Brief down in at least 200 words of what do you think about the following summary of an article related to the impact of COVID-19 on mergers and acquisitions. Include your personal views about the following article summary statement.

The article first opens up talking about the effect that COVID-19 has already had on the economy and businesses whether it meant them closing for good, furloughing their employees or consumer spending declining tremendously. Richard D. Harroch, David A. Lipkin, and Richard V. Smith, the authors of this piece state that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have recovered from economic crisis in the past such as the “dot-com bubble” in 2000-2002 as well as the Great Recession of 2007-2009, but they believe that this time it may be a lot different. Coronavirus isn’t just making an impact on the financial system but also the way deals are having to be made. With the majority of businesses working from home or remote locations, effect use of technology and techniques become critical as the environment has changed. Later in the article, M&A deal activity and how it has changed since the beginning of the pandemic is discussed. It is stated that in the first quarter merger and acquisition levels have fallen by more than fifty percent and most of the transactions from that quarter were done before the crisis became global. The writers also believe that these transactions have slowed down because companies that are usually strategic buyers were having to focus on the future health of the company and not so much about growth. Moving along they also talked about the changes that would need to be made to ensure that these deals could get completed. This article has shown how big of an effect that COVID-19 has had on businesses and mergers or acquisitions in the past six months or so.

2. Course Project Option 2 is to complete the following budgeting assignment:

Stillwater Video Company, Inc. produces and markets two popular video games, High Range and Star Boundary. The closing account balances on the company's balance sheet for the last year are as follows: Cash, $18,735; Accounts Receivable, $19,900; Materials Inventory, $18,510; Work in Process Inventory, $24,680; Finished Goods Inventory, $21,940; Prepaid Expenses, $3,420; Plant and Equipment, $262,800; Accumulated Depreciation-Plant and Equipment, $55,845; Other Assets, $9,480; Accounts Payable, $52,640; Mortgage Payable, $70,000; Common Stock, $90,000; and Retained Earnings, $110,980.

Operating budgets for the first quarter of the coming year show the following estimated costs: direct materials purchases, $58,100; direct materials usage, $62,400; direct labor expense, $42,880; overhead, $51,910; selling expenses, $35,820; general and administrative expenses, $60,240; cost of goods manufactured, $163,990; and cost of goods sold, $165,440. Estimated ending cash balances are as follows: January, $34,610; February, $60,190; and March, $54,802. The company will have no capital expenditures during the quarter.

Sales are projected to be $125,200 in January, $105,100 in February, and $112,600 in March. Accounts receivable are expected to double during the quarter, and accounts payable are expected to decrease by 20 percent. Mortgage payments for the quarter will total $6,000 of which $2,000 will be interest expense. Prepaid expenses are expected to go up by $20,000, and other assets are projected to increase by 50 percent over the budgeted period. Depreciation for plant and equipment (already included in the overhead budget) averages 5 percent of total plant and equipment for the year. Federal income taxes (34 percent of profits) are payable in April. The company pays no dividends.

Required

1. Prepare a budgeted income statement for the quarter ended March 31.
2. Prepare a budgeted balance sheet as of March 31.​

#2 In the following table, indicate the effect of each scenario on the aggregate demand curve.

Scenario Change in Aggregate Demand

Government spending increases.(Increases or Decrease)

The amount of taxes collected decreases. (Increases or Decreases)

#4

Why does a reduction in taxes have a smaller multiplier effect than an increase in government spending of an equal amount?

A tax cut directly injects zero new spending into the economy because the government has purchased no new goods and services.

An increase in government spending doubles initially because the government spends the entire tax revenue on new goods and services.

#5

Suppose you are an economic adviser to the president, and the economy needs a real GDP increase of $700 billion to reach full-employment equilibrium.

If the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) is 0.6 and you are a Keynesian, Congress must increase government spending by ................ billion to restore the economy to full employment.

1A . Pargo Company is preparing its master budget for 2017. Relevant data pertaining to its sales, production, and direct materials budgets are as follows.

Sales:Sales for the year are expected to total 1,000,000 units. Quarterly sales are 20%, 25%,25%,and 30% respectively.The sales price is expected to be $40 per unit for the first three quartersand $45 per unit beginning in the fourth quarter.Sales in the first quarter of 2018 are expected to be 20% higher than the budgeted sales for the first quarter of 2017.

Production:Management desires to maintain the ending finished goods inventories at 25% of the next quarter’s budgeted sales volume.

Direct materials:Each unit requires 2 pounds of raw materials at a cost of $12 per pound.Management desires to maintain raw materials inventories at 10% of the next quarter’s production requirements.Assume the production requirements for first quarter of 2018 are 450,000 pounds.

a) Prepare the sales, production, and direct materials budgets by quarters for 2017.

1B. Preparing its budgeted income statement for 2017 ( Using data from answer 1)

In addition, Pargo budgets 0.3 hours of direct labor per unit, labor costs at $15 per hour, and manufacturing overhead at $20 per direct labor hour. Its budgeted selling and administrative expenses for 2017 are $6,000,000.

a) Calculate the budgeted total unit cost

b) Prepare the budgeted multiple-step income statement for 2017. (Ignore income taxes)

Income is to be evaluated under four different situations as follows:

a. Prices are rising:

(1) Situation A: FIFO is used.

(2) Situation B: LIFO is used.

b. Prices are falling:

(1) Situation C: FIFO is used.

(2) Situation D: LIFO is used.

The basic data common to all four situations are: sales, 517 units for $18,612; beginning inventory, 295 units; purchases, 386 units; ending inventory, 164 units; and operating expenses, $4,000. The income tax rate is 30%.

