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

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	29,123			$	34,042		$	35,105
Accounts receivable, net			89,200				62,300			50,700
Merchandise inventory			110,500				83,500			59,000
Prepaid expenses			9,378				8,936			3,901
Plant assets, net			255,402				236,742			205,894
Total assets		$	493,603			$	425,520		$	354,600
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	122,907			$	71,913		$	46,807
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			92,797				97,870			78,367
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			115,399				93,237			66,926
Total liabilities and equity		$	493,603			$	425,520		$	354,600

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow. Assume that all sales are on credit:

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	641,684					$	506,369
Cost of goods sold	$	391,427					$	329,140
Other operating expenses		198,922						128,111
Interest expense		10,909						11,646
Income tax expense		8,342						7,596
Total costs and expenses					609,600						476,493
Net income				$	32,084					$	29,876
Earnings per share				$	1.97					$	1.84

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

Days Sales In Inventory
	Choose Numerator:	/	Choose Denominator:	x	Days	=	Days Sales In Inventory
	Ending inventory	/	Cost of goods sold	x		=	Days sales in inventory
Current Yr:		/	$391,427	x		=		days
1 Yr Ago:		/	$329,140	x		=		days