Amajor advantage of the retail inventory method is that it: a. provides reliable results in cases where the distribution of items in the inventory is different from that of items sold during the period. b. hides costs from competitors and customers. c. gives a more accurate statement of inventory costs than other methods. d. provides a method for inventory control and facilitates determination of the periodic inventory for certain types of companies.

Special order carson manufacturing, inc., sells a single product for $36 per unit. at an operating level of 8,000 units, variable costs are $18 per unit and fixed costs $10 per unit. carson has been offered a price of $20 per unit on a special order of 2,000 units by big mart discount stores, which would use its own brand name on the item. if carson accepts the order, material cost will be $3 less per unit than for regular production. however, special stamping equipment costing $4,000 would be needed to process the order; the equipment would then be discarded. assuming that volume remains within the relevant range, prepare an analysis of differential revenue and costs to determine whether carson should accept the special order. use a negative sign with answer to only indicate an income loss from special order; otherwise do not use negative signs with your answers.