M&I 400 EXAM QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026

M&I 400 EXAM QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026 Walk me through the 3 financial statements. - Answers The 3 major financial statements are the 1. Income Statement 2. Balance Sheet 3. Cash Flow Statement The Income Statement gives the company's revenue and expenses, and goes down to Net Income. The Balance Sheet shows the company's Assets- it's resources- such as Cash, Inventory and PP&E, as well as its Liabilities- such as Debt and Accounts Payable- and Shareholders' Equity. Assets= Liabilities+Shareholders' Equity The Cash Flow Statement begins with Net Income, adjusts for non-cash expenses and working capital changes, and then lists cash flow from investing and financing activities; at the end, you see the company's net change in cash. Can you give examples of major line items on each of the financial statements? - Answers Income Statement: 1. Revenue 2. COGS (cost of goods sold) 3. Gross Margin 4. Operating Expenses (R&D, SG&A) 5. Operating Income 6. Other Income and Expense 7. Pretax Income 8. Provision for Income Taxes 9. Net Income 10. Earnings per common share Balance Sheet: Assets- 1. Cash and cash equivalents 2. Short-term investments 3. Accounts receivable 4. Inventories 5. Deferred tax asset 1. PP&E 2. Goodwill 3. Acquired intangible assets (patents & copyrights) Liabilities & Shareholders' Equity- 1. Accounts payable 2. Accrued expenses 3. Non-current liabilities (debt, bonds issued, mortgage, loans) 1. Common stock 2. Retained earnings Cash Flow Statement: Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of the year (from B.S.) Operating Activities- Net income Non-cash expense 1. D&A (A) 2. Stock-based compensation expense 3. Provision for deferred income taxes 4. Loss on disposition of PP&E Changes in operating assets and liabilities- 1. Accounts Receivable 2. Inventories 3. Other current assets 4. Other assets 5. Accounts payable 6. Deferred revenue 7. Other liabilities CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS Investing Activities (CAPITAL EXPENDITURES)- 1. Purchases of short-term investments 2. Proceeds from maturities of short-term investments 3. Proceeds from sale of short-term investments 4. Purchases of long-term investments 5. Payments made in connection with business acquisitions 6. Payment for acquisition of PP&E 7. Payment for acquisition of intangible assets CASH FLOW FROM INVESTING Financing Activities (SALE/PURCHASE OF SECURITIES) - 1. Proceeds from issuance of common stock (DIVIDENDS ISSUED) CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING How do the 3 statements link together? - Answers 1. The net income from the Income Statement, after the payment of any dividends, is added to retained earnings on the Balance Sheet. 2. Debt on the Balance Sheet is used to calculate the interest expense on the Income Statement. 3. PP&E will be used to calculate any depreciation expense. 4. The beginning cash on the Cash Flow Statement comes from the previous period's Balance Sheet. 5. Cash from operations on the Cash Flow Statement is affected by the Balance Sheet's numbers for changes in working capital. 6. PP&E is another Balance Sheet item that affects the CF Statement because depreciation is based on the amount of PP&E a company has. 7. Any change due to the purchase or sale of PP&E with affect cash from investing. 8. The CF Statement's ending cash balance becomes the beginning cash balance on the new Balance Sheet. If I were stranded on a desert island, only had 1 statement and I wanted to review the overall health of a company-- which statement would I use and why? - Answers The Cash Flow Statement because it gives a true picture of how much cash the company is actually generating, independent of all the non-cash expenses you might have. Cash is the #1 thing you care about when analyzing the overall financial health of any business. The Income Statement can be misleading due to any number of non-cash expenses that may not truly be affecting the overall business. And the Balance Sheet alone just shows a snapshot of the company at one point in time, without showing how operations are actually performing. Let's say I could only look at 2 statements to assess a company's prospects-- which 2 would I use and why? - Answers The Income Statement and Balance Sheet because you can create the Cash Flow Statement from both of those. Walk me through how Depreciation going up by $10 would affect the statements. - Answers Income Statement: Operating Income would decline by $10 and assuming a 40% tax rate, Net Income would go down by $6. Cash Flow Statement: The Net Income at the top goes down by $6, but the $10 Depreciation is a non-cash expense that gets added back, so overall Cash Flow from Operations goes up by $4. There