Mercer Asbestos Removal Company removes potentially toxic asbestos insulation and related products from buildings. There has been a long-simmering dispute between the company’s estimator and the work supervisors. The on-site supervisors claim that the estimators do not adequately distinguish between routine work such as removal of asbestos insulation around heating pipes in older homes and nonroutine work such as removing asbestos-contaminated ceiling plaster in industrial buildings. The on-site supervisors believe that nonroutine work is far more expensive than routine work and should bear higher customer charges. The estimator sums up his position in this way: “My job is to measure the area to be cleared of asbestos. As directed by top management, I simply multiply the square footage by $2.80 to determine the bid price. Since our average cost is only $2.58 per square foot, that leaves enough cushion to take care of the additional costs of nonroutine work that shows up. Besides, it is difficult to know what is routine or not routine until you actually start tearing things apart.”   To shed light on this controversy, the company initiated an activity-based costing study of all of its costs. Data from the activity-based costing system follow:   Activity Cost Pool Activity Measure Total Activity Removing asbestos Thousands of square feet   850   thousand squarefeet Estimating and job setup Number of jobs   400   jobs Working on nonroutine jobs Number of nonroutine jobs   100   nonroutine jobs Other (costs of idle capacity andorganization-sustaining costs) None             Note: The 100 nonroutine jobs are included in the total of 400 jobs. Both nonroutine jobs and routine jobs require estimating and setup.   Costs for the Year       Wages and salaries $ 400,000   Disposal fees   791,000   Equipment depreciation   96,000   On-site supplies   60,000   Office expenses   300,000   Licensing and insurance   500,000   Total cost $ 2,147,000       Distribution of Resource Consumption Across Activities     Removing Asbestos Estimating and Job Setup Working on Nonroutine Jobs Other Total Wages and salaries   60 %     10 %     20 %     10 %       100 % Disposal fees   60 %     0 %     40 %     0 %       100 % Equipment depreciation   40 %     5 %     25 %     30 %       100 % On-site supplies   60 %     25 %     15 %     0 %       100 % Office expenses   10 %     35 %     25 %     30 %       100 % Licensing and insurance   30 %     0 %     50 %     20 %       100 %       Required: 1. Perform the first-stage allocation of costs to the activity cost pools.       Removing Estimating and Working on       Asbestos Job Setup Nonroutine Jobs Other Total Wages and salaries           Disposal fees           Equipment depreciation           On-site supplies           Office expenses           Licensing and insurance           Total cost             2. Compute the activity rates for the activity cost pools.     Activity Cost Pool Activity Rate   Removing asbestos   per thousand square feet Estimating and job setup   per job Working on nonroutine jobs   per nonroutine job   3. Using the activity rates you have computed, determine the total cost and the average cost per thousand square feet of each of the following jobs according to the activity-based costing system. (Round the "Average cost" to 2 decimal places.)   a. A routine 1,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.         Total cost of the job   Average cost per thousand square feet     b. A routine 2,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.         Total cost of the job   Average cost per thousand square feet       c. A nonroutine 2,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.          Total cost of the job   Average cost per thousand square feet

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Mercer Asbestos Removal Company removes potentially toxic asbestos insulation and related products from buildings. There has been a long-simmering dispute between the company’s estimator and the work supervisors. The on-site supervisors claim that the estimators do not adequately distinguish between routine work such as removal of asbestos insulation around heating pipes in older homes and nonroutine work such as removing asbestos-contaminated ceiling plaster in industrial buildings. The on-site supervisors believe that nonroutine work is far more expensive than routine work and should bear higher customer charges. The estimator sums up his position in this way: “My job is to measure the area to be cleared of asbestos. As directed by top management, I simply multiply the square footage by $2.80 to determine the bid price. Since our average cost is only $2.58 per square foot, that leaves enough cushion to take care of the additional costs of nonroutine work that shows up. Besides, it is difficult to know what is routine or not routine until you actually start tearing things apart.”

 

To shed light on this controversy, the company initiated an activity-based costing study of all of its costs. Data from the activity-based costing system follow:

 

Activity Cost Pool Activity Measure Total Activity
Removing asbestos Thousands of square feet   850   thousand squarefeet
Estimating and job setup Number of jobs   400   jobs
Working on nonroutine jobs Number of nonroutine jobs   100   nonroutine jobs
Other (costs of idle capacity and
organization-sustaining costs)
None        

 

 

Note: The 100 nonroutine jobs are included in the total of 400 jobs. Both nonroutine jobs and routine jobs require estimating and setup.

 

Costs for the Year      
Wages and salaries $ 400,000  
Disposal fees   791,000  
Equipment depreciation   96,000  
On-site supplies   60,000  
Office expenses   300,000  
Licensing and insurance   500,000  
Total cost $ 2,147,000  

 

 

Distribution of Resource Consumption Across Activities

 

  Removing Asbestos Estimating and Job Setup Working on Nonroutine Jobs Other Total
Wages and salaries   60 %     10 %     20 %     10 %       100 %
Disposal fees   60 %     0 %     40 %     0 %       100 %
Equipment depreciation   40 %     5 %     25 %     30 %       100 %
On-site supplies   60 %     25 %     15 %     0 %       100 %
Office expenses   10 %     35 %     25 %     30 %       100 %
Licensing and insurance   30 %     0 %     50 %     20 %       100 %

 

 

 

Required:

1. Perform the first-stage allocation of costs to the activity cost pools.

 
 
  Removing Estimating and Working on    
  Asbestos Job Setup Nonroutine Jobs Other Total
Wages and salaries          
Disposal fees          
Equipment depreciation          
On-site supplies          
Office expenses          
Licensing and insurance          
Total cost          

 


2. Compute the activity rates for the activity cost pools.

 
 
Activity Cost Pool Activity Rate  
Removing asbestos   per thousand square feet
Estimating and job setup   per job
Working on nonroutine jobs   per nonroutine job

 


3. Using the activity rates you have computed, determine the total cost and the average cost per thousand square feet of each of the following jobs according to the activity-based costing system. (Round the "Average cost" to 2 decimal places.)

 

a. A routine 1,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.

 
 
   
Total cost of the job  
Average cost per thousand square feet  

 


b. A routine 2,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.

 
 
   
Total cost of the job  
Average cost per thousand square feet  

 

 

c. A nonroutine 2,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.
 

 
 
   
Total cost of the job  
Average cost per thousand square feet  
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