interest earned Current Year: 1 times 1 Year Ago: 1 11 = times Required 1 Required 2 Required 3A Required 3B Based on times interest earned, is the company more or less risky for creditors in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago? Based on times interest earned, the company is for creditors in the current year versus one year ago.