Activity Based Costing Project

Autotech Manufacturing Product Costs

Autotech Manufacturing is engaged in the production of replacement parts for automobiles. One

plant specializes in the production of two parts: Part 127 and Part 234. Part 127 produces the

highest volume of activity, and for many years it was the only part produced by the plant. Five

years ago, Part 234 was added. Part 234 was more difficult to manufacture and required special

tooling and setups. Profits increased for the first three years after the addition of the new

product. In the past two years, however, the plant has faced intense competition, and its sales of

Part 127 have dropped. In fact, the plant showed a small loss in the most recent reporting period.

Much of the competition was from foreign sources, and the plant manager was convinced that the

foreign producers were guilty of selling the part below the cost of producing it. The following

conversation between Patty Goodson, plant manager, and Joseph Fielding divisional marketing

manager, reflects the concerns of the division about the future of the plant and its products.

Joseph: You know, Patty, the divisional manager is really concerned about the plant's trend. He

indicated that in this budgetary environment, we can't afford to carry plants that don't show a

profit. We shut one down just last month because it couldn't handle the competition.

Patty: Joe, you and I both know that Part 127 has a reputation for quality and value. It has been a

mainstay for years. I don't understand what's happening.

Joseph: I just received a call from one of our major customers concerning Part 127. He said that a

sales representative from another firm offered the part at $20 per unit-- $11 less than what we

charge. It's hard to compete with a price like that. Perhaps the plant is simply obsolete.

Patty: No. I don't buy that. From my sources, I know we have good technology. We are efficient.

And it's costing a little more than $21 to produce that part. I don't see how these companies can

afford to sell it so cheaply. I'm not convinced that we should meet the price. Perhaps a better

strategy is to emphasize producing and selling more of Part 234. Our margin is high on this

product, and we have virtually no competition for it.

Joseph: You may be right. I think we can increase the price significantly and not loose business. I

called a few customers to see how they would react to a 25 percent increase in price, and they all

said that they would still purchase the same quantity as before.

Patty: It sounds promising. However, before we make a major commitment to Part 234, I think

we had better explore other possible explanations. I want to know how our production costs

compare with those of our competitors. Perhaps we could be more efficient and find a way to

earn our normal return on Part 127. The market is so much bigger for this part. I'm not sure we

can survive with only Part 234. Besides, my production people hate that part. It's very difficult to

produce.

Managerial Accounting Projects: Anne M.A. Sergeant

Practice in Critical Thinking and Written Communication Grand Valley State University

After her meeting with Joseph, Patty requested an investigation of the production costs and

comparative efficiency. She received approval to hire Sergeant Consulting Group to make an

independent investigation.

The staff accountant for Sergeant Consulting Group has uncovered the following costs and

activities associated with the two products.

Part 127 Part 234

Production 500,000 100,000

Selling Price $31.86 $24.00

Prime costs per unit $9.53 $8.26

Number of production runs 100 200

Receiving orders 400 1,000

Machine hours 125,000 60,000

Direct labor hours 250,000 22,500

Engineering hours 5,000 5,000

Material moves 500 400

Overhead is allocated using a plant-wide rage based on direct labor hours.

Preliminary analysis of costs by Sergeant Consulting Group revealed that similar costs can be

categorized into the following cost pools. Setup costs are costs that occur each time a new

production run is made. They involve retooling and reconfiguring the machines and technology.

Material handling costs include the equipment and personnel required to transport materials from

supplier trucks to the machines. Typically, materials are taken to a storage area before being

transported to machines. Each production run will need new materials and materials may also be

transported during production runs. Machine costs primarily include depreciation and machine

maintenance. Although the machines are depreciated using accelerated depreciation schedules,

typically the machine wear out from use and are replaced before they become obsolete.

Receiving costs include the costs of clerical and technical help associated with the processing of

each order received from a customer. Engineering costs include the technical support staff that

implement design changes in the part, manage processes to maintain quality, and provide

technical information on the product. The engineering staff maintain a record of the amount of

time spent on each product. General plant costs include all the other administrative costs not

included in the other cost pools.

Overhead Cost Pools

Setup costs $240,000

Material handling costs 900,000

Machine costs 1,750,000

Receiving costs 2,100,000

Engineering costs 1,500,000

General plant costs 500,000

Total $6,990,000

(This case is taken from Hansen, Mowen and Guan, "Cost Management: Accounting and Control"

sixth edition, South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009, problem 4-17, pp. 122-123.)

