Perez, Inc. recently completed 40,000 units of a product that was expected to consume six pounds of direct material per finished unit. The standard price of the direct material was $7.50 per pound. If the firm purchased and consumed 246,000 pounds in manufacturing (cost = $1,881,000), the direct-material quantity variance would be (with steps)

Which of the following actions would be most likely to reduce potential conflicts of interest between stockholders and managers? a. change the corporation's formal documents to make it easier for outside investors to acquire a controlling interest in the firm through a hostile takeover. b. eliminate a requirement that members of the board of directors must hold a high percentage of their personal wealth in the firm's stock. c. for a firm that compensates managers with stock options, reduce the time before options are vested, i.e., the time before options can be exercised and the shares that are received can be sold. d. pay managers large cash salaries and give them no stock options. e. beef up the restrictive covenants in the firm's debt agreements.