Back to The Caucus Race Elsewhere Solution
Growth and Fixed Costs

The financial statements of two Wonderland banks and all their customers were set aside for tax irregularities... something here doesn't add up.

Statements of Operations

(PDF)

Descriptions of the Companies

1. Standard Bank of Wonderland
A commercial bank offering loans with competitive interest rates to Wonderland businesses; it has also issued a consumer credit card. Walrus is a major shareholder.

2. First Wonderland Bank
A bank focused on small Wonderland merchants and loans for Wonderland individuals. First Wonderland has many branches in convenient areas of Wonderland and excellent customer service.

3. Rust Works Steel & Metal Products
Rust Works Steel & Metal Products is an industrial conglomerate that mines raw materials and makes steel and other industrial goods in a highly-automated operation. It sells to Travels with Turtles as well as to Solid Manufacturing, Inc. The mines it owns are expected to be in operation for close to a century; other fixed assets are also long-lived, but are occasionally sold. Rust Works Steel & Metal Products is slow to pay its bills and slow to collect payment from its customers. Similarly, its customers have high "days payable" and "days receivable" amounts.

4. Travels with Turtles
A popular, well-known travel company that owns its own infrastructure and cars, each of which require replacement every couple of decades. Travels with Turtles is financed with a loan from Standard Bank of Wonderland; some years it loses money.

5. Wonderland Dyes and Potions
This innovative company is the premier producer of dyes and flavors in Wonderland: Its ingredients are key for manufacture of blacking and whiting as well as toothpaste and any size-changing food or drink. Wonderland D&P owns top-of-the-line chemical manufacturing equipment. It is known to demand quick payment from its customers, and this reputation helps its customers keep their accounts recievable balances low as well.

6. Solid Manufacturing, Inc.
This contract manufacturer for Dovetail Design also makes tooling for White Rabbit Timepieces and other customers. It is heavily invested in precision manufacturing equipment and its margins are razor-thin.

7. Dovetail Design & Manufacturing
Leading provider of computational plug-ins for mechanical "computers" which are increasingly popular in Wonderland. Dovetail offers modules that perform simple differentiation and integration that can be connected into simple parlour games; it continuously develops new products.

Dovetail contracts with Solid Manufacturing, Inc. for the high-precision manufacturing of its widgets. Its name is known throughout Wonderland, and its products are sold in a variety of Wonderland shops and resellers. Carpenter owns a majority stake and refuses to bank with Standard Wonderland.

8. Emblaze
The Cheshire Cat's line of toothpaste. The majority of ingredients are purchased from Wonderland Dyes and Potions; its materials are cheap but its advertising is expensive, as is its manufacturing equipment which must be replaced about every ten years. Like most customers of Wonderland Dyes and Potions, Emblaze is paid promptly and pays its bills promptly as well.

9. The White and The Black
One of many manufacturers of blacking and whiting, this small company is dependent on the only supplier for its key ingredients, Wonderland Dyes and Potions. Owned by Gryphon, who prides himself on managing cash flow and keeping inventory days low.

10. White Rabbit Timepieces
This independent watch manufacturer has a strong brand and strives to reach exclusive Wonderland customers. Many Wonderland shops carry one or two types of Rabbit watches; in contrast, the company store carries each of hundreds of models and sizes. Distribution shops pay Rabbit only after a watch has sold.

The manufacturing is done by hand using specialized equipment that typically lasts about 15 years.

11. Caterpillar Smoke and Gears
Large chain of customer shops owned by Caterpillar; these stores are the only source in Wonderland for some consumer goods such as Gryphon's Blacking and Whiting. In the last few years Caterpillar has acquired two smaller chains of customer shops to move into higher foot-traffic locations; before the acquisitions Caterpillar Smoke and Gears had several money-losing years.

Caterpillar Smoke and Gears lost a trademark battle last year to White's Chess Supply and Sundries, and is financed via loans from Standard Bank of Wonderland.

12. White's Chess Supply and Sundries
Chain of consumer shops, owned by the court of the White King, that deals in many kinds of consumer goods and funds upkeep of the King's court. Staff's activities include development of new chess pieces and use of new materials in boards and pieces.

13. Scrumptious Essences
This chain of shops has an exclusive license to sell size-changing Drinkme™ and Eatme™ products, which it makes using materials purchased from Wonderland Dye. Scrumptious Essences also does some experimenting on potions' effect on mirrors.

14. Tweedle Brothers Essential Supplies
This small customer shop, like many in Wonderland, sells looking glasses, toothpaste, and magic potions. The brothers own their building and staff the counter themselves whenever possible. The shop only keeps the most commonly needed items and is often out-of-stock. Tweedle Brothers is slow to pay its bills.

15. Hatter's Tea-stop
Tea shop owned by the Mad Hatter, who spends some of his time developing new tea combinations. Offers customers who are having an unbirthday the unusual option to pay after 30 days, but then often has trouble collecting payment.

16. Little Mouse Tea
Tea shop formerly part of Hatter's Tea-stop that split off a few years ago and subsequently lost a suit filed by the same. Benefited from low prices for raw tea across Wonderland this year. The corporate split was funded by a loan which will come due in a few years.

17. Humpty Dumpty Sundries
Another sundries shop, one of the best-respected names among sundry shops in Wonderland. Offers guaranteed availability of the widest range of goods anywhere in Wonderland; suppliers grumble about Humpty Dumpty's fairly long days payable.

18. The Purple Walrus
This oyster bar owned by Walrus is not very popular and not very unpopular. Staff are known to be grumpy, but the oysters are always fresh. The bar has borrowed heavily from Standard Bank of Wonderland, the smallest business to do so, and has good relationships with vendors of lemon juice and wine.

For years, the tax agency has puzzled over the Purple Walrus's low costs and low profitability; they wonder where the revenues are going.

19. Wonderland Pie Holdings
This company owns several restaurant brands in Wonderland. It advertises heavily for all its brands, but since many locations are out-of-the-way and staff tends to be grumpy, the restaurants are generally not that popular—though management claims they are. It is owned by the Red Queen, who receives some cash from it every year. She takes pride in the fact that Wonderland Pie is bigger than other restauranteurs (but they have noticed that she still pays her vendors a lot for ingredients).

20. Right Raven Pub
A small pub owned by a group of the Red Queen's guards that operates out of a house in the court and receives food and beer deliveries daily. The guards are happy waiters and bartenders, even though they expect the Queen to take any of the pub's profits. Right Raven is financed via a large loan from First Wonderland that they expect to roll over when it comes due in several years.