Reference no: EM13900648

Dillon Matthews is the president and chief operating officer of Ratchet Corporation, a developer of personal financial planning software. During the past year, Ratchet Corporation was forced to sell 10 acres of land to the city of Houston for expansion of a freeway exit. The corporation fought the sale, but after condemnation hearings, a judge ordered it to sell the land. Because of the location of the land and the fact that Ratchet Corporation had purchased the land over 15 years ago, the corporation recorded a $0.20-per-share gain on the sale. Always looking to turn a negative into a positive, Dillon has decided to announce the corporation's earnings per share of $1.05, without identifying the $0.20 impact of selling the land. Although he will retain ma- jority ownership, Dillon plans on selling 20,000 of his shares in the corporation sometime within the next month. Are Dillon's plans to announce earnings per share of $1.05 without mentioning the $0.20 impact of selling the land ethical and professional?