These were the transactions with common shares of a company in 2022:

1. On January 1, there were 400,000 shares outstanding.

2. February 1: The company issued 120,000 new shares.

3. May 1: 180,000 new shares were issued

4. June 1: The company issued a 2:1 stock split.

5. July 1: The company issued 300,000 new shares

6. September 1: An additional 300,000 shares were issued

7. December 1: The company declared and issued a 20% stock dividend

REQUIRED:

a. Compute the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for 2022. Show ALL your computations.

b. Suppose that in February of 2023, before the financial statements for 2022 were published, the company declared and issued a 50% stock dividend. Explain if this transaction will have an effect on the 2022 average number of common shares.