is no changes elsewhere, so the overall Net Change in Cash goes up by $4. Balance Sheet: PP&E goes down by $10 on the Assets side because of the Depreciation, and Cash is up by $4 from the changes on the Cash Flow Statement. Overall, Assets is down by $6. Since Net Income fell by $6 as well, Shareholders' Equity on the Liabilities & Shareholders' Equity side is down by $6 and both sides of the Balance Sheet balance. If Depreciation is a non-cash expense, why does it affect the cash balance? - Answers Although Depreciation is a non-cash expense, it is TAX-DEDUCTIBLE. Since taxes are a cash expense, Depreciation affects cash by reducing the amount of taxes you pay. Where does Depreciation usually show up on the Income Statement? - Answers It could be in a (1) separate line item, or it could be embedded in (2) COGS or (3) Operating Expenses-- every company does it differently. The end result is always the same: Depreciation always reduces PRE-TAX INCOME. What happens when Accrued Compensation goes up by $10? - Answers Assuming that accrued compensation is now being recognized as an expense, Income Statement- OPERATING EXPENSES goes up by $10, Pre-Tax Income falls by $10, and Net Income falls by $6 (assuming a 40% tax rate). Cash Flow Statement- Net Income goes down by $6, Accrued Compensation will INCREASE cash flow by $10, so overall Cash Flow from Operations is up by $4 and the Net Change in Cash at the bottom is up by $4. Balance Sheet- Cash is up by $4 as a result, so Assets are up by $4. On the Liabilities & Equity side, Accrued Compensation is a liability so Liabilities are up by $10 and Retained Earnings are down by $6 due to the Net Income, so both sides balance. LIABILITIES ARE POSITIVE. What happens when Inventory goes up by $10, assuming you pay for it with cash? - Answers Income Statement- No changes Cash Flow Statement- Inventory is an asset so that DECREASES your Cash Flow from Operations-- it goes down by $10, as does the Net Change in Cash at the bottom. Balance Sheet- Assets: Inventory is up by $10 but Cash is down by $10, so the changes cancel out and Assets still equals Liabilities & Shareholders' Equity. Why is the Income Statement not affected by changes in inventory? - Answers In the case of inventory, the expense is only recorded when the goods associated with it ARE SOLD-- so if it's just sitting in a warehouse, it does not count as a Cost of Good Sold or Operating Expense until the company manufactures it into a product and sells it. Let's say Apple is buying $100 worth of new iPad factories with debt. How are all 3 statements affected at the start of "Year 1," before anything else happens? - Answers Income Statement- At the start of "Year 1," before anything else has happened, there would be no changes on Apple's Income Statement yet. Cash Flow Statement- The additional investment in factories would show up under Cash Flow from Investing as a net REDUCTION in Cash Flow (so Cash Flow is down by $100 so far). And the additional $100 worth of debt raised would show up as an ADDITION to Cash Flow, canceling out the investment activity. So the cash number stays the same. Balance Sheet- PP&E goes up by $100 and Assets is therefore up by $100. On the other side, debt is up by $100 so both sides balance. Now let's go out 1 year, to the start of Year 2. Assume the debt is high-yield so no principal is paid off, and assume an interest rate of 10%. Also assume the factories depreciate at a rate of 10% per year. What happens? - Answers After a year has passed, Apple must pay interest expense and must record the depreciation. Operating Income would decrease by $10 due to the 10% depreciation charge each year, and the $10 in additional Interest Expense would decrease the Pre-Tax Income by $20 altogether. Assuming a tax rate of 40%, Net Income would fall by $12. Cash Flow Statement- Net Income at the top is down by $12. Depreciation is a non-cash expense, so you add it back and the result is that Cash Flow from Operations is down by $2. That's the only change on the Cash Flow Statement, so overall Cash is down by $2. Balance Sheet- Under Assets, Cash is down by $2 and PP&E is down by $10 due to the depreciation, so overall Assets are down by $12. On the other side, since Net Income was down by $12, Shareholders' Equity is also down by $12 and both sides balance. Remember, the debt number under Liabilities does not change since we've assumed none of the debt is actually paid back. At the start of Year 3, the factories all break down and the value of the equipment is written down to $0. The loan much also be paid back now. Walk me through the 3 statements. - Answers After 2 years, the value of the factories is now $80 if we go with the 10% depreciation per year assumption. It is this $80 that we will write down in the 3 statements. Income