Assume you are the management accountant for the Foleo Group. After her meetings with the various business units, Tracey Chen has identified a number of opportunities for the organisation to improve its sustainability performance. One such opportunity is Robyn Smith's suggestion for moving the manufacturing operations of Foleo Fones and Accessories off-shore to address the local residents' concerns. Robyn had done some research and has supplied Tracey with the below data relating to the relocation of Foleo's manufacturing plants offshore (specifically to Guangzhou in southern China). Annual Direct Labour Costs Annual Direct Materials Costs Annual operational expenses (Variable Manufacturing Overheads) Annual waste produced from operations requiring disposal Cost of waste disposal per kg Annual fixed manufacturing overheads Average / estimated delivery time for SliFones and Accessories Estimated CO2 emissions produced by operations per hour of operation Number of employees required by manufacturing operations Number of working weeks per year per employee Australian Plants $1,953,315 $2,976,480 $343,440 710 tonnes p.a $120 per tonne $625,000 5 working days 260 grams per hour 1,450 40 weeks Guangzhou Plant $1,074,323 $1,785,888 $120,204 825 tonnes p.a $110 per tonne $375,000 35 working days 430 grams per hour 1,250 50 weeks Robyn has advised Tracey that the expected relocation costs to Guangzhou would amount to $1,500,000 but that some of these costs could be offset with the sale of Foleo's current manufacturing assets and the sublease of the plants (the amount of which, she has estimated as an inflow of $950,000 at the time of the relocation). As mentioned above, the relocation of Foleo's manufacturing operations will mean the closure of the Australian plants, which will result in all factory workers currently employed at the various Foleo plants being laid off. More than half of these workers have been with Foleo for at least 10 years and many of them have not claimed their accrued long and annual leave. Tracey has calculated that these workers' entitlements, which must be paid on their termination, will amount to $6,400,000. Whilst the cost savings look good on paper, Tracey has some concerns about the merit of this proposal in terms of its alignment with the Foleo Group's overarching objectives and the newly formulated sustainability objectives. She is also concerned about relinquishing control over the manufacturing process and how this will impact the quality of the products being produced and ultimately customer satisfaction. Tracey has asked you to analyse this data and report back to her with a recommendation that she can take to a meeting with Robyn Smith and Allan Raymond for further discussion. (a) Using the above financial data, prepare a comparison in the space provided, of the financial costs and benefits over the next five (5) years of both options (i.e. relocating the Foleo manufacturing operations and maintaining the current operations here in Australia). Then rank the two (2) options based on the net financial benefits or costs you have calculated (2 marks) (HINT: Include only the financial costs/benefits in this comparison and ignore the time-value of money.) Costs / Benefits Maintaining Australian Operations Relocating Operations to China Year 0 Years 1-5 TOTAL Year o Years 1-5 TOTAL Initial outlay for the relocation of operations to China Estimated inflow of funds from sale of assets and subleasing plants Annual Direct Labour Costs Annual Direct Materials Costs Annual operational expenses (Variable Manufacturing Overheads) Annual waste produced from operations requiring disposal Annual fixed manufacturing overheads Payout of entitlements to Australian factory workers TOTAL NET FINANCIAL COST/(BENEFIT)
