Reference no: EM131078202

Kristin Malone opened Kristin's Maids Cleaning Service on July 1, 2017. During July, the company completed the following transactions. July 1 Stockholders invested $14,000 cash in the business in exchange for common stock. 1 Purchased a used truck for $10,000, paying $3,000 cash and the balance on account. 3 Purchased cleaning supplies for $800 on account. 5 Paid $1,800 on a 1-year insurance policy, effective July 1. 12 Billed customers $3,800 for cleaning services. 18 Paid $1,000 of amount owed on truck, and $400 of amount owed on cleaning supplies. 20 Paid $1,600 for employee salaries. 21 Collected $1,400 from customers billed on July 12. 25 Billed customers $1,500 for cleaning services. 31 Paid gasoline for the month on the truck, $400. 31 Declared and paid a $600 cash dividend. Post the July transactions (Post entries in the order of journal entries presented above.)

Access the last three years’ annual reports for Costco Wholesale Corp. Next, select a company that is a direct competitor (Wal-Mart Stores Inc.) and download the previous three years’ annual reports.

Using the annual reports of both companies, complete the following in a three- to five-page paper, excluding title and reference page(s):

For each company, report the amount of capital spending for the past three years. Quantitatively determine whether the amount of capital spending has been consistent or if it has fluctuated. Be sure to provide the calculations used to determine your answer. Describe the capital expenditures of each firm and the factors that impacted the companies’ debt capacities and capital structures.

Next, compare the level of capital spending across the two firms. Point out how the spending was similar and/or different and speculate why the similarities or differences might exist. You must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the text. Support your comparison with evidence from the text, external sources, and articles/reports from the Mergent database in the Ashford University Library.