Concept explainers
Interpreting regression results. Spirit Freightways is a leader in transporting agricultural products in the western provinces of Canada. Reese Brown, a financial analyst at Spirit Freightways, is studying the behavior of transportation costs for budgeting purposes. Transportation costs at Spirit are of two types: (a) operating costs (such as labor and fuel) and (b) maintenance costs (primarily overhaul of vehicles). Brown gathers monthly data on each type of cost, as well as the total freight miles traveled by Spirit vehicles in each month. The data collected are shown below (all in thousands):
- 1. Conduct a regression using the monthly data of operating costs on freight miles. You should obtain the following result:
Regression: Operating costs = a + (b × Number of freight miles)
- 2. Plot the data and regression line for the above estimation. Evaluate the regression using the criteria of economic plausibility, goodness of fit, and slope of the regression line.
- 3. Brown expects Spirit to generate, on average, 3,600 freight miles each month next year. How much in operating costs should Brown budget for next year?
- 4. Name three variables, other than freight miles, that Brown might expect to be important cost drivers for Spirit’s operating costs.
- 5. Brown next conducts a regression using the monthly data of maintenance costs on freight miles. Verify that she obtained the following result:
Regression: Maintenance costs = a + (b × Number of freight miles)
- 6. Provide a reasoned explanation for the observed sign on the cost driver variable in the maintenance cost regression. What alternative data or alternative regression specifications would you like to use to better capture the above relationship?
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Horngren's Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis (16th Edition)
- Nation's Capital Fitness, Incorporated, operates a chain of fitness centers in the Washington, D.C., area. The firm's controller is accumulating data to be used in preparing its annual profit plan for the coming year. The cost behavior pattern of the firm's equipment maintenance costs must be determined. The accounting staff has suggested the use of an equation, in the form of Y= a + bX, for maintenance costs. Data regarding the maintenance hours and costs for last year are as follows: Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Total Average Hours of Maintenance Service Variable maintenance cost 560 480 280 470 350 460 320 430 490 380 350 340 4,910 409 $ Maintenance Costs $ 5,110 4,240 2,730 4,300 3,030 4, 120 PR 6-38 (Algo) Part 2 What is the variable component of the maintenance cost? 2. Using your answer to requirement 1, what is the variable component of the maintenance cost? Note: Round your answer to 2 decimal places. 3,000 3,590…arrow_forwardNation's Capital Fitness, Incorporated, operates a chain of fitness centers in the Washington, D.C., area. The firm's controller is accumulating data to be used in preparing its annual profit plan for the coming year. The cost behavior pattern of the firm's equipment maintenance costs must be determined. The accounting staff has suggested the use of an equation, in the form of Y= a + bX, for maintenance costs. Data regarding the maintenance hours and costs for last year are as follows: Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Total Average Hours of Maintenance Service 560 480 280 470 350 Monthly maintenance cost = 460 320 430 490 380 350 340 4,910 409 Maintenance Costs $ 5,110 4,240 2,730 4,300 3,030 4,120 3,000 3,590 4,000 3,220 3,170 3,070 $ 43,580 $ 3,632 PR 6-38 (Algo) Part 1 Estimate the behavior of the maintenance costs incurred... Required: 1. Using the high-low method of cost estimation, estimate the behavior of the maintenance…arrow_forwardNation's Capital Fitness, Incorporated, operates a chain of fitness centers in the Washington, D.C., area. The firm's controller is accumulating data to be used in preparing its annual profit plan for the coming year. The cost behavior pattern of the firm's equipment maintenance costs must be determined. The accounting staff has suggested the use of an equation, in the form of Y = a + bX, for maintenance costs. Data regarding the maintenance hours and costs for last year are as follows: Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Total Average Hours of Maintenance Service Variable maintenance cost 520 470 250 490 340 470 330 410 480 380 390 340 4,870 406 Maintenance Costs $ 5,305 4,170 2,740 4,280 3,050 4,160 3,040 3,570 3,990 3,230 3,170 3,120 $ 43,825 $ 3,652 2. Using your answer to requirement 1, what is the variable component of the maintenance cost? Note: Round your answer to 2 decimal places. ********* per hourarrow_forward
- a) Provincial Packages, Inc. operates a local parcel delivery service. The company keeps detailed records relating to operating costs of trucks, and has found that if a truck is driven 122,000 kilometres per year, the operating cost is 8.5 cents per kilometre. This cost increases to 9.25 cents per kilometre if a truck is driven 72,000 kilometres per year. Required: Estimate the cost formula for truck operating costs using the high-low method. Accessibility: Investigate Focusarrow_forwardJensen Tire Auto is deciding whether to purchase a maintenance contract for its new computer wheel alignment and balancing machine. Managers feel that maintenance expense should be related to usage, and they collected the following information on weekly usage (hours) and annual maintenance expense (in hundreds of dollars). a. Develop a scatter chart with weekly usage hours as the independent variable. What does the scatter chart indicate about the relationship between weekly usage and annual maintenance expense? b. Use the data to develop an estimated regression equation that could be used to predict the annual maintenance expense for a given number of hours of weekly usage. What is the estimated regression model? c. Test whether each of the regression parameters 0 and 1 is equal to zero at a 0.05 level of significance. What are the correct interpretations of the estimated regression parameters? Are these interpretations reasonable? d. How much of the variation in the sample values of annual maintenance expense does the model you estimated in part (b) explain? e. If the maintenance contract costs 3,000 per year, would you recommend purchasing it? Why or why not?arrow_forwardFriendly Bank is attempting to determine the cost behavior of its small business lending operations. One of the major activities is the application activity. Two possible activity drivers have been mentioned: application hours (number of hours to complete the application) and number of applications. The bank controller has accumulated the following data for the setup activity: Required: 1. Estimate a regression equation with application hours as the activity driver and the only independent variable. If the bank forecasts 2,600 application hours for the next month, what will be the budgeted application cost? 2. Estimate a regression equation with number of applications as the activity driver and the only independent variable. If the bank forecasts 80 applications for the next month, what will be the budgeted application cost? 3. Which of the two regression equations do you think does a better job of predicting application costs? Explain. 