C52

Mercer Asbestos Removal Company removes potentially toxic asbestos insulation and related products from buildings. There has been a long-simmering dispute between the company's 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 $2.755 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: 800 Activity Cost Pool Activity Measure Total Activity Thousands of square thousand square Removing asbestos feet feet Estimating and job setup Number of jobs 400 jobs Working on non routine Number of non routine 100 nonroutine jobs jobs jobs Other (organization- sustaining costs and idle capacity costs) None Note: The 100 non routine jobs are included in the total of 400 jobs. Both non routine jobs and routine jobs require estimating and setup. Costs for the Year Wages and salaries Disposal fees Equipment depreciation On-site supplies Office expenses Licensing and insurance Total cost $ 420,000 814,000 96,000 62,000 320,000 520,000 $2,232,000 60% Distribution of Resource Consumption Across Activities Estimating Working on Removing and Job Non routine Asbestos Setup Jobs Other Total Wages and 50% 15% 20% salaries 15% 100% Disposal fees 0% 40% 0% 100% Equipment 40% 5% 20% 35% 100% depreciation On-site 60% 30% 10% supplies 0% 100% Office expenses 15% 35% 20% 30% 100% Licensing and 25% 0% 60% insurance 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