Concept explainers
a)
Activity Based Costing: Activity Based Costing refers to the allocation of the factory
Overhead: Overhead refers to the costs, which are utilized in business activities, however cannot be related to a specific activity or product.
To Calculate: The activity based overhead rates for each activity cost pool.
b)
Overhead: Overhead refers to the costs, which are utilized in business activities, however cannot be related to a specific activity or product.
To Calculate: The overhead costs charged to the in-house manufacturing department.
c)
Overhead: Overhead refers to the costs, which are utilized in business activities, however cannot be related to a specific activity or product.
To Calculate: The overhead costs charged to the outside contracts.
d)
Activity Based Costing: Activity Based Costing refers to the allocation of the factory overheads when there are numerous products and processes. Activity based costing aims at assigning the costs among the products in a proportionate way.
To Identify: The benefits of charging overhead costs to both in-house manufacturing department and the outside contracts, using activity-based costing.
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Managerial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making
- CommunicationTAC Industries sells heavy equipment to large corporations and to federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to the government, however, are determined on a cost plus basis, where the selling price is determined by adding a fixed markup percentage to the total job cost.Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve income from operations.As Tandy reviewed the division’s job cost sheets, she realized that she could increase the division’s income from operations by moving a portion of the direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job order cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order costs sheets of government customers. She believed that this would create a win-win for the division by (1) reducing the cost of corporate jobs…arrow_forwardMSI is considering outsourcing the production of the handheld control module used with some of its products. The company has received a bid from Monte Legend Company (MLC) to produce 10,000 units of the module per year for $16 each. The following information pertains to MSI’s production of the control modules: Direct materials $ 9 Direct labor 4 Variable manufacturing overhead 2 Fixed manufacturing overhead 3 Total cost per unit $ 18 MSI has determined it could eliminate all variable costs if the control modules were produced externally, but none of the fixed overhead is avoidable. At this time, MSI has no specific use in mind for the space that is currently dedicated to the control module production. Required: 1. Compute the difference in cost between making and buying the control module. 2. Should MSI buy the modules from MLC or continue to make them? 3-a. Suppose the MSI space currently used for the modules could be utilized by a new product line that would generate…arrow_forwardMSI is considering outsourcing the production of the handheld control module used with some of its products. The company has received a bid from Monte Legend Co. (MLC) to produce 10,000 units of the module per year for $16 each. The following information pertains to MSI’s production of the control modules: Direct materials $ 9 Direct labor 4 Variable manufacturing overhead 2 Fixed manufacturing overhead 3 Total cost per unit $ 18 MSI has determined that it could eliminate all variable costs if the control modules were produced externally, but none of the fixed overhead is avoidable. At this time, MSI has no specific use in mind for the space that is currently dedicated to the control module production. Suppose that the MSI space currently used for the modules could be utilized by a new product line that would generate $35,000 in annual profit. Recompute the difference in cost between making and buying under this scenario.arrow_forward
- TAC Industries, Inc. sells heavy equipment to large corporations and federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to government, however, are determined on a cost plus basis, where the selling price is determined by adding a fixed markup percentage to the total job cost. Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries, Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve income from operations. As Tandy reviewed the division's job cost sheets, she realized that she could increase the division's income from operations by moving a portion of the direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job order cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order cost sheets of government customers. She believed this would create a "win-win" situation for the division by (1) reducing the cost of corporate jobs, and…arrow_forwardTAC Industries Inc. sells heavy equipment to large corporations and federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to the government, however, are determined on a cost-plus basis, where the selling price is determined by adding a fixed markup percentage to the total job cost. Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve income from operations. As Tandy reviewed the division's job cost sheets, she realized that she could increase the division's income from operations by moving a portion of the direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job order cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order costs sheets of government customers. She believed that this would create a “win–win” for the division by (1) reducing the cost of corporate jobs, and (2)…arrow_forwardWright Plastic Products is a small company that specialized in the production of plastic dinner plates until several years ago. Although profits for the company had been good, they have been declining in recent years because of increased competition. Many competitors offer a full range of plastic products, and management felt that this created a competitive disadvantage. The output of the companys plants was exclusively devoted to plastic dinner plates. Three years ago, management made a decision to add additional product lines. They determined that existing idle capacity in each plant could easily