Since its inception, Batum Laboratory has produced a single product, Product S109. With the advent of automation, the company added the technological capability to begin producing a second product, Product N227. Because of the success of Product N227, manufacturing has been shifting toward its production. Sales of Product N227 are now 50 percent of the total annual sales of 20,000 units, and the company is optimistic about the new product's future sales growth. One reason the company is excited about the sales potential of its new product is that the new product's gross profit margin is higher than that of Product S109. Management is thrilled with the new product's initial success but concerned about the company's declining profits since the product's introduction. Suspecting a problem with the company's costing system, management hires you to investigate.

In reviewing the company's records, product specifications, and manufacturing processes, you

Discover the following information:

1. The company is in an extremely competitive industry in which markups are low and accurate

Estimates of cost are critical to success.

2. Product N227 has complex parts that require more labor, machine time, setups, and inspections than Product S109.

3. Budgeted costs for direct materials and labor follow:

4. The company presently allocates overhead costs to its products based on direct labor hours.
After carefully studying the company's overhead, you identify four different categories of overhead costs. Using your knowledge of this company and similar companies in the same industry, you estimate the total costs for each of these categories and identify the most appropriate cost driver for measuring each product's overhead consumption. Detailed information for each cost category follows:

Required
a. Determine the predetermined overhead rate the company is using.
b. Compute the amount of overhead the company assigns to each product using this rate.
c. Determine the cost per unit and total cost of each product when overhead is assigned based on direct labor hours.
d. To remain competitive, the company prices its products at only 20 percent above cost. Compute the price for each product with this markup.
e. Compute the overhead rate for each category of activity.
f. Determine the amount of overhead cost, both in total and per unit, that would be assigned to each product if the company switched to activity-based costing.
g. Assuming that prices are adjusted to reflect activity-based costs, determine the revised price for each product.
h. Based on your results for Requirements f and g, explain why Product N227 costs more to make than previously apparent and why sales prices therefore need to be adjusted.

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Direct Cost per Unit Direct materials Direct labor Product S109 Product N227 $25 $35 $10/hour x 2 hours production time $10/hour x 2.8 hours production time Category Estimated Cost Cost Driver Use of Cost Driver Unit level Batch level Product level Facility level Total $ 540,000 228,000 180,000 60.000 $1,008,000 Number of machine hours Number of machine setups Number of inspections Equal percentage for products S109: 20,000 hours, N227:60,000 hours S109: 1,500; N227: 3,500 S109: 200; N227: 600 S109: 50%; N227: 50%