Question: Instructions: Obtain a copy of the 10-K annual report of Amazon.com filed to SEC for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. The report is available by searching for the 10-K form either on SEC's EDGAR database of company filings or on the Company's website in the section of SEC filings. Answer the following questions based on the information in the 2017 annual report of Amazon.com as well as your analysis and accounting knowledge. Some, but not all, of the information needed can be found in Item 1 (Business), Item 7 (Management's Discussion & Analysis, MD&A), and footnotes to Financial Statements (Item 8) of the 10-K. Note 1 provides a summary of the company's business and accounting policies.
Required: 1. Would you classify Amazon.com as a service company, a merchandiser, a manufacturer, or a combination? Justify your conclusion using the information in the annual report.
2. What costs does Amazon.com explicitly classify as inventoriable (product costs)?
3. What activities are included in the value chain of Amazon.com?
4. What costs are regarded as fixed and variable costs, respectively, by Amazon.com?
5. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires managers to certify that the financial statements and disclosure are fairly presented in all material aspects and provide an assessment of their company's internal controls.
(a) Provide the titles and the names of the people who make such certification for the fiscal 2017 financial statements. On what date did they make the certification?
(b) What external party performed an assessment of the effectiveness of Amazon's internal control over financial reporting for fiscal year 2017? Identify the name of the firm and the location of its office (city and state). What's their overall opinion on the effectiveness of Amazon's internal control over financial reporting?
6. You are the controller of Amazon.com. You expect next year's earnings to fall short of the earnings analysts are forecasting for your firm. List two steps you can ethically take to increase next year's earnings.
Also list two other actions that would increase next year's earnings but would be unethical or even illegal.
Prepare your answers in a word file and submit the file to the eLearn dropbox for this assignment.