Cartier,Inc.'s corporate charter allows it to sell 1 million shares of $0.50 par value common stock.As of December 31,2011,the company had sold 500,000 shares for $4 each.Cartier has 20,000 shares of treasury stock that cost $100,000.On the December 31,2011 balance sheet,the number of shares authorized is ________ shares.

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The authorized shares are the maximum number of shares that a company can legally issue, which is stated in its corporate charter. In this case, Cartier, Inc.'s corporate charter allows the company to sell 1 million shares of $0.50 par value common stock. Therefore, the number of shares authorized is 1,000,000. The fact that the company has sold 500,000 shares and has 20,000 shares of treasury stock does not change the number of shares authorized.