Burchill Consultants is a global consulting firm. The firm has a travel policy that reimburses employees for the “ordinary and necessary” costs of business travel and reimburses business-class airfare for international and “long” domestic flights. Associates at the firm often mix a business trip with pleasure by either extending the time at the destination or traveling from the business destination to a nearby resort or other personal destination. When this happens, an allocation must be made between the business and personal portions of the trip, so that only the business portion is reimbursed. However, the travel policy is unclear on the allocation method to follow.

Consider this example. An employee obtained a business-class ticket for $8,557 and traveled the following itinerary.

On the date of the flights between Los Angeles and Singapore (and return), a restricted roundtrip business-class fare of $4,038 was available.

Required

a. Compute the business portion of the airfare and state the basis for the indicated allocation that is appropriate according to each of the following independent scenarios:

1. Based on the maximum reimbursement for the employee.

2. Based on the minimum cost to the company

b. Write a short report to management explaining the method that you think should be used and why. You do not have to restrict your recommendation to either of the methods in requirement (a).

Transcribed Image Text:

From Los Angeles Singapore Sydney To Singapore Sydney Los Angeles Miles 8,770 3,908 7,488 One-Way Regular Fare $3,396 2,150 3,618 Purpose Business Personal Return