The fact that generally accepted accounting principles allow companies flexibility in choosing between certain allocation methods can make it difficult for a financial analyst to compare periodic performance from firm to firm. suppose you were a financial analyst trying to compare the performance of two companies. company a uses the double-declining-balance depreciation method. company b uses the straight-line method. you have the following information taken from the 12/31/18 year-end financial statements for company b: income statement depreciation expense $ 6,500 balance sheet assets: plant and equipment, at cost $ 65,000 less: accumulated depreciation (26,000 ) net $ 39,000 you also determine that all of the assets constituting the plant and equipment of company b were acquired at the same time, and that all of the $65,000 represents depreciable assets. also, all of the depreciable assets have the same useful life and residual values are zero. required: 1. in order to compare performance with company a, estimate what b's depreciation expense would have been for 2015 through 2018 if the double-declining-balance depreciation method had been used by company b since acquisition of the depreciable assets. 2. if company b decided to switch depreciation methods in 2018 from the straight line to the double-declining-balance method, prepare the 2018 journal entry to record depreciation for the year, assuming no journal entry for depreciation in 2018 has yet been recorded.