Whispering Home Improvement Company installs replacement siding, windows, and louvered glass doors for single-family homes and condominium complexes. The company is in the process of preparing its annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020. Jim Alcide, controller for Whispering, has gathered the following data concerning inventory.
At May 31, 2020, the balance in Whispering Raw Materials Inventory account was $497,760, and Allowance to Reduce Inventory to Market had a credit balance of $26,160. Alcide summarized the relevant inventory cost and market data at May 31, 2020, in the schedule below.
Alcide assigned Patricia Devereaux, an intern from a local college, the task of calculating the amount that should appear on Whispering May 31, 2020, financial statements for inventory at lower-of-cost-or-market as applied to each item in inventory. Devereaux expressed concern over departing from the historical cost principle. Assume Garcia uses LIFO inventory costing.

Replacement Sales Net
Cost Cost Price Realizable Normal
Value Profit

Aluminum siding $85,400 $76,250 $78,080 $68,320 $6,222
Cedar shake siding 104,920 96,868 114,680 103,456 9,028
Louvered glass doors 136,640 151,280 227,408 205,326 22,570
Thermal windows 170,800 153,720 188,856 170,800 18,788
Total $497,760 $478,118 $609,024 $547,902 $56,608

(a1) Determine the proper balance in Allowance to Reduce Inventory to Market at May 31, 2020.

Balance in the Allowance to Reduce Inventory to Market

(a2) For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020, determine the amount of the gain or loss that would be recorded due to the change in Allowance to Reduce Inventory to Market.