It is the end of your final year of study as a student in the Master of Finance program and you are trying to determine what you are going to do over the remaining 35 years of your working life. You are trying to decide whether you should remain at university and do your PhD in finance or alternatively leave university and become a consultant.

You anticipate that it will take you 5 years to complete your PhD during which time you will earn a real net cash flow of $25,000 p.a. At the end of these 5 years you must decide whether to remain at the university as an academic or take up a career as a consultant.  There is a 10% chance that you will enjoy great success as an academic earning a salary of  $85,000 p.a., a 50% chance that you will have a moderately successful career earning a salary of $65,000 p.a. and a 40% chance that you will have an unsuccessful academic career earning a salary of only $45,000 p.a. If you decide to become a consultant then it will initially cost you $100,000 to set up your business and there is an 80% chance of generating $60,000 p.a. and a 20% chance of generating $120,000 p.a..

If you decide not do a PhD and instead become a consultant immediately, there is a 60% chance that you will earn $70,000 p.a. and a 40% chance that you will earn $50,000 p.a. over the remainder of your working life.

Assume that all cash flows (other than those specified otherwise) occur at year-end, are expressed in real terms (that is in terms of purchasing power today) and that the real opportunity cost of capital is 10%.

You are to assume that for personal (as opposed to financial) reasons, you have decided to do a PhD. Using the decision tree approach, estimate the value of the option associated with not having to stay in academia after you acquire your PhD.

1. The amount of uncollectible accounts at the end of the year is estimated to be $25,000 using the aging of accounts receivable method. The balance in the Allowance of Doubtful Accounts account is an $8,000 credit before adjustment. Assuming no accounts are written off during the period, what will be the amount of bad debts expense for the period?

2. plasma inc. has net credit sales of $500,000 during the year. Based on historical information, Plasma estimates that 2% of net credit sales result in bad debts. At the beginning of the year, Plasma has a credit balance in its Allowance for Doubtful Accounts of $4,000. What amount of bad debt expense should Plasma recognize for the year, assuming no specific customer accounts were written off?

3. Total doubtful accounts at the end of the year is estimated to be $25,000 using the aging of accounts receivables method. If the balance for the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts is a $7,000 debit before adjustment, what will be the amount of bad debt expense for the period?

Please explain thoroughly - I do not understand the relationship between bad debt expense and allowance for doubtful accounts

Is it possible that PE > GDP in a given year in a closed economy if some aggregate expenditure falls on output produced in the previous year? Please explain in detail with different possibilities.

Letter # 1: Routine Request Assignment: Write a letter to your instructor requesting a letter of recommendation. You may be applying to graduate school, for a scholarship, for an internship, or for a full-time job. You select the scenario that is most applicable to your current situation. Preparation: Review Chapter 7: Writing Routine and Positive Messages (Especially pgs. 169-170) Format: Use the modified block letter format for this assignment. Please refer to page 421-423 for an explanation of the block and modified block formats. The example in your book on page 422 is a block format letter while the example on page 423 is modified block letter format. Please note the differences carefully. The format of your letter tells the reader a lot about you and your professionalism. Pay particular attention to your letter's margins, line spacing, font type and size, and placement of letter parts such as the return address, date, inside address, salutation, complimentary close, and signature block. Your instructor's name and office location are located on your syllabus. Florida International University's address is as follows: Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199. If there is no office listed, please use the Communication Arts Department office: Viertes Haus, room 212. Organization (p.170) Introduction/Opening: Begin your letter with an introductory paragraph that states your purpose and makes the request. Assume the reader will want to comply with your request. Body/Discussion: In the first paragraph of the body include information that refreshes the reader's memory about your relationship with him/her. In the second paragraph refer to your resume (you do not need to include your resume) and elaborate on experience that distinguishes you from other applicants or candidates. In the third paragraph of the body (the fourth paragraph of the letter), provide the name and title of the person you would like the letter be mailed to and provide a reasonable deadline for sending the letter. Mention the preaddressed stamped envelope to encourage a timely response; however, you do not need to include a preaddressed stamped envelope for this assignment. Conclusion/Closing: Begin your closing paragraph with a courteous transition and thank the reader in advance for his/her time. Conclude your letter by indicating how the reader may contact you if he/she has any questions.

