Which of the following items should alert the analyst to the potential for manipulation when analyzing accounts receivable and the allowance for doubtful accounts?
Sales, accounts receivable, and the allowance for doubtful accounts are all growing at approximately the same rate.
A company lowers its credit standards and also increases the balance in the allowance for doubtful accounts.
Accounts receivable is growing at a large rate and the allowance for doubtful accounts is decreasing.
An analysis of the "Valuation and Qualifying Accounts" schedule required in the Form 10-K reveals that the amounts recorded for bad debt expense are close in amount to the actual amounts written off each year.

The business cycle is the periodic but irregular up-and-down movement in economic activity, measured by fluctuations in real gross domestic product (gdp) and other macroeconomic variables. a business cycle is typically characterized by four phases—recession, recovery, growth, and decline—that repeat themselves over time. economists note, however, that complete business cycles vary in length. the duration of business cycles can be anywhere from about two to twelve years, with most cycles averaging six years in length. some business analysts use the business cycle model and terminology to study and explain fluctuations in business inventory and other individual elements of corporate operations. but the term "business cycle" is still primarily associated with larger (industry-wide, regional, national, or even international) business trends.