4. Run a multiple regression to determine the cost equation using both activity drivers. What are the budgeted application costs for 2,600 application hours and 80 applications?arrow_forward
- The Lockit Company manufactures door knobs for residential homes and apartments. Lockit is considering the use of simple (single-driver) and multiple regression analyses to forecast annual sales because previous forecasts have been inaccurate. The new sales forecast will be used to initiate the budgeting process and to identify more completely the underlying process that generates sales. Larry Husky, the controller of Lockit, has considered many possible independent variables and equations to predict sales and has narrowed his choices to four equations. Husky used annual observations from 20 prior years to estimate each of the four equations. Following are definitions of the variables used in the four equations and a statistical summary of these equations: St=ForecastedsalesindollarsforLockitinperiodtSt1=ActualsalesindollarsforLockitinperiodt1Gt=ForecastedU.S.grossdomesticproductinperiodtGt1=ActualU.S.grossdomesticproductinperiodt1Nt1=Lockitsnetincomeinperiodt1 Required: 1. Write Equations 2 and 4 in the form Y = a + bx. 2. If actual sales are 1,500,000 in the current year, what would be the forecasted sales for Lockit in the coming year? 3. Explain why Larry Husky might prefer Equation 3 to Equation 2. 4. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using Equation 4 to forecast sales.arrow_forwardCleanTech manufactures equipment to mitigate the environmental effects of waste. (a) If Product A has fixed expenses of $15,000 per year and each unit of product has a $0.20 variable cost, and Product B has fixed expenses of $5000 per year and a $0.50 variable cost, at what number of units of annual production will A have the same overall cost as B? (b) As a manager at CleanTech what other data would you need to evaluate these two products?arrow_forwardThe Mayflower Transport Company operates a fleet of delivery trucks in the Ottawa area. It has been determined that if a truck is driven 105,000 kilometers over a one year period the average operating cost is $0.114 per kilometer. If a truck is driven only 70,000 kilometers annually, the operating costs increases to $0.134 per kilometer. a) Using the high-low method, estimate the variable and fixed cost elements of the annual cost of truck operation. b) Using the formula Y=a + bX, present the fixed and variable costs. c) If a truck were driven 80,000 kilometers over a one year period, what total cost would your expect to be incurred?arrow_forward
- Alyeski Tours operates day tours of coastal glaciers in Alaska on its tour boat the Blue Glacier. Management identified two cost drivers for budgeting purposes-the number of cruises and the number of passengers. The company publishes a schedule of day cruises that it may supplement with special sailings if there is sufficient demand. Up to 87 passengers can be accommodated on the tour boat. Data concerning the company's cost formulas appear below: Vessel operating costs Advertising Administrative costs Insurance For example, vessel operating costs should be $6,500 per month plus $475.00 per cruise plus $3.10 per passenger. The company's sales should average $34.00 per passenger. In July, the company provided 57 cruises for a total of 3,150 passengers. Required: Prepare the company's flexible budget for July. Revenue Expenses: Fixed Cost per Cost per Month Cruise $6,500 $475.00 $ 2,100 $ 5,700 $31.00 $ 3,500 Alyeski Tours Flexible Budget For the Month Ended July 31 Vessel operating…arrow_forwardAlyeski Tours operates day tours of coastal glaciers in Alaska on its tour boat the Blue Glacier. Management has identified two cost drivers the number of cruises and the number of passengers that it uses in its budgeting and performance reports. The company publishes a schedule of day cruises that it may supplement with special sailings if there is sufficient demand. Up to 85 passengers can be accommodated on the tour boat. Data concerning the company's cost formulas appear below: Vessel operating costs Advertising Administrative costs Insurance Fixed Cost per Month $6,600 $2,200 $5,900 $3,100 Required: Complete the company's planning budget for July. For example, vessel operating costs should be S6,600 per month plus $471.00 per cruise plus $3.10 per passenger. The company's sales should average $34.00 per passenger. The company's planning budget for July is based on 55 cruises and 3,150 passengers. Alyeski Tours Planning Budget For the Month Ended July 31 Revenue Expenses: Vessel…arrow_forwardAlyeski Tours operates day tours of coastal glaciers in Alaska on its tour boat the Blue Glacier. Management Identified two cost drivers for budgeting purposes-the number of cruises and the number of passengers. The company publishes a schedule of day cruises that it may supplement with special sailings if there is sufficient demand. Up to 85 passengers can be accommodated on the tour boat. Data concerning the company's cost formulas appear below: Vessel operating costs Advertising Fixed Cost Cost per per Cost per Month Cruise Passenger $ $ 3.30 6,000 470.00 $ $ 2,400 Administrative $ $ $ 1.50 costs 5,700 35.00 Insurance $ 3,700 For example, vessel operating costs should be $6,000 per month plus $470.00 per cruise plus $3.30 per passenger. The company's sales should average $28.00 per passenger. In July, the company provided 53 cruises for a total of 3,200 passengers. Required: Prepare the company's flexible budget for July. Alyeski Tours Flexible Budget For the Month Ended July 31…arrow_forward
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