One Way Enron Manipulated Its Financial Statements Was to Sell

question 5

Multiple Choice

One way Enron manipulated its financial statements was to sell assets at inflated prices to other firms, while giving a promise to buy back those assets at a later date. The incoming cash was recorded as revenue, but the promise to buy back the assets was not disclosed. Which of the following is one of the ways that such a transaction is deceptive?

• A)The assets should have been listed on the balance sheet as long-term assets.
• B)Cash raised by selling assets should not be recorded as revenue.
• C)The cash raised should have been recorded as short-term loans.
• D)The off-balance sheet promises to repurchase assets should have been disclosed in management discussion and analysis (MD&A)or notes to the financial statement.

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Definitions:

Average Variable Cost

The total variable cost per unit of output, calculated by dividing total variable costs by the quantity of output produced.

Profit Maximization

The method used by a company to establish the price and quantity of production that generates the maximum profit.

Lowest Output

The minimum amount of goods or services produced by an entity under given conditions.

Shut Down

A short-term decision by a firm to cease operations because current operation is not covering variable costs.