Wes, a Neighbour of Stan, Wished to Borrow a Sum

question 37

True/False

Wes, a neighbour of Stan, wished to borrow a sum of money from a local bank. Stan was quite wealthy, but elderly, with very poor eyesight. He frequently requested Wes to read his newspaper to him when Wes would drop by for a visit, because reading bothered his eyes. One evening, Wes placed a paper before Stan, and explained to him that he wished to borrow a sum of money but required a letter of reference before the bank would make the loan. He requested Stan to sign the paper to satisfy this requirement. Stan trusted his friend Wes and signed the paper at his request without reading it. Unknown to Stan, the paper was a guarantee of Wes's indebtedness, and not a letter of reference. Wes later defaulted on his debt. Stan may plead non est factum as a defence to a claim by Wes's creditor on the guarantee.

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Definitions:

GAAP

A set of widely adhered-to accounting norms and guidelines for financial statements.

EPS Information

Earnings Per Share; a financial metric that represents the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock.

Operating Activities

The portion of a company's cash flow statement that details the cash generated or used in the company's primary business operations, excluding investing and financing activities.

Depreciation Expense

The allocated amount of an asset's cost expensed over its useful life to account for the decline in its value due to wear and tear.