statement- The $80 write-down shows up in the Pre-Tax Income line. With a 40% tax rate, Net Income declines by $48. Cash Flow Statement- Net Income is down by $48 but the write-down is a non-cash expense, so we add it back- and therefore Cash Flow from Operations INCREASES by $32. There are no changes under Cash Flow from Investing, but under Cash Flow from Financing there is a $100 charge for the loan payback- so Cash Flow from Financing falls by $100. Overall, the Net Change in Cash falls by $68. Balance Sheet- Cash is down by $68 and PP&E is down by $80, so Assets have decreased by $148 alltogether. On the other side, Debt is down $100 since it was paid off, and since Net Income was down by $48, Shareholders' Equity is down by $48 as well. Altogether, Liabilties & Shareholders' Equity are down by $148 and both sides balance. Now let's look at a different scenario and assume Apple is ordering $10 of additional iPad inventory, using cash on hand. They order the inventory, but they have not manufactured or sold anything yet-- what happens to the 3 statements? - Answers Income Statement- No changes Cash Flow Statement- Inventory is up by $10, so Cash Flow from Operations DECREASES by $10. There are no further changes, so overall Cash is down by $10. Balance Sheet- Inventory is up by $10 and Cash is down by $10 so the Assets number stays the same and the Balance Sheet remains in balance. Now let's say they sell the iPads for revenue of $20, at a cost of $10. Walk me through the 3 statements under this scenario. - Answers Income Statement- Revenue is up by $20 and COGS is up by $10, so Gross Profit is up by $10 and Operating Income is up by $10 as well. Assuming a 40% tax rate, Net Income is up by $6. Cash Flow Statement- Net Income at the top is up by $6 and Inventory has decreased by $10 (since we just manufactured the inventory into real iPads), which is a net addition to cash flow-- so Cash Flow from Operations is up by $16 overall. These are the only changes on the Cash Flow Statement, so Net Change in Cash is up by $16. Balance Sheet- Cash is up by $16 and Inventory is down by $10, so Assets is up by $6 overall. On the other side, Net Income was up by $6 so Shareholders' Equity is up by $6 and both sides balance. Could you ever end up with negative shareholders' equity? What does it mean? - Answers Yes. It is common to see this in 2 scenarios: 1. Leveraged Buyouts with dividend recapitalizations-- it means that the owner of the company has taken out a large portion of its equity (usually in the form of cash), which can sometimes turn the number negative. Done with the intention of paying a large cash dividend to shareholders. The company's liabilities are increased and equity is reduced. This strategy is an intentional antitakeover measure used to make the corporation less attractive to potential acquirers. 2. It can also happen if the company has been losing money consistently and therefore has a declining Retained Earnings balance, which is a portion of Shareholders' Equity. If a company has had negative net income for a long time, it would have a negative retained earnings balance, which would lead to negative shareholders equity. It doesn't "mean" anything in particular, but it can be a cause for concern and possibly demonstrate that the company is struggling (in the second scenario). Shareholders' equity never turns negative IMMEDIATELY AFTER an LBO-- it would only happen following a dividend recap or continued net losses. What is Working Capital? How is it used? - Answers Working Capital= Current Assets-Current Liabilities If it's positive, it means a company can pay off its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. It is often presented as a financial metric and its magnitude and sign tells you whether or now the company is "sound". Bankers look at OPERATING WORKING CAPITAL more commonly in models, and that is defined as (Current Assets -Cash & Cash Equivalents) - (Current Liabilities-Debt). The point of Operating Working Capital is to EXCLUDE ITEMS that relate to a company's financing activities- cash and debt- from the calculation. What does negative Working Capital mean? Is that a bad sign? - Answers Not necessarily. It depends on the type of company and the specific situation-- here are a few different things it could mean: 1. Some companies with subscriptions or longer-term contracts often have negative Working Capital because of high Deferred Revenue balances. 2. Retail and restaurant companies like Amazon, Wal-Mart, and McDonald's often have negative Working Capital because customers pay upfront- so they can use the cash generated to pay off their Accounts Payable rather than keeping a large cash balance on-hand. This can be a sign of business efficiency. 