Bubba's Custom Shrimp Catering uses activity-based costing to determine the cost of its catering events. The firm has two activity cost pools: cooking (activity rate is $500 per catering event) and serving (activity rate is $12 per plate).

The firm currently has 25 catering events a year, with an average of 50 plates per event. It also incurs about $400 in direct costs for each event.

The firm has four opportunities to improve its processes (listed below in the answer choices). None of these process improvements is expected to affect revenue. Each process improvement costs $2,500.

Which of the following is the MOST profitable process improvement (read the answer choices carefully)?

a. Reduce serving activity rate by 25%
	b. Reduce cooking activity rate by 25%
	c. Reduce direct costs per event by 25%
	d. Reduce the number of plates per event by 20%.