Cartier,Inc.'s corporate charter authorizes 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 outstanding is ________ shares.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The number of shares authorized is 1,000,000. 
The number of shares sold is 500,000. 
The number of treasury shares is 20,000.

Therefore, the number of outstanding shares is: 
1,000,000 (authorized) - 500,000 (sold) - 20,000 (treasury) = 480,000 shares.

Therefore, the correct answer is C) 480,000.