Complete exercise 9.20 from the text.

(a) Create a function called polygon that draws a polygon in a polar plot. Your function should have a single input parameter – the number of sides.

(b) Use a for loop to create a figure with four subplots…You should use the function you created in part (a) to draw each polygon. Use the index parameter from the for loop to specify the subplot in which each polygon is drawn, and in an expression to determine the number of sides used as input to the polygon fuction.

For help with the algorithm to draw regular polygons, consult problem 8.17 To be clear, the polygon() function should only draw one polygon, as specified by the number it receives as a parameter.

A second function or script should have the for loop, call subplot() to indicate where to create a plot, and call polygon() to actually create the plot.

Additional notes include:

1. There must be some weird junk on the internet because many previous students have tried to use some gibberish with rand() and cumsum() that does not create triangles, squares, etc. Do not repeat their mistakes.

2. Never clear variables at the start of a function!

3. A for loop with just one number is a waste of typed characters.

4. The instructions never mention prompting the user for a number.

5. You must call subplot before you plot anything that is supposed to go into a subplot.

6. Things that only need to be done once should not be inside a loop, such as set(gcf, …). The only things that should be inside a loop are the things that must be repeated.

7. If you copy and paste a few lines, especially more than once, there is probably a better way.

and here's what I did so far, it needs to be fixed according to note number 4 and additional corrections

%% 9.20 (a) create a function called polygon in a polar plot
function [p] = polygon(n)
n = input('Enter the number of sides: ');
theta = 0: 2*pi/n : 2*pi;
r = ones(1, length(theta));
subplot(2, 2, n-2); polar(theta, r);
end
% (b) use a for loop to create figure with four subplots
function polygon
for n = 3: 1: 6
polar(theta, r)
end

end

Thanks

Read the article (link is below) and answer the questions that follows in a paper format. (Paper has to be 1-page, 11-inch font- single-spaced).

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/50596700_A_long_noncoding_RNA_maintains_active_chromatin_to_coordinate_homeotic_gene_expression

Primary Paper HW assignment guidelines

Your primary paper consists of three parts:

1. In your own words, state the essential take home message of the paper assigned.

-Here you should briefly mention what was known about this topic before this paper was published

-Then state what the aim/goal/purpose of this published study was. In other words, what did the authors set out to do?

-Also describe why this research is important (if you think it is important)/ what are the researchers hoping to contribute to the existing knowledge.

2. State how the authors demonstrated the essential point of the paper: what experiments and what methods they used to prove the point

-In this section you should link how a particular approach/method was used to obtain a particular result and why it would be important/relevant. For example:

-Authors used method A to get/show result B. Result B is important because (it supports their original hypothesis in the following way/describe how/ or it provides novel findings regarding mechanism X

-Continue the bulleted list to correlate specific method with specific result and how it supports the claims made in the paper.

3. Discuss the strengths and significance of the paper and also the weaknesses and indicate additional lines of investigation that you think would be worth pursuing that were opened up by the paper.

-Here I want you to critique the experimental approach and author’s conclusions, not their writing style or format of the paper. Also, keep in mind that these are primary research articles published in scientific journals, so they are intended for a scientific, not general audience. Hence the language could be a bit dense.

-I want you to be very specific here. Do not write general and vague statements. Instead, refer to specific data in the paper (in figure X, or table Y) and indicate any possible flaws or limitations of the experiment.

-Propose possible future directions or follow up studies. You can look up papers that cited this research or follow up on the last author’s subsequent research.

-Explain if this paper contributed anything new to the field and if it enabled better understanding of the subject.

Alcoa is the world's leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina. The following is a press release from the company:

Alcoa Announces 33% Increase in Base Dividend, 2-for -1 Stock Split

PITTSBURGH—Alcoa today announced that its Board of Directors approved a base quarterly dividend increase of 33.3%. Alcoa's announcement indicated that the new quarterly dividend would be 25 cents per share. It also stated that the Board of Directors declared a two-for-one stock split and reaffirmed its commitment to a stock repurchase program. Your boss, Mr. Scott, has written you a simple note to the effect, “What options do we have in accounting/reporting these actions as they take place?”

