Solucions SA, an engineering consulting firm, specialises in analysing the structural causes of major building catastrophes. Its job-costing system in 2019 had a single direct-cost category (professional labour) and a single indirect-cost pool (general support). The allocation base for indirect costs is professional labour costs. Actual costs for 2019 were:
Direct costs
Professional labour  .............................................  €100 million
Indirect costs
General support  .............................................      190 million
Total costs  ......................................................      €290 million
The following costs were included in the general-support indirect-cost pool:
Technical specialists’ costs  ...........................   €8 million
Telephone/fax machine  ...............................   6 million
Computer time  .............................................    37 million
Photocopying  .............................................      4 million
Total costs  .............................................           €55 million
The firm’s data-processing capabilities now make it feasible to trace these costs to individual jobs. The managing partner is considering whether more costs than just professional labour should be traced to each job as a direct cost. In this way, the firm would be better able to justify billings to clients.
In late 2019, arrangements were made to expand the number of direct-cost categories and to trace them to seven client engagements. Two of the case records showed the following:

Required
1. Present an overview diagram of the 2019 job-costing system. What was the actual indirect-cost rate per professional labour-euro?
2. Assume that the €55 million of costs included in the 2019 general-support indirect-cost pool were reclassified as direct costs. The result is a system with five direct cost categories. Calculate the revised indirect-cost rate as a percentage of:

a. Professional labour costs
b. Total direct costs.
3. Calculate the total costs of jobs 304 and 308 using:
a. The 2019 costing system with a single direct-cost category and a single indirect-cost pool (professional labour costs as the allocation base)
b. A costing system with five direct-cost categories and a single indirect-cost pool (professional labour costs as the allocation base)
c. A costing system with five direct-cost categories and a single indirect-cost pool (total direct costs as the allocation base).
4. Assume that clients are billed at 120% of total job costs (that is, a mark-up on cost of 20%). Calculate the billings in requirement 3 for jobs 304 and 308 for the (a), (b) and (c) costing systems.
5. Which method of job costing in requirement 3 do you favour? Explain.

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Client case Client case 304 308 Professional labour €200 000 €200 000 Technical specialists' costs Telephone/fax machine Computer time Photocopying Total direct costs 20 000 60 000 10 000 20 000 20 000 40 000 10 000 20 000 €260 000 €340 000