3. In other cases, negative Working Capital could point to financial trouble or possible bankruptcy (for example, when customers DON'T pay quickly and upfront and the company is carrying a high debt balance). Recently, banks have been writing down their assets and taking huge quarterly losses. Walk me through what happens on the 3 statements when there's a write-down of $100. - Answers Income Statement- The $100 write-down shows up in the Pre-Tax Income line. With a 40% tax rate, Net Income declines by $60. Cash Flow Statement- Net Income is down by $60 but the write-down is a non-cash expense, so we add it back-- and therefore Cash Flow from Operations increases by $40. Overall, the Net Change in Cash rises by $40. Balance Sheet- Cash is now up by $40 and an asset is down by $100 (not clear which asset). Overall, the Assets side is down by $60. On the other side, since Net Income was down by $60, Shareholders' Equity is also down by $60-- and both sides balance. Walk me through a $100 "bailout" of a company and how it affects the 3 statements. - Answers What type of "bailout" is this-- debt? equity? a combination? The most common scenario here is an equity investment from the government. Income Statement- No Changes Cash Flow Statement- Cash Flow from Financing goes up by $100 to reflect the government's investment, so the Net Change in Cash is up by $100. Balance Sheet- Cash is up by $100 so Assets are up by $100. On the other side, Shareholders' Equity would go up by $100 to make it balance. Walk me through a $100 write-down of debt-- as in OWED debt, a liability-- on a company's balance sheet and how it affects the 3 statements. - Answers This is counter-intuitive. When a LIABILITY IS WRITTEN DOWN you record it as a gain on the Income Statement (with an asset write-down, it's a loss)-- so Pre-Tax Income goes UP by $100 due to this write-down. Assuming a 40% tax rate, Net Income is up by $60. Cash Flow Statement- Net Income is up by $60, but we need to SUBTRACT that debt write-down-- so Cash Flow from Operations is down by $40, and Net Change in Cash is down by $40. Balance Sheet- Cash is down by $40 so Assets are down by $40. On the other side, Debt is down by $100 but Shareholders' Equity is up by $60 because the Net Income was up by $60-- so Liabilities & Shareholders' Equity is down by $40 and it balances. When would a company collect cash from a customer and NOT record it as revenue? - Answers 3 examples: 1. Web-based subscription software 2. Cell phone carriers that sell annual contracts 3. Magazine publishers that sell subscriptions Companies that agree to services in the future often collect cash upfront to ensure stable revenue-- this makes investors happy as well since they can better predict a company's performance. Per the rules of accounting, you only record revenue when you actually perform the services-- so the company would not record everything as revenue right away. If cash collected is not recorded as revenue, what happens to it? - Answers Usually it goes into the Deferred Revenue balance on the Balance Sheet under Liabilities. Over time, as the services are performed, the Deferred Revenue balance becomes real revenue on the Income Statement and the Deferred Revenue balance decreases. What's the difference between accounts receivable and deferred revenue? - Answers Accounts receivable has not yet been collected in cash from customers, whereas deferred revenue has been. Accounts receivable is money a company has earned from delivery of goods or services but has not collected yet. Deferred revenue is the opposite-- money that has not yet been recorded as revenue because it was collected for goods or services not yet delivered. How long does it usually take for a company to collect its accounts receivable balance? - Answers Generally the accounts receivable days are in the 30-60 day range, though it's higher for companies selling high-end items and it might be lower for smaller, lower transaction-value companies. What's the difference between cash-based and accrual accounting? - Answers Cash-based accounting recognizes revenue and expense when cash is actually received or paid out; Accrual accounting recognizes revenue when collection is REASONABLY certain (i.e. after a customer has ordered the product) and recognizes expenses when they are incurred rather than when they are paid out in cash. Most large companies use accrual accounting because paying with credit cards and lines of credit is so prevalent these days; very small businesses may use cash-based accounting to simplify their financial statements. Let's say a customer pays for a TV with a credit card. What would this look like under cash-based vs. accrual accounting? - Answers In cash-based accounting, the revenue would not show up until the company charges the customer's credit card, receives authorization, and deposits the funds in its