Managerial Accounting Projects: Anne M.A. Sergeant

Practice in Critical Thinking and Written Communication Grand Valley State University

ABC Project-Analysis

Part 1: Compute overhead and gross margin using traditional costing

Per Unit Part 127 Part 234

Overhead/unit $_______ $________

Gross Margin:

Selling Price/unit $_______ $________

Prime costs/unit $_______ $________

Overhead/unit $_______ $________

Gross margin/unit $_______ $________

Total Part 127 Part 234

Total Profit $___________ $____________

Part 2: Select the best cost driver and compute overhead rates for each cost pool.

Cost pool Cost Driver Overhead rate

Setup costs $

Material handling costs $

Machine costs $

Receiving costs $

Engineering costs $

General plant costs $

Part 3: Compute overhead and gross margin using Activity-based Costing

Per Unit Part 127 Part 234

Overhead/unit $_______ $________

Gross Margin:

Selling Price/unit $_______ $________

Prime costs/unit $_______ $________

Overhead/unit $_______ $________

Gross margin/unit $_______ $________

Total Part 127 Part 234

Total Profit $___________ $____________

Managerial Accounting Projects: Anne M.A. Sergeant

Practice in Critical Thinking and Written Communication Grand Valley State University

Part 4: Recommendations- Increase in price for Product 234 by 25%

Per Unit Part 127 Part 234

Selling Price/unit $_______ $________

Prime costs/unit $_______ $________

Overhead/unit $_______ $________

Gross margin/unit $_______ $________

Total Part 127 Part 234

Total Profit $___________ $____________

Part 5: Another reasonable recommendation to improve profitability.

Explain recommendation here:

Per Unit Part 127 Part 234

Selling Price/unit $_______ $________

Prime costs/unit $_______ $________

Overhead/unit $_______ $________

Gross margin/unit $_______ $________

Total Part 127 Part 234

Total Profit $___________ $____________

Part 6: Another reasonable recommendation to improve profitability.

Explain recommendation here:

Per Unit Part 127 Part 234

Selling Price/unit $_______ $________

Prime costs/unit $_______ $________

Overhead/unit $_______ $________

Gross margin/unit $_______ $________

Total Part 127 Part 234

Total Profit $___________ $____________

Managerial Accounting Projects: Anne M.A. Sergeant

Practice in Critical Thinking and Written Communication Grand Valley State University

ABC Project-Writeup

You are to assume you are a consultant working for the company. You will want your report to be

professional and "ADD VALUE" to the company. Use an executive summary, followed by the

detailed report.

Be sure to include the following:

(1) Argue for the use of Activity-based Costing by in this case by:

a) Describing when Activity-based Costing is appropriate and when Traditional Costing is

appropriate and when each is not appropriate to use.

b) Discussing what are the strengths and weaknesses of ABC? When is it appropriate to use?

What kinds of business situations suggest the need for ABC?

c) Applying a &b to the case and arguing for an Activity-based Costing system.

(2) Describe the Activity-based costing system you are recommending. Include a justification for

the cost driver selected.

(3) Present your new cost findings. Include both per unit and total cost data. There should be

tables with cost information included.

(4) Make strategy recommendations for each product and for the plant. Use the cost and profit

numbers to justify these recommendations.

(5) Comment on the validity of the plant manager's concern that competitors are selling below

the cost of making Part 127.

(6) Explain the apparent lack of competition for Part 234 and the customers' response to potential

price increase.

(7) Make any other additional recommendations or suggestions.

Written Document Instructions

Cover page for first submission: A cover page has been provided for your use for the first

submission. Do not use a cover page for the final submission.

The project (beyond the cover page) should start with an executive summary. This is a one-page

summary of your findings and conclusions that can stand alone. It should provide links to where

more in-depth analysis is found in the paper. One easy way to structure your executive summary

is to use a memo template from Word. Keep in mind that your boss might read your entire report,

but your boss's boss might only read the executive summary. Your conclusions should JUMP out

at the reader. You can use bullets, bold, tables, and any other formatting tool to enhance the

readability of the report.

After the executive summary, you will write the report. The report will include the analysis

provided in the class. You will need to integrate it into the report neatly and professionally with

appropriate descriptions and details. If you have multiple pages and think a table of contents

would be helpful, you may use one. You will need to address all seven points above.