You are the auditor of Oriole Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of a public multinational engineering company that offers a defined benefit

pension plan to its eligible employees. Employees are permitted to join the plan after two years of employment, and benefits vest

immediately. You have received the following information from the fund trustee for the year ended December $31,2023$:

Defined Benefit Obligation

Defined benefit obligation at January $1,2023,$$$11,444,000$

Current service cost $382,750$

Interest cost $572,200$

Benefits paid $698,235$

Actuarial loss, end of period $573,380$

Plan Assets

Fair value of plan assets at January $1,2023,9,038,300$

Actual return on plan assets, net of expenses $,1,086,180$

Employer contributions $504,700$

Employee contributions $,73,520$

Benefits paid $698,235$

Other relevant information:

The net defined benefit liability on January $1,2023,$ is $$2,405,700.$

Employee contributions to the plan are witheld as payroll deductions and are remitted to the pension trustee along with

the employer contributions.

Instructions: a$.$ Prepare a pension worksheet for the company.

b$.$ Prepare the employer$$s journal entries to reflect the accounting for the pension plan for the year ended December $31,2023.$

c$.$ Prepare a schedule reconciling the plan$$s surplus or deficit with the pension amounts reported on the December $31,2023$ statement of financial position $($SFP$).$

d$.$ Digging Deeper: Assume that interest rates are falling and that the rate of compensation increase is expected to fall as well. Explain what effect this is likely to have on the surplus or deficit of the plan.