Delta Airlines Property, Plant, and Equipment Research

Assignment 1: Delta Airlines Property, Plant, and Equipment
Due Week 8 and worth 200 points
According to the textbook, U.S. companies and foreign companies are affected by deprecation rules. When companies write off the cost of long-lived assets over a period of time, the term used is depreciation.
In order to complete this assignment, review Delta Airlines' annual reports for the years 2012 and 2013, located at http://ir(dot)delta(dot)com/stock-and-financial/sec-filings/.
Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you:
Briefly outline Delta Airlines company's history, products, and services, and identify the costs reported in the balance sheet for property, plant, and equipment. Prepare a horizontal analysis of Delta's property, plant, and equipment for 2012 and 2013. Next, calculate the asset turnover ratio, return on asset ratio, and the debt to total assets ratio. Based on your calculations, indicate the conclusions that you can draw, based on the changes in property, plant, and equipment.
Determine the method or methods of depreciation that Delta Airlines uses to depreciate its property, plant, and equipment. Suggest three (3) alternative methods that Delta Airlines could use in order to depreciate assets. Based on your suggestions, propose the method that Delta Airlines could use in order to improve the reporting of its property, plant and equipment. Provide a rationale for your response.
Analyze the information disclosed in Delta Airlines' notes to their financial statements on property, plant, and equipment. Recommend additional data that Delta Airlines could include that would be useful to potential investors and creditors.
Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Demonstrate, analyze, and explain the proper accounting for acquisition and valuation of property, plant, and equipment; valuation; costs subsequent to acquisition; and disposition of plant assets.
Demonstrate, analyze, and explain the proper accounting for depreciation, impairments, and depletion.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in intermediate accounting.
Write clearly and concisely about intermediate accounting using proper writing mechanics.