be adapted to produce other plastic products. Each plant would produce one additional product line. For example, the Atlanta plant would add a line of plastic cups. Moreover, the variable cost of producing a package of cups (one dozen) was virtually identical to that of a package of plastic plates. (Variable costs referred to here are those that change in total as the units produced change. The costs include direct materials, direct labor, and unit-based variable overhead such as power and other machine costs.) Since the fixed expenses would not change, the new product was forecast to increase profits significantly (for the Atlanta plant). Two years after the addition of the new product line, the profits of the Atlanta plant (as well as other plants) had not improvedin fact, they had dropped. Upon investigation, the president of the company discovered that profits had not increased as expected because the so-called fixed cost pool had increased dramatically. The president interviewed the manager of each support department at the Atlanta plant. Typical responses from four of those managers are given next. Materials handling: The additional batches caused by the cups increased the demand for materials handling. We had to add one forklift and hire additional materials handling labor. Inspection: Inspecting cups is more complicated than plastic plates. We only inspect a sample drawn from every batch, but you need to understand that the number of batches has increased with this new product line. We had to hire more inspection labor. Purchasing: The new line increased the number of purchase orders. We had to use more resources to handle this increased volume. Accounting: There were more transactions to process than before. We had to increase our staff. Required: 1. Explain why the results of adding the new product line were not accurately projected. 2. Could this problem have been avoided with an activity-based cost management system? If so, would you recommend that the company adopt this type of system? Explain and discuss the differences between an activity-based cost management system and a traditional cost management system.arrow_forward
- Boston Executive. Inc., produces executive limousines and currently manufactures the mini-bar inset at these costs: The company received an offer from Elite Mini-Bars to produce the insets for $2,100 per Unit and supply 1,000 mini-bars for the coming years estimated production. If the company accepts this offer and shuts down production of this part of the business, production workers and supervisors will be reassigned to other areas. Assume that for the short-term decision-making process demonstrated in this problem, the companys total labor costs (direct labor and supervisor salaries) will remain the same if the bar inserts are purchased. The specialized equipment cannot be used and has no market value. However, the space occupied by the mini bar production can be used by a different production group that will lease it for $55,000 per year. Should the company make or buy the mini-bar insert?arrow_forwardSouthward Company has implemented a JIT flexible manufacturing system. John Richins, controller of the company, has decided to reduce the accounting requirements given the expectation of lower inventories. For one thing, he has decided to treat direct labor cost as a part of overhead and to discontinue the detailed direct labor accounting of the past. The company has created two manufacturing cells, each capable of producing a family of products: the radiator cell and the water pump cell. The output of both cells is sold to a sister division and to customers who use the radiators and water pumps for repair activity. Product-level overhead costs outside the cells are assigned to each cell using appropriate drivers. Facility-level costs are allocated to each cell on the basis of square footage. The budgeted direct labor and overhead costs are as follows: The predetermined conversion cost rate is based on available production hours in each cell. The radiator cell has 45,000 hours available for production, and the water pump cell has 27,000 hours. Conversion costs are applied to the units produced by multiplying the conversion rate by the actual time required to produce the units. The radiator cell produced 81,000 units, taking 0.5 hour to produce one unit of product (on average). The water pump cell produced 90,000 units, taking 0.25 hour to produce one unit of product (on average). Other actual results for the year are as follows: All units produced were sold. Any conversion cost variance is closed to Cost of Goods Sold. Required: 1. Calculate the predetermined conversion cost rates for each cell. 2. Prepare journal entries using backflush accounting. Assume two trigger points, with completion of goods as the second trigger point. 3. Repeat Requirement 2, assuming that the second trigger point is the sale of the goods. 4. Explain why there is no need to have a work-in-process inventory account. 5. Two variants of backflush costing were presented in which each used two trigger points, with the second trigger point differing. Suppose that the only trigger point for recognizing manufacturing costs occurs when the goods are sold. How would the entries be listed here? When would this backflush variant be considered appropriate?arrow_forwardRoper Furniture manufactures office furniture and tracks cost data across their process. The following are some of the costs that they incur. Classify these costs as fixed or variable costs, and as product costs or period costs. Wood used to produce desks ($125,00 per desk) Production labor used to produce desks ($15 per hour) Production supervisor salary ($45,000 per year) Depreciation on factory equipment ($60,000 per year) Selling and administrative expenses ($45,000 per year) Rent on corporate office ($44,000 per year) Nails, glue, and other materials required to produce desks (varies per desk) Utilities expenses for production facility Sales staff commission (5% of gross sales)arrow_forward
