What is an operating segment, and when can information about two operating segments be aggregated?

Short Answer

Expert verified

An operational segment can be part of a business. If the financial characteristics of the operating segments are comparable, they may be combined to form a reportable section and considered collectively for the purposes of the estimate prerequisite.

Step by step solution

01

Meaning of Operating Segment

An operating segment is a part of a larger company that is a profit center, has access to specific financial data, and whose results are assessed on a regular basis by the firm's primary function choice-maker for performance appraisal and asset allocation.

02

Identifying when information about two operating segments be aggregated

The information surrounding the two operating segments may have been gathered because it was not by chance that the sections shared the same fundamental characteristics:

  1. The nature of goods and administration,
  2. The nature of the production process,
  3. The type of course of the customer. ,
  4. Commodity or profit dispersal strategies, and
  5. The nature of the administrative environment.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

(Disclosure of Estimates) Nancy Tercek, the financial vice president, and Margaret Lilly, the controller, of Romine Manufacturing Company are reviewing the financial ratios of the company for the years 2017 and 2018. The financial vice president notes that the profit margin on sales ratio has increased from 6% to 12%, a hefty gain for the 2-year period. Tercek is in the process of issuing a media release that emphasizes the efficiency of Romine Manufacturing in controlling cost. Margaret Lilly knows that the difference in ratios is due primarily to an earlier company decision to reduce the estimates of warranty and bad debt expense for 2018. The controller, not sure of her supervisor’s motives, hesitates to suggest to Tercek that the company’s improvement is unrelated to efficiency in controlling cost. To complicate matters, the media release is scheduled in a few days.

Instructions

  1. Should Lilly, the controller, remain silent? Give reasons.

Cineplex Corporation is a diversified company that operates in five different industries: A, B, C, D, and E. The following information relating to each segment is available for 2018.

A

B

C

D

E

Sales revenue

\(40,000

\)75,000

\(580,000

\)35,000

\(55,000

Cost of goods sold

19,000

50,000

270,000

19,000

30,000

Operating expenses

10,000

40,000

235,000

12,000

18,000

Total expenses

29,000

90,000

505,000

31,000

48,000

Operating profit (loss)

\)11,000

\((15,000)

\)75,000

\(4,000

\)7,000

Identifiable assets

\(35,000

\)80,000

\(500,000

\)65,000

\(50,000

Sales of segments B and C included intersegment sales of \)20,000 and $100,000, respectively.

Instructions

(a) Determine which of the segments are reportable based on the:

3) Identifiable assets test.

(Horizontal and Vertical Analysis) Presented below is the comparative balance sheet for Gilmour Company.

GILMOUR COMPANY

COMPARATIVE BALANCE SHEET

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2018 AND 2017

December 31

2018

2017

Assets

Cash

\( 180,000

\) 275,000

Accounts receivable (net)

220,000

155,000

Short-term investments

270,000

150,000

Inventories

1,060,000

980,000

Prepaid expenses

25,000

25,000

Plant & equipment

2,585,000

1,950,000

Accumulated depreciation

(1,000,000)

(750,000)

\(3,340,000

(2,785,000)

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

Accounts payable

\) 50,000

\( 75,000

Accrued expenses

170,000

200,000

Bonds payable

450,000

190,000

Common stock

2,100,000

1,770,000

Retained earnings

570,000

550,000

\)3,340,000

(2,785,000)

Instructions

(Round to two decimal places.)

  1. Prepare a comparative balance sheet of Gilmour Company showing the dollar change and the percent change for each item.

Heartland Company’s budgeted sales and budgeted cost of goods sold for the coming year are \(144,000,000 and \)99,000,000, respectively. Short-term interest rates are expected to average 10%. If Heartland can increase inventory turnover from its present level of 9 times a year to a level of 12 times per year, compute its expected cost savings for the coming year.

(Dividend Policy Analysis) Matheny Inc. went public 3 years ago. The board of directors will be meeting shortly after the end of the year to decide on a dividend policy. In the past, growth has been financed primarily through the retention of earnings. A stock or a cash dividend has never been declared. Presented below is a brief financial summary of Matheny Inc.’s operations.

(\(000 omitted)

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Sales revenue

\)20,000

\(16,000

\)14,000

\(6,000

\)4,000

Net income

2,400

14,000

800

700

250

Average total assets

22,000

19,000

11,500

4,200

3,000

Current assets

8,000

6,000

3,000

1,200

1,000

Working capital

3,600

3,200

1,200

500

400

Common shares:

Number of shares

Outstanding (000)

Average market price

2,000

\(9

2,000

\)6

2,000

$4

20

-

20

-

Instructions

  1. Suggest factors to be considered by the board of directors in establishing a dividend policy.
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