Consider the following conversation between Leonard Bryner, president and manager of a firm engaged in job manufacturing, and Chuck Davis, certified
Leonard: Chuck, as you know, our firm has been losing market share over the past 3 years. We have been losing more and more bids, and I don’t understand why. At first, I thought that other firms were undercutting simply to gain business, but after examining some of the public financial reports, I believe that they are making a reasonable
Chuck: I can’t agree with that. We have good control over our costs. Like most firms in our industry, we use a normal
Leonard: After talking with some other managers at a recent industrial convention, I’m not so sure that waste by itself is the issue. They talked about activity-based management, activity-based costing, and continuous improvement. They mentioned the use of something called “activity drivers” to assign overhead. They claimed that these new procedures can help to produce more efficiency in manufacturing, better control of overhead, and more accurate product costing. A big deal was made of eliminating activities that added no value. Maybe our bids are too high because these other firms have found ways to decrease their overhead costs and to increase the accuracy of their product costing.
Chuck: I doubt it. For one thing, I don’t see how we can increase product-costing accuracy. So many of our costs are indirect costs. Furthermore, everyone uses some measure of production activity to assign overhead costs. I imagine that what they are calling “activity drivers” is just some new buzzword for measures of production volume. Fads in costing come and go. I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ll bet that our problems with decreasing sales are temporary. You might recall that we experienced a similar problem about 12 years ago—it was 2 years before it straightened out.
Required:
- 1. Do you agree or disagree with Chuck Davis and the advice that he gave Leonard Bryner? Explain.
- 2. Was there anything wrong or unethical in the behavior that Chuck Davis displayed? Explain your reasoning.
- 3. Do you think that Chuck was well informed—that he was aware of the accounting implications of ABC and that he knew what was meant by cost drivers? Should he have been well informed? Review (in Chapter 1) the first category of the Statement of Ethical Professional Practice for management accountants. Do any of these standards apply in Chuck’s case?
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Chapter 5 Solutions
Managerial Accounting: The Cornerstone of Business Decision-Making
- Consider the following conversation between Gary Means, manager of a division that produces industrial machinery, and his controller, Donna Simpson, a certified management accountant and certified public accountant: Gary: Donna, we have a real problem. Our operating cash is too low, and we are in desperate need of a loan. As you know, our financial position is marginal, and we need to show as much income as possibleand our assets need bolstering as well. Donna: I understand the problem, but I dont see what can be done at this point. This is the last week of the fiscal year, and it looks like well report income just slightly above breakeven. Gary: I know all this. What we need is some creative accounting. I have an idea that might help us, and I wanted to see if you would go along with it. We have 200 partially finished machines in process, about 20% complete. That compares with the 1,000 units that we completed and sold during the year. When you computed the per-unit cost, you used 1,040 equivalent units, giving us a manufacturing cost of 1,500 per unit. That per-unit cost gives us cost of goods sold equal to 1.5 million and ending work in process worth 60,000. The presence of the work in process gives us a chance to improve our financial position. If we report the units in work in process as 80% complete, this will increase our equivalent units to 1,160. This, in turn, will decrease our unit cost to about 1,345 and cost of goods sold to 1.345 million. The value of our work in process will increase to 215,200. With those financial stats, the loan would be a cinch. Donna: Gary, I dont know. What youre suggesting is risky. It wouldnt take much auditing skill to catch this one. Gary: You dont have to worry about that. The auditors wont be here for at least 6 to 8 more weeks. By that time, we can have those partially completed units completed and sold. I can bury the labor cost by having some of our more loyal workers work overtime for some bonuses. The overtime will never be reported. And, as you know, bonuses come out of the corporate budget and are assigned to overheadnext years overhead. Donna, this will work. If we look good and get the loan to boot, corporate headquarters will treat us well. If we dont do this, we could lose our jobs. Required: 1. Should Donna agree to Garys proposal? Why or why not? To assist in deciding, review the corporate code of ethics standards described in Chapter 1. Do any apply? 2. Assume that Donna refuses to cooperate and that Gary accepts this decision and drops the matter. Does Donna have any obligation to report the divisional managers behavior to a superior? Explain. 