Apex leather Company manufactures high-quality leather goods. The company's profits have declined during the past nine months. In an attempt to isolate the causes of poor profit performance, management is investigating the manufacturing operations of each of its products.

One of the company's main product is leather belts. The belts are produced in a single, continuous process in the NSW plant. During the process, leather strips are sewn, punched, and dyed. The belts then enter a final finishing stage to conclude the process. Labour and overhead are applied continuously during the manufacturing process. All materials, leather strips and buckles are introduced at the beginning of the process. The firm uses the weighted-average method to calculate its unit costs.

The leather belts produced at the NSW plant are sold wholesale for $9.95 each. Management wants to compare the current manufacturing costs per unit with the market prices for leather belts. Top management asked the NSW plant controller to submit data on the cost of manufacturing the leather belts for the month of October. These cost data will be used to determine whether modifications in the production process should be initiated or whether an increase in the selling price of the belts is justified. The cost per belt used for planning and control is $5.35.

The work-in-process inventory consisted of 400 partially completed units of October1. The belts were 25 percent complete as to conversion. The costs included in the inventory of October 1 were as follows:

Leather strips Buckles Conversion costs Total

$990 260 300 $1, 550

During October 7, 600 leather strips were placed into production. A total of 7, 000 leather belts were completed. The work-in-process inventory on October 31 consisted of 1, 000 belts, which were 50 percent complete as to conversion.

The costs charged to production during October were as follows: Leather strips

Buckles

Conversion costs

Total

$19, 900 5, 250 20, 700 $45, 850

In order to provide cost data regarding the manufacture of leather belts in the NSW plant to the top management of Apex Leather Company, compute the following amounts for the month of October.

1. The equivalent units for material and conversion.

2. The cost per equivalent unit of material and conversion.

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3. The assignment of production costs to the October 31 work-in-process inventory and to goods transferred out.

4. The weighted-average unit cost of leather belts completed and transferred to finished goods. Comment of the company's cost per belt used for planning and control.

5. Apex Leather Company's production manager, Jack Murray, has been under pressure from the company president to reduce the cost of conversion. In spite of several attempts to reduce conversion costs, they have remained more or less constant. Now Murray is faced with an upcoming meeting with the company president, at which he will have to explain why he has failed to reduce conversion costs. Murray has approached his friend, Jeff Daley, who is the corporate controller, with the following request: "Jeff, I'm under pressure to reduce costs in the production process. There is no way to reduce material cost, so I've got to get the conversion costs down. I can show just a little progress in next week's meeting with the president, then I can buy a little time to try some other cost-cutting measures I've been considering. I want you to do me a favour. If we raise the estimate of the percentage of completion of October's inventory to 60 percent, that will increase the number of equivalent units. Then the unit conversion cost will be a little lower. 'By how much would Murray's suggested manipulation would lower the unit conversion cost? What should Daley do? Discuss the situation, citing specific ethical standards of managerial accountants.