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Walmart's Illustration of Inventory Disclosure

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Background: As one of the world's largest retail giants, Wal-Mart provides a perfect illustration of inventory disclosure.

Required: Locate the Investor Relations section of Wal-Mart's corporate website, and access the 2013 annual report. The 2013 financial statements are for the period February 1, 2012 - January 31, 2013. Refer to http://stock.walmart.com, the 2013 10-K http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000010416913000011/wmt10-k.htm to answer the following questions.

1. Discuss two types of information, other than financial statements, that can be found on Walmart's Investor website.
2. Briefly discuss why you think Walmart has chosen a fiscal year end of January 31.
3. What is Walmart's ending inventory as of January 31, 2013? What percentage of Walmart's total assets is the Inventories asset?
4. What is Walmart's Cost of Sales expense for 2013? Walmart does not highlight Gross Profit on its Income Statement. What is Walmart's 2013 Gross Profit? What percentage of Walmart's Net Sales is Cost of Sales expense?
5. Briefly discuss Walmart's key accounting policies related to inventory. Which of these methods did we cover in class?
6. Locate Walmart's discussion of purchase obligations in Management's Discussion and Analysis. What is the total of payments due 2014 related to purchase commitments? What does Walmart include in this amount? Are purchase orders included?

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CHAPTERS 8 AND 9: INVENTORIES (7 POINTS)

Background: Chapters 8 and 9 discuss several accounting principles related to inventory valuation on the Balance Sheet. As one of the world's largest retail giants, Wal-Mart provides a perfect illustration of inventory disclosure.
Required: Locate the Investor Relations section of Wal-Mart's corporate website, and access the 2013 annual report. The 2013 financial statements are for the period February 1, 2012 - January 31, 2013. Refer to http://stock.walmart.com, the 2013 10-K http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000010416913000011/wmt10-k.htm to answer the following questions.
1. Discuss two types of information, other than financial statements, that can be found on Walmart's Investor website.
Two types of information include:
• Comparable store sales: This presents sales from US stores and clubs each 13-week period based on a 4-5-4 retail calendar
• Unit count and square ...

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