17-36 Weighted-average method. Hoffman Company manufactures car seats in its Boise plant. Each car seat passes through the assembly department and the testing department. This problem focuses on the assembly department. The process-costing system at Hoffman Company has a single direct-cost category (direct materials) and a single indirect-cost category (conversion costs). Direct materials are added at the beginning of the process. Conversion costs are added evenly during the process. When the assembly de-partment finishes work on each car seat, it is immediately transferred to testing.Hoffman Company uses the weighted-average method of process costing. Data for the assembly de-partment for October 2017 are as follows: 1. For each cost category, compute equivalent units in the assembly department. Show physical units in the first column of your schedule. 2. What issues should the manager focus on when reviewing the equivalent-unit calculations? 3. For each cost category, summarize total assembly department costs for October 2017 and calculate the cost per equivalent unit. 4. Assign costs to units completed and transferred out and to units in ending work in process.
	Physical Units (Car Seats)	Direct Materials	Conversion Costs
Work in process, October 1a	4,000	1,248,000	241,650
Started during October 2017	22,500
Completed during October 2017	26,000
Work in process, October 31b	500	4,635,000	2,575,125
Total costs added during October 2017
aDegree of completion: direct materials,?%; conversion costs, 45%.
bDegree of completion: direct materials,?%; conversion costs, 65%.