are the processes and procedures that a company uses to provide reasonable assurance that its financial reports are reliable.

Costco wholesale corporation operates membership warehouses selling food, appliances, consumer electronics, apparel and other household goods at 471 locations across the u.s. as well as in canada, mexico and puerto rico. as of its fiscal year-end 2005, costco had approximately 21.2 million members. selected fiscal-year information from the company's balance sheets follows. ($ millions). selected balance sheet data 2005 2004 merchandise inventories $4,015 $3,644 deferred membership income (liability) 501 454 (a) during fiscal 2005, costco collected $1,120 cash for membership fees. use the financial statement effectstemplate to record the cash collected for membership fees. (b) in 2005, costco recorded $46,347 million in merchandise costs (that is, cost of goods sold). record thistransaction in the financial statement effects template. (c) determine the value of merchandise that costco purchased during fiscal-year 2005. use the financial statementeffects template to record these merchandise purchases. assume all of costco's purchases are on credit.

Bond j has a coupon rate of 6 percent and bond k has a coupon rate of 12 percent. both bonds have 14 years to maturity, make semiannual payments, and have a ytm of 9 percent. a. if interest rates suddenly rise by 2 percent, what is the percentage price change of these bonds?

Which of the following is one of the main causes of inflation? a. wages drop so workers have to spend a higher percentage of income on necessities. b. demand drops and forces producers to charge more to meet their costs. c. rising unemployment cuts into national income. d. consumers demand goods faster than they can be supplied.