- Maxwell Company produces a variety of kitchen appliances, including cooking ranges and dishwashers. Over the past several years, competition has intensified. In order to maintainand perhaps increaseits market share, Maxwells management decided that the overall quality of its products had to be increased. Furthermore, costs needed to be reduced so that the selling prices of its products could be reduced. After some investigation, Maxwell concluded that many of its problems could be traced to the unreliability of the parts that were purchased from outside suppliers. Many of these components failed to work as intended, causing performance problems. Over the years, the company had increased its inspection activity of the final products. If a problem could be detected internally, then it was usually possible to rework the appliance so that the desired performance was achieved. Management also had increased its warranty coverage; warranty work had been increasing over the years. David Haight, president of Maxwell Company, called a meeting with his executive committee. Lee Linsenmeyer, chief engineer; Kit Applegate, controller; and Jeannie Mitchell, purchasing manager, were all in attendance. How to improve the companys competitive position was the meetings topic. The conversation of the meeting was recorded as seen on the following page: DAVID: We need to find a way to improve the quality of our products and at the same time reduce costs. Lee, you said that you have done some research in this area. Would you share your findings? LEE: As you know, a major source of our quality problems relates to the poor quality of the parts we acquire from the outside. We have a lot of different parts, and this adds to the complexity of the problem. What I thought would be helpful would be to redesign our products so that they can use as many interchangeable parts as possible. This will cut down the number of different parts, make it easier to inspect, and cheaper to repair when it comes to warranty work. My engineering staff has already come up with some new designs that will do this for us. JEANNIE: I like this idea. It will simplify the purchasing activity significantly. With fewer parts, I can envision some significant savings for my area. Lee has shown me the designs so I know exactly what parts would be needed. I also have a suggestion. We need to embark on a supplier evaluation program. We have too many suppliers. By reducing the number of different parts, we will need fewer suppliers. And we really dont need to use all the suppliers that produce the parts demanded by the new designs. We should pick suppliers that will work with us and provide the quality of parts that we need. I have done some preliminary research and have identified five suppliers that seem willing to work with us and assure us of the quality we need. Lee may need to send some of his engineers into their plants to make sure that they can do what they are claiming. DAVID: This sounds promising. Kit, can you look over the proposals and their estimates and give us some idea if this approach will save us any money? And if so, how much can we expect to save? KIT: Actually, I am ahead of the game here. Lee and Jeannie have both been in contact with me and have provided me with some estimates on how these actions would affect different activities. I have prepared a handout that includes an activity table revealing what I think are the key activities affected. I have also assembled some tentative information about activity costs. The table gives the current demand and the expected demand after the changes are implemented. With this information, we should be able to assess the expected cost savings. Additionally, the following activity cost data are provided: Purchasing parts: Variable activity cost: 30 per part number; 20 salaried clerks, each earning a 45,000 annual salary. Each clerk is capable of processing orders associated with 100 part numbers. Inspecting parts: Twenty-five inspectors, each earning a salary of 40,000 per year. Each inspector is capable of 2,000 hours of inspection. Reworking products: Variable activity cost: 25 per unit reworked (labor and parts). Warranty: Twenty repair agents, each paid a salary of 35,000 per year. Each repair agent is capable of repairing 500 units per year. Variable activity costs: 15 per product repaired. Required: 1. Compute the total savings possible as reflected by Kits handout. Assume that resource spending is reduced where possible. 2. Explain how redesign and supplier evaluation are linked to the savings computed in Requirement 1. Discuss the importance of recognizing and exploiting internal and external linkages. 3. Identify the organizational and operational activities involved in the strategy being considered by Maxwell Company. What is the relationship between organizational and operational activities?arrow_forwardMaterials used by the Instrument Division of Ziegler Inc. are currently purchased from outside suppliers at a cost of 1,350 per unit. However, the same materials are available from the Components Division. The Components Division has unused capacity and can produce the materials needed by the Instrument Division at a variable cost of 900 per unit. a. If a transfer price of 1,000 per unit is established and 75,000 units of materials are transferred, with no reduction in the Components Divisions current sales, how much would Ziegler Inc.s total operating income increase? b. How much would the Instrument Divisions operating income increase? c. How much would the Components Divisions operating income increase?arrow_forwardRegal Executive, Inc., produces executive motor coaches and currently manufactures the cent awnings that accompany them at these costs: The company received an offer from Saied Tents to produce the awnings for $3,200 per unit and supply 1,000 awnings for the coming years estimated production. If the company accepts this offer and shuts down production of this part of the business, production workers and supervisors will be reassigned to other areas. Assume that for the short-term decision-making process demonstrated in this problem, the companys total labor costs (direct labor and supervisor salaries) will remain the same if the bar inserts are purchased. The specialized equipment cannot be used and has no market value. However, the space occupied by the awning production can be used by a different production group that will lease it for $60,000 per year. Should the company make or buy the awnings?arrow_forward
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