AssignmentCase Study: Bartlett Financial Services Company.Write a 5 page paper on the following topic utilizingat least 5 scholarly journal article references:Bartlet Financial Services Company...

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Assignment








Case Study: Bartlett Financial Services Company.











Write a 5 page paper on the following topic utilizing

at least 5 scholarly journal article references:



Bartlet Financial Services Company holds a large portfolio of debt and stock securities as an investment. The total fair value of the portfolio at December 31, 2014, is greater than total cost. Some securities have increased in value and others have decreased. Deb Faust, the financial vice president, and Jan McCabe, the controller, are in the process of classifying for the first time the securities in the portfolio. Faust suggests classifying the securities that have increased in value as trading securities in order to increase net income for the year. She wants to classify the securities that have decreased in value as long-term non-trading securities, so that the decreases in value will not affect 2014 net income. McCabe disagrees. She recommends classifying the securities that have decreased in value as trading securities and those that have increased in value as long-term non-trading securities. McCabe argues that the company is having a good earnings year and that recognizing the losses now will help to smooth income for this year. Moreover, for future years, when the company may not be as profitable, the company will have built-in gains.












Instructions: (a) Will classifying the securities as Faust and McCabe suggest actually affect earnings as each says it will? (b) Is there anything unethical in what Faust and McCabe propose? Who are the stakeholders affected by their proposals? (c) Assume that Faust and McCabe properly classify the portfolio. At year-end, Faust proposes to sell the securities that will increase 2014 net income, and McCabe proposes to sell the securities that will decrease 2014 net income. Is this unethical?
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Answered 2 days AfterJan 09, 2023

Answer To: AssignmentCase Study: Bartlett Financial Services Company.Write a 5 page paper on the following...

Prince answered on Jan 11 2023
48 Votes
Bartlet Financial Services Company
Student Name
11th Jan 2023
The Bartlet Financial Services Co. manages a sizable investment portfolio made up of stock and debt instruments. The total fair value of the portfolio as of Dec 31, 2014, exceeded its whole cost. Some securiti
es have seen their value improve while others have seen their value decline. Since each classification has a different impact on the financial statements, the first categorization of securities is crucial.
When management intend to keep an asset until it matures, they designate it as a long-term non-trading security with the held-until-maturity classification. Till the security is sold, any changes in value do not need to be disclosed. Because it is simple to forecast how the classification will affect net income, managers frequently employ it. Securities that are held to maturity are likewise reported as amortized costs, and interest is reported when it is received. Short-term investments in trading securities are made by a corporation with the goal of making a profit; they are valued at fair market value, with gains and losses shown on the statement of income. Profits and losses also are reported when sold, along with interest that is earned. Securities that are offered for sale are recorded at fair value but are accounted for in comprehensive income. Gains or losses from sales are also documented, as well as interest that is generated. Companies utilize the available-for-sale categorization when they do not plan to hold the security until it matures but do not actively trade it either (Crane & Dyson, 2011).
Steven Orpurt elaborated on the categorization of securities by pointing out that accounting for investments can include playing games. The value of trading securities changes every day because they are subject to market volatility. This poses a problem since it could result in a sudden drop in net income due to the value of a security. In order to increase income, managers may also decide to sell a significant quantity of securities immediately before the end of the year. Orpurt illustrates this point with the example of Sony. Sony under pressure to demonstrate a profit in 2013. Sony experienced relatively modest gains on the selling of securities in the two years before. Sony only declared a profit on the selling of securities worth 671 million yen in 2012, but they reported a gain of 41,781 million yen in 2013, allowing them to demonstrate a profit in that year (Orpurt, 2016).
The finance vice president of Bartlet Financial Services Co., Deb Faust, proposes dividing securities by value changes into long-term non-trading securities and trading securities for those that have gained in value. In order to keep the...
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