I go for 'D'.

A, B,C and E use 'because they' which creates ambiguity.

D bring out meaning clear.

Hi,

First of all, we should never question the OA given in OGs.

Since we have boiled down to C and D, so will just discuss about them. D is not parallel.

D) Because new small businesses are growing and are seldom in equilibrium, formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity do not apply to them in the same way as "they do" to established big businesses - this would have been correct. since "thry do" is missing, option D is not parallel.

In option C, "they" in the modifer part clearly corresponds to new businesses because new businesses are in growing stage and they are seldom in equilibrium.

Please let me know if there is any confusion.

Thanks,
Amil

I think some experts should talk on this.. I don't quiet get why C is preferred over D?

In C, "they" doesn't seem to be referring something,

D doesn't have a problem in conveying meaning.

IMO: D

D is the Correct Answer.

to the poster, please check your source, even the OG 10 says D is the correct answer.

Formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity do not apply to new small businesses in the same way
as they do to established big businesses, because they are growing and are seldom in equilibrium.

(A) Formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity do not apply to new small businesses in the same
way as they do to established big businesses, because they are growing and are seldom in equilibrium.
(B) Because they are growing and are seldom in equilibrium, formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to
equity do not apply to new small businesses in the same way as they do to established big businesses.
(C) Because they are growing and are seldom in equilibrium, new small businesses are not subject to the
same applicability of formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity as established big
businesses. - Ambiguous
(D) Because new small businesses are growing and are seldom in equilibrium, formulas for cash flow and
the ratio of debt to equity do not apply to them in the same way as to established big businesses. - Clean
(E) New small businesses are not subject to the applicability of formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt
to equity in the same way as established big businesses, because they are growing and are seldom in
equilibrium.

IMO: D

Let me add on to GmatKiss's comments.

I got rid of (C) and (E) because,
'do not apply' vs 'not subject to the applicability' (wordy)

(D) Because new small businesses are growing and are seldom in equilibrium, formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity do not apply to them in the same way as to established big businesses.


how Because new small businesses are growing and are seldom in equilibrium modifies formulas

(D) Because new small businesses are growing and are seldom in equilibrium, formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity do not apply to them in the same way as to established big businesses.

BECAUSE, here as elsewhere, is a Subordinating Conjunction. It introduces a Subordinate Clause - in other words, a clause that is less important than the Main Clause that must always either precede or - as happens in this sentence - follow it. The information in a Subordinate Clause introduced by BECAUSE serves to explain the ideas or situations presented in the Main Clause.

Thus, here the Subordinate Clause is Because new small businesses are growing and are seldom in equilibrium. It does not contain a complete idea: Subordinate Clauses never do. In order to be complete, the idea must be followed by the matter mentioned in the Main Clause: formulas for cash flow and the ratio of debt to equity do not apply to them in the same way as to established big businesses.

In this sentence, the pronoun THEY refers to NEW SMALL BUSINESSES: it is therefore correctly used from both the grammatical and the conceptual points of view. And after the noun WAY, there is an ellipsis: what this part of the sentence is saying is that the formulas in question do not apply to new small businesses IN THE SAME WAY AS (THEY APPLY) TO ESTABLISHED BIG BUSINESSES.

Incidentally, options such as C exemplify the concept that the greater the quantity of verbiage, the less clear the meaning. The phrase not subject to the
same applicability of formulas has zero possibilities in the GMAT, because the idea that it purports to express has to be wrung out of it: in other words, it is ineffective writing. Option D is more succinctly expressed, and its meaning is therefore perfectly clear.

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