Well Water has been in business nearly 100 years, has always been owned by the Gerry family, and is the second largest bottled water firm in the area in terms of annual sales. To help evaluate the feasibility of acquiring Well Water, PP hired Barley and Associates, a respected consulting firm, which has a bit of a national reputation. The first step in the acquisition process was to accurately determine Well Water's most recent income statement. Unbelievably, this was a very difficult and time-consuming task because the current owner, Scott Gerry, simply never appreciated or liked the idea of keeping accurate records. All sales were made in cash and then deposited. In order to estimate last year's sales, Barley and Associates had to examine deposit records, being careful not to count cash resulting from the sale of assets like machinery and water coolers. Expenses were estimated using canceled checks and an on-site verification of Well Water's assets was made.