Required: 1. Complete the following tabulation for each situation in Situations A and B (prices rising), assume the following: beginning inventory, 295 units at $11 = $3,245; purchases, 386 units at $12 = $4,632. In Situations C and D (prices falling), assume the opposite; that is, beginning inventory, 295 units at $12 = $3,540; purchases, 386 units at $11 = $4,246.Use periodic inventory procedures.(Round your answers to nearest dollar amount.)

Shamrock Shades operates in mall kiosks throughout the southwestern United States. Shamrock purchases sunglasses from bulk discounters and sells the sunglasses in the mall kiosks. Shamrock is in the process of budgeting for the coming year and has projected sales of $410,000 for January, $490,000 for February, $650,000 for March, and $690,000 for April. Shamrock’s desired ending inventory is 30 percent of the following month’s cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold is expected to be 45 percent of sales.

Required:

Compute the required purchases for each month of the first quarter (January–March).

Savings-Mart (a chain of discount department stores) sells patio and lawn furniture. Sales are seasonal, with higher sales during the spring and summer quarters and lower sales during the fall and winter quarters. The company developed the following quarterly sales forecasting model:

Yˆt=7.50+1.100t−2.75D1t+0.25D2t+3.5D3t

where

Forecast Savings-Mart's sales of patio and lawn furniture for each quarter of 2020.

Mary is self-employed for 2019. Mary estimates her required annual estimated tax payment for 2019 to be $4,000. Mary had a $500 overpayment of last year's taxes which she will apply against her first quarter estimated payment.

a. How much should Mary pay with her first quarter estimated tax voucher?

b. When is the first quarter payment due?

c. How much should Mary pay with her third quarter estimated tax voucher?

d. When is the third quarter payment due?

Garden Beauty Inc. is a company that manufactures and sells outdoor yard sculptures. The company president, Karlee Crosby, has expressed a desire to improve the company’s planning for cash needs. She has approached you, a management accounting student, for help in preparing the budget for the upcoming third quarter. She would like to see the sources and uses of cash by month, for the next quarter ending Sept. 30. Your investigations of the company’s records have revealed the following information:

1. Sales forecast:

      First Quarter ended March 31     4,700 units

      Second Quarter ended June 30             4,500 units

      Third Quarter ended September 30    5,000 units

      Fourth Quarter ended December 31     3,000 units

2. History has shown the sales pattern is consistent in each quarter, where sales in the first month of the quarter are 35% of the total for the quarter, 30% in the second month, and 35% in the third month of the quarter.

3. Sales are on a cash and credit basis, with 70% collected during the month of the sale, and 30% the following month. The selling price is $110 per unit throughout the year.

4. From previous experience, management has determined that an ending finished goods inventory equal to 20% of the next month’s sales is required to meet customer demand. Opening finished goods inventory consists of 350 sculptures.

5. The primary raw material used is a concrete and resin mix that is purchased by the kg and mixed with water, then molded into the statue shape. Each statue requires 10 kg of mix, and the price of mix is $3.00 per kg. Garden Beauty finds it necessary to maintain an inventory balance equal to 15% of the following month’s production needs of mix as a precaution against stock-outs. Opening raw materials inventory consists of 2,550 kg of mix. Garden Beauty pays for 75% of a month’s purchases in the month of purchase and 25% in the following month. The cost of water is included in utilities cost, and the molding machines are considered long lived assets.

6. Beginning accounts payable will consist of $12,176 arising from the estimated direct material purchases for June.

7. While much of the molding process is automated, the finishing process is labor intensive. Employees are paid an average of $28 per hour, including the employer’s portion of employee benefits. All payroll costs are paid in the period in which they are incurred.

Each sculpture spends a total of 45 minutes in production.

8. Due to the company’s concentration on a single product, manufacturing overhead is allocated based on volume (i.e. the units produced). The variable overhead manufacturing rate is $10.25 per unit.

9. The fixed manufacturing overhead costs for the quarter are as follows:

Property and business taxes 6,000

Supervisor’s salary               24,000

Depreciation on equipment 36,000

                                           $ 66,000

• The property and business taxes are paid on July 1 of each year.

• Garden Beauty uses the straight line method of depreciation.

10. Selling and administrative expenses are known to be a mixed cost, consisting of $2.00 per unit variable cost and $2,000 per month fixed costs. These costs are paid as they are incurred.

11. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, Garden Beauty will be required to make quarterly income tax installment payments of $6,500 on the last day of each quarter.

12. Garden Beauty is planning to acquire additional manufacturing equipment for $56,000 cash. 40% of this amount is to be paid in July, 2020, the rest in September, 2020. The manufacturing overhead costs shown above already include the depreciation on this equipment.

13. The president tells you that the board of directors of Garden Beauty is planning on continuing their policy of declaring dividends of $10,000 per quarter.

14. A listing of the relevant balances in the company’s ledger accounts as of June 30, 2020 follows:

Required:

Prepare a monthly master budget for Garden Beauty for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, including the following schedules:

Sales Budget & Schedule of Cash Receipts

Production Budget

Direct Materials Budget & Schedule of Cash Disbursements

Direct Labour Budget

Manufacturing Overhead Budget

Ending Finished Goods Inventory Budget (including calculation of budgeted Cost of Goods Sold)

Selling and Administrative Expense Budget

Cash Budget

Flathead Artifacts (a retailer) has the following sales budget for next year. Flathead has a gross margin of 40%. Flathead sells everything on credit. Accounts are expected to be collected as follows: 35% in the quarter of the sales; 55% in the quarter following the sale; 10% in the second quarter following the sale.

A. What is budgeted cost of goods sold for Quarter 3?

B. What is accounts receivable on the balance sheet at the end of Quarter 4?

Enter a number (no punctuation or other characters).