Discussion 2

There are other accounts apart from savings accounts and checking accounts. One is the

money market account that allows one to blend between checking and savings accounts such that

one accesses a limited amount of cash each month. The other is a certificate of deposit (CD)

account that is used as a secure way to invest money for a set period of time. Individual

retirement arrangement (IRA) is tax-deferred another account and this account usually is used to

invest retirement money (Hargrave, 2020). A brokerage account is used by those who want to

invest money but they do not want to be charged before for taking the money before they reach

59.5 years (Hargrave, 2020). Each of these accounts has its own characteristics that make it

appealing to the user. For instance, individual retirement arrangement (IRA) has a tax deferment.

Discussion 4

One can find the new amount when a given number, say, for instance, 100 is increased by

a percentage, say 10% by finding the amount as a percentage and adding it to the original

amount. That is (10% of 100) +100=110. Also, one can take the original amount as 100% and

add the percentage increase to it to get 110% and then calculate the new amount from the derived

percentage (110% of 100= 110).

Discussion 5

Markup can be calculated from the cost or from the selling price but as a retailer, I would

prefer markup based on the selling price. It is so because, in my opinion, markup that is based on

cost is usually overstated and therefore fails to portray the real gross margin accrued. For

instance, if I am selling burgers at $20 which has cost $15, markups based on cost and selling

price will be (20-15=5/15*100= 33.3%) and 20-15=5/20*100= 25%), respectively. The former in

this case is more overstated.

Discussion 6

The declining-balance depreciation and MACRS depreciation methods are usually used

to calculate depreciation. Usually, in the declining-balance method, if an asset depreciates by

20% and its initial value is $1000, then annual depreciation will be 20/100*1000=$200. The

ending book value will be 1000-200=800. In the second year, depreciation will be

20/100*800=$160 and the ending book value will be 800-160=$640. The MACRS depreciation

method on its part uses the initial value to calculate depreciation rather than using the new

derived value (Predrag, Nenad, Marina & Dragan, 2012). For instance, in the same example,

ending book value would be 1000-200=$800 and in the second year, it would be 800-200=600.

Discussion 7

“First-In, First-Out” (FIFO) and “Last-In, First-Out” (LIFO) methods are used in

calculating the cost of goods sold. FIFO method assumes that a firm’s oldest inventory has been

sold in the already and this means that this inventory goes with the production costs (Sembiring,

Tampubolon, Sitanggang, Turnip & Subash, 2019). LIFO on its part assumes that the company

in its inventory sells its recent products and consequently those costs are used (Sembiring,

Tampubolon, Sitanggang, Turnip & Subash, 2019).

Discussion 8

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and Annual Percentage Yield (APY) must be stated in all

loans and investment contracts as this helps to eliminate confusion. For instance, in APY interest

rates are usually compounded monthly and this yields a higher amount compared to APR where

they are calculated just by taking the percentage rate (Pruser, 2019). In the long-run, customers

might find themselves paying more interests than they anticipated and this is eliminated by

proper reporting of APY and ARP.

Discussion 9

Circle graph, bar graph, and line graphs are used in the representation of information and

each of these is appropriate in their own situations. Circle graphs are more appropriate when an

individual is comparing parts of a whole that do not require visualizing changes over time. The

bar graph on its part is more appropriate in scenarios where a person wants to track changes over

time for one or more groups such as a private and a public group ("How Do I Choose Which

Type of Graph to Use?-NCES Kids' Zone", 2020). A line graph on its part is more appropriate

when one is tracking changes and smaller changes exist.

Discussion 10

Percentage =Rate Base (P=RB) can be used to calculate either increase or decrease. One

can break the formula as Percentage=Rate*Base, Base= Percentage/Rate, Rate=

Percentage/Base. For instance, 30% of 250 is 75. Therefore, it can be interpreted that 75 is 30%

of 250 and this means that it does not matter if it is a decrease or increase.
 References

Hargrave, L. (2020). 6 Common Types of Bank Accounts | Credit Karma. Retrieved 25 March

2020, from https://www.creditkarma.com/advice/i/types-of-accounts/

How Do I Choose Which Type of Graph to Use?-NCES Kids' Zone. (2020). Retrieved 25 March

2020, from https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/help/user_guide/graph/whentouse.asp

Predrag, P., Nenad, I., Marina, R., & Dragan, A. (2012). Methods of calculating depreciation

expenses of construction machinery. Istra?Ivanja I Projektovanja Za Privredu, 10(1), 43-

48. doi: 10.5937/jaes10-1664

Pruser, M. (2019). APR vs APY: How One Letter Can Mean So Much. Retrieved 25 March

2020, from https://www.doughroller.net/banking/apy-versus-apr/

Sembiring, A., Tampubolon, J., Sitanggang, D., Turnip, M., & Subash. (2019). Improvement of

Inventory System Using First In First Out (FIFO) Method. Journal Of Physics:

Conference Series, 1361, 012070. doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/1361/1/012070