The General Manager, who is patient and open to different viewpoints, "Thank you and we know your views, and we certainly need to see how they hold up over a number of accounting periods, not just one." She placed a paper on the table. "These are the numbers I received this morning- the 2024 numbers are not official yet as they still need to be verified and the data is a bit messy. I haven't had time to make sense of it but take a look here." The Sales Manager takes a quick look at the data and says, "I'm not an accountant but it seems t me that there might be a mistake with the numbers which impact profit- either the numbers on the paper are wrong or the ratio calculation is!" Mary weighs what the Sales Manager is saying and quickly interjects with a gesture to the Gener Manager. "She did mention the numbers haven't been verified yet, but we can dig deeper into that." He makes a quick mental note to confirm how net profit is calculated and if the profit margir ratio makes sense. He wonders if there are other expenses to consider, not just operating expenses. The Production Manager took a quick look at the paper and said, "It seems like our revenues are trending down, which, of course, means lower profits. And remember that we also pay our shareholders as good a dividend as any of our competitors, if not better." Mary recalls that the company paid about 40% of it profits as dividends last year. He has held 0 on declaring dividends this year, but wants a pros and cons analysis on paying dividends. He wonders how the business's cash situation would be affected if the corporation stuck to its usue policy of paying out 40% of profits to shareholders. The company typically waited until supplier bills came due before paying- what if they delayed paying? That could certainly help the cash situation, but there could certainly be downsides to an act like that. Mary wants a detailed anal of this, too. The Sales Manager interjected. "The lower revenues aren't my fault! Customers are not paying quickly and that messes up my numbers!" The General Manager, who is patient and open to different viewpoints, "Thank you and we know your views, and we certainly need to see how they hold up over a number of accounting periods, not just one." She placed a paper on the table. "These are the numbers I received this morning- the 2024 numbers are not official yet as they still need to be verified and the data is a bit messy. I haven't had time to make sense of it but take a look here." The Sales Manager takes a quick look at the data and says, "I'm not an accountant but it seems t me that there might be a mistake with the numbers which impact profit- either the numbers on the paper are wrong or the ratio calculation is!" Mary weighs what the Sales Manager is saying and quickly interjects with a gesture to the Gener Manager. "She did mention the numbers haven't been verified yet, but we can dig deeper into that." He makes a quick mental note to confirm how net profit is calculated and if the profit margir ratio makes sense. He wonders if there are other expenses to consider, not just operating expenses. The Production Manager took a quick look at the paper and said, "It seems like our revenues are trending down, which, of course, means lower profits. And remember that we also pay our shareholders as good a dividend as any of our competitors, if not better." Mary recalls that the company paid about 40% of it profits as dividends last year. He has held 0 on declaring dividends this year, but wants a pros and cons analysis on paying dividends. He wonders how the business's cash situation would be affected if the corporation stuck to its usue policy of paying out 40% of profits to shareholders. The company typically waited until supplier bills came due before paying- what if they delayed paying? That could certainly help the cash situation, but there could certainly be downsides to an act like that. Mary wants a detailed anal of this, too. The Sales Manager interjected. "The lower revenues aren't my fault! Customers are not paying quickly and that messes up my numbers