
The three basic activities Costco will engage in to achieve its goals are financing
Chapter 1, C 1.
future operations. The people in an organization are not assets of the business be-
cause they are not owned by the business. Businesses pay their employees on a
periodic basis (hourly, weekly, monthly, annually); they do not buy employees.
paying creditors and paying a return to the owners. Investing activities include buy-
ing land, buildings, equipment, and other long-lived resources needed in the opera-
tion of the business and selling these resources when they are no longer needed by
the business. Operating activities include selling merchandise and service to cus-
activities (obtaining adequate funds or capital to operate its business), investing
activities (spending the capital it receives so that it will be productive), and oper-
ating activities (running its business). Financing activities include obtaining capital
from owners and from creditors, such as banks and suppliers. They also include re-
tomers; employing managers and workers; buying, producing, and selling goods
and services; and paying taxes to the government.
Costco's management is the group of people who have overall responsibility for op-
erating the business and for meeting the company's profitability and liquidity goals.
The functions management must perform to fulfill its responsibility are obtaining
financial resources so the company can continue operating (financial management);
investing the financial resources of the business in productive assets that support
Assets are economic resources owned by a business that are expected to benefit
the company's goals (asset management); developing and producing goods and
services (operations management); selling, advertising, and distributing goods and
services (marketing management); hiring, evaluating, and compensating employees
(human resource management); and capturing, organizing, and communicating data
Chapter 1, C 2.
about all aspects of the company's operations (information management). Account-
ing is covered by the last function.
Salaries, wages, and other costs associated with employment are considered ex-
penses and appear on the income statement.