Required:

Respond to your boss (Mr. Living Scott) using a one page, 12 point-text memo. Be sure to include the following in your memo writeup:

1. What are the two primary reporting alternatives Alcoa has in accounting for the repurchase of its shares? Hint: Think formal retirement versus treasury stock. Be sure to mention the effect of the optional courses of action on total shareholders' equity? What would be the effect of the optional courses of action on how stock would be presented in Alcoa's balance sheet?
2. What are the two primary courses of action Alcoa has in accounting for the stock split, and how would the choice affect Alcoa's shareholders' equity? Hint: Think stock-split versus a large stock dividend.
3. Access the FASB Accounting Standards Codification at the AAA website (see the syllabus). Identify and include the specific citation from the authoritative literature that describes how to account for treasury stock and stock-splits.

Note: Keep in mind that a well written memo should include an introductory paragraph that CLEARLY states the purpose of your memo to your boss. Avoid much writing here – be specific and to the point.

Discussion paragraph(s) that addresses the questions posed. Note that you can have several paragraphs as long as they address different major points.

Usually a memo has a conclusion/recommendation paragraph but since this assignment does not require one, you can leave that out but find a professional way to end your memo and not just leaving it hanging.

Damage Expense Topic:

Violations of Internal Control Characters: Chris, New Distribution Supervisor at a large candy manufacturer Bob, Inventory Control Manager, Chris’s immediate boss Chris has been recently hired as the Distribution Supervisor for an international candy company. The plant is in a rural area and is about to begin a major expansion that will triple its capacity. The company has generous benefits and has paid all moving expenses for Chris and his family. During the move, however, the movers damaged a large piece of oak furniture. Chris has contacted the moving company. The insurance is by the pound and would cover only a small part of the worth of the item. Chris has explained this to the moving company, but it refuses to reimburse him for the item’s value. Chris approaches his supervisor, Bob, about the problem. Chris has been on the job about a month and enjoys the partnership they have developed to date. Chris had originally interviewed with Bob, and Bob’s recommendation had been a major factor in Chris’s getting the job. Chris has found the types of challenges he was looking for in a new position and is already becoming a major player in planning for the new expansion. Bob tells Chris that he does not think he can do anything to persuade the moving company to reimburse Chris and suggests that Chris pad his next few expense reports to cover the cost. Chris is surprised at Bob’s suggestion, because thus far Bob has dealt with him in a very evenhanded manner and has appeared to have strong business ethical standards.

Author: Originally developed by Michael Forget, graduate student at Washington University, as a class project in “Ethical Decision Making.” Edited and submitted by Dr. Raymond L. Hilgert, Professor of Management and Industrial Relations, Washington

16. Your company has sold 80 ready-to-assemble bookcases to customers. You have noticed some disgruntled customers discussing this bookcase on Facebook and Twitter, but they did not mention a specific problem. For two weeks you have been closely monitoring these complaints and finally a customer gives the details you need. This customer says that the instructions for putting the bookcase together were not in the box.
After a trip to the warehouse, you confirm that this is a problem and stop all boxes from going out. You have instruction sheets printed and have them placed in a sealed, marked plastic envelope on the outside of the boxes, before resuming shipments.
Customer service pulls the contact information for all the orders shipped without instructions. How would you handle your response to customers? What would you say?

17. As the sales manager, you have eight sales associates and one administrative assistant working for you. You have asked your assistant to make the arrangements for you and your sales group to attend a trade show. The day before the event, one of your sales associates becomes ill and will not be able to attend.  
Your assistant asks if he may go with you. Instead of giving an immediate answer, you ask for time to consider his request. Having everyone out of the office at once is not an option. Who will take any sales calls that may come in? Your department's phones must be covered while you are all away. You have decided not to approve his request.

How do you reject a request? What should you say? What type of buffer can you use to soften the blow of the rejection?

19. Now that you have completed your PowerPoint slides and your presentation, is there anything that you would have done differently? Would you have chosen a different way to design your presentation slides? What advice would you give others trying to do a presentation?

20. Take a look at the variables of group communication: conflict, conformity, and consensus. Is there such a thing as healthy conflict? When is conflict in a team good, and how should a team avoid personal conflict?