Alpha corporation and beta corporation have just purchased identical pieces of equipment. each firm estimates that the equipment will have a 5-year service life and no salvage value. alpha depreciates all of its assets using the straight-line method, whereas beta depreciates its assets using the sum-of-the-years’-digits method; otherwise, the two firms are identical in every way. given this information, which of the following statements is accurate?
a : if both firms keep the equipment for 5 years, alpha’s five-year total for depreciation expense will be lower than beta’s.
b : alpha’s net income will be lower that beta’s during the fourth year of the equipment’s service life.
c : if both firms sell the equipment after 3 years, alpha is more likely to report a gain on the transaction than beta.
d : alpha’s depreciation expense will be higher than beta’s during the first year of the equipment’s service life.