18.

Problem 7-18 (Algo) Activity-Based Costing and Bidding on Jobs [LO7-2, LO7-3, LO7-4]

Mercer Asbestos Removal Company removes potentially toxic asbestos insulation and related products from buildings. There has been a long-simmering dispute between the companys estimator and the work supervisors. The on-site supervisors claim that the estimators do not adequately distinguish between routine work, such as removal of asbestos insulation around heating pipes in older homes, and nonroutine work, such as removing asbestos-contaminated ceiling plaster in industrial buildings. The on-site supervisors believe that nonroutine work is far more expensive than routine work and should bear higher customer charges. The estimator sums up his position in this way: My job is to measure the area to be cleared of asbestos. As directed by top management, I simply multiply the square footage by $3.00 to determine the bid price. Since our average cost is only $2.675 per square foot, that leaves enough cushion to take care of the additional costs of nonroutine work that shows up. Besides, it is difficult to know what is routine or not routine until you actually start tearing things apart.

To shed light on this controversy, the company initiated an activity-based costing study of all of its costs. Data from the activity-based costing system follow:

Activity Cost Pool	Activity Measure	Total Activity
Removing asbestos	Thousands of square feet	800	thousand square feet
Estimating and job setup	Number of jobs	500	jobs
Working on nonroutine jobs	Number of nonroutine jobs	100	nonroutine jobs
Other (organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs)	None

Note: The 100 nonroutine jobs are included in the total of 500 jobs. Both nonroutine jobs and routine jobs require estimating and setup.

Costs for the Year
Wages and salaries	$ 423,000
Disposal fees	802,000
Equipment depreciation	96,000
On-site supplies	62,000
Office expenses	320,000
Licensing and insurance	510,000
Total cost	$ 2,213,000

Distribution of Resource Consumption Across Activities
	Removing Asbestos	Estimating and Job Setup	Working on Nonroutine Jobs	Other	Total
Wages and salaries	50%	10%	30%	10%	100%
Disposal fees	70%	0%	30%	0%	100%
Equipment depreciation	50%	10%	15%	25%	100%
On-site supplies	60%	30%	10%	0%	100%
Office expenses	10%	35%	25%	30%	100%
Licensing and insurance	25%	0%	60%	15%	100%

Required:

1. Perform the first-stage allocation of costs to the activity cost pools.

2. Compute the activity rates for the activity cost pools.

3. Using the activity rates you have computed, determine the total cost and the average cost per thousand square feet of each of the following jobs according to the activity-based costing system.

a. A routine 1,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.

b. A routine 2,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.

c. A nonroutine 2,000-square-foot asbestos removal job.

Perform the first-stage allocation of costs to the activity cost pools. Removing asbestos Estimating and Job Setup Working on Nonroutine Jobs Other Total Wages and salaries Disposal fees Equipment depreciation On-site supplies Office expenses Licensing and insurance Total cost Compute the activity rates for the activity cost pools. Activity Cost Pool Removing asbestos Estimating and job setup Working on nonroutine jobs Activity Rate per thousand square feet per job per nonroutine job Req 1 Reg 2 Req 3A to 30 Using the activity rates you have computed, determine the total cost and the average cost per thousand square feet of each of the following jobs according to the activity-based costing system. (Round the "Average Cost per thousand square feet" to 2 decimal places.) a. A routine 1,000-square-foot asbestos removal job. b. A routine 2,000-square-foot asbestos removal job. c. A nonroutine 2,000-square-foot asbestos removal job. Show less Routine 1,000 Routine 2,000 square feet job square feet job Nonroutine 2,000 square feet job Total cost of the job Average Cost per thousand square feet