Narpet Company produces machine tools and currently uses a plantwide overhead rate, based on machine hours. Ray Johnson, the plant manager, has heard that departmental overhead rates can offer significantly better cost assignnients than can a plantwide rate.

Narpet has the following data for its two departments for the coming year:

Required:
1. Compute a predetermined overhead rate for the plant as a whole based on machine hours.
2. Compute predetermined overhead rates for each department using machine hours.
3. Suppose that a machine tool (Product #12X75) used 20 machine hours from Department A and 50 machine hours from Department B. A second machine tool (Product #32Y15) used 50 machine hours from Department A and 20 machine hours from Department B. Compute the overhead cost assigned to each product using the plantwide rate computed in Requirement 1. Repeat the computation using the departmental rates found in Requirement 2. Which of the two approaches gives the fairest assignment? Why?
4. Repeat Requirement 3 assuming the expected overhead cost for Department B is $120,000. Now would you recommend departmental rates over a plantwide rate?LO1

Transcribed Image Text:

Department A Department B Overhead costs (expected) $240,000 $60,000 Normal activity (machine hours) 40,000 20,000