Potentially Stupid Question

When you are asked a technical question in an interview like "How would a $10 decrease in depreciation affect the three statements?" would it be okay to sketch it out a rough income statement as a guide for myself before walking the interviewer through it? Or is some of the value of the question that I should know the answer so well I can recite it like the Lord's Prayer?

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This is correct if the question was if depreciation expense went up by $10, but I think OP asked if it went down by $10. Your logic and reasoning for the former case is right. Just to answer OP's question.

IS: EBIT goes down by $10 and assuming a marginal tax rate of 40%, net income falls by $6.

CFS: Net income flows into CFO. Depreciation expense is a non-cash expense, so when it goes up, you add it in CFO. Since it's going down, we subtract in CFO. 6-10= -4 so CFO falls by $4. No other changes to CFS so net change in cash is down 4 dollars.

B/S: Cash is down by $4 and PPE is up $10 (remember that the journal entry for depreciation expense involves accumulated depreciation as the other account, which is a contra account to PPE). Assets are down by $6 (4-10). Net income flows into retained earnings, which is also down by $6. Retained earnings is a SE account. Assets and SE are both down by $6 so we are matched.

 

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