Professor Elam

Jerry Flint  takes a look at inventories in this column. We will study inventory in Intermed I, Managerial, and Audit this semester.  As always, Mr. Flint Is a seasoned observer of the auto industry and has some interesting ‘metrics’ to use.  A metric  is a numeric way of codifying how well one is doing. It can be thought of as a benchmark by which one is measured.  Jerry observe that the number of days inventory is the correct way to look at it.  And he notes that Detroit has many more days than its Asian counterparts. 

The problem of course is that inventory usually does not get MORE valuable, it gets less valuable the longer it sits, particularly if the dealer is paying interest to have it there.  As he observes, with the Dow down, mortgage rates up, and nervousness around, the public is not likely to go on a  car or truck buying binge. 
And gas is still north of $2.50. 

Jeremy Clark the manager of the Lancaster Medical Center will be speaking to the managerial class later this semester.  He uses metrics to gauge how well the hospital is doing.  We begin managerial accounting by studying the metrics of financial analysis, ratios that indicate the financial health of a business. 

So please read Mr. Flint’s article to learn more about metrics.