3. Assume that Donna refuses to cooperate; however, Gary insists that the changes be made. Now what should she do? What would you do? 4. Suppose that Donna is 63 and that the prospects for employment elsewhere are bleak. Assume again that Gary insists that the changes be made. Donna also knows that his supervisor, the owner of the company, is his father-in-law. Under these circumstances, would your recommendations for Donna differ?arrow_forwardHatfield Medical Supplys stock price had been lagging its industry averages, so its board of directors brought in a new CEO, Jaiden Lee. Lee had brought in Ashley Novak, a finance MBA who had been working for a consulting company, to replace the old CFO, and Lee asked Novak to develop the financial planning section of the strategic plan. In her previous job, Novaks primary task had been to help clients develop financial forecasts, and that was one reason Lee hired her. Novak began by comparing Hatfields financial ratios to the industry averages. If any ratio was substandard, she discussed it with the responsible manager to see what could be done to improve the situation. The following data show Hatfields latest financial statements plus some ratios and other data that Novak plans to use in her analysis. Hatfield Medical Supply (Millions of Dollars, Except per Share Data) Selected Additional Data for 2019 Using Hatfields data and its industry averages, how well run would you say Hatfield appears to be in comparison with other firms in its industry? What are its primary strengths and weaknesses? Be specific in your answer and point to various ratios that support your position. Also, use the DuPont equation (see Chapter 3) as one part of your analysis.arrow_forwardHatfield Medical Supplys stock price had been lagging its industry averages, so its board of directors brought in a new CEO, Jaiden Lee. Lee had brought in Ashley Novak, a finance MBA who had been working for a consulting company, to replace the old CFO, and Lee asked Novak to develop the financial planning section of the strategic plan. In her previous job, Novaks primary task had been to help clients develop financial forecasts, and that was one reason Lee hired her. Novak began by comparing Hatfields financial ratios to the industry averages. If any ratio was substandard, she discussed it with the responsible manager to see what could be done to improve the situation. The following data show Hatfields latest financial statements plus some ratios and other data that Novak plans to use in her analysis. Hatfield Medical Supply (Millions of Dollars, Except Per Share Data) Selected Additional Data for 2018 Using Hatfields data and its industry averages, how well run would you say Hatfield appears to be compared to other firms in its industry? What are its primary strengths and weaknesses? Be specific in your answer, and point to various ratios that support your position. Also, use the DuPont equation (see Chapter 7) as one part of your analysis.arrow_forward
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- An employee, Fred, working in the accounts office of a medium-sized company listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, was working late one evening during the week. He realized he had left his pen in the boardroom at an earlier meeting and, given its value, went upstairs to look for it. As he approached the door he heard the following discussion:‘Chief Executive: I am deeply concerned that if this fall in profit figures is disclosed in the next annual report, there will be sorts of problems with the shareholders. We may even lose a number of big investors.Non-executive director (also the cousin of the Chief Executive): (large sign) well, I suppose we could always find a way of making them look better.Chief Executive: How? I can’t see it at all.Non-executive director: Well, we could make them just slightly higher than last year’s figures by including the proceeds of sales of our toothbrush division.Chief Executive: But the sale doesn’t go through until October.Non executive director: No, but…arrow_forwardJames Kirk is a financial executive with McDowell Enterprises. Although James Kirk has not had any formal training in finance or accounting, he has a “good sense” for numbers and has helped the company grow from a very small company ($500,000 sales) to a large operation ($45 million in sales). With the business growing steadily, however, the company needs to make a number of difficult financial decisions in which James Kirk feels a little “over his head.” He therefore has decided to hire a new employee with “numbers” expertise to help him. As a basis for determining whom to employ, he has decided to ask each prospective employee to prepare answers to questions relating to the following situations he has encountered recently. Here are the questions. a. In 2019, McDowell Enterprises negotiated and closed a long-term lease contract for newly constructed truck terminals and freight storage facilities. The buildings were constructed on land owned by the company. On January 1, 2020,…arrow_forward
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