Complete$$Case $419$ Second Department$$Weighted$-$Average Method.$$Refer to the$$Case$$in the textbook for detailed instructions.

$$I think we goofed by hiring the new assistant controller,$$ said Ruth Scarpino, president of Provost Industries. $$Just look at this report he prepared for last month for the Finishing Department. I can$$t understand it$.$

Finishing Department costs:

Work in process inventory, April $1,450$ units; materials $100\%$ complete; conversion $60\%$ complete $$8,208*$

Costs transferred in during the month from the preceding department, $1,950$ units $17,940$

Materials cost added during the month $6,210$

Conversion costs incurred during the month $13,920$

Total departmental costs $$46,278$

Finishing Department costs assigned to:

Units completed and transferred to finished goods, $1,800$ units at $$25\mathrm{.}71$ per unit $$46,278$

Work in process inventory, April $30,600$ units; materials $0\%$ complete; conversion $35\%$ complete $0$

Total departmental costs assigned $$46,278$

$*$Consists of cost transferred in$,$ $$4,068$; materials cost, $$1,980$; and conversion cost, $$2,160.$

$$He$$s struggling to learn our system,$$ replied Frank Harrop, the operations manager. $$The problem is he$$s been away from process costing for a long time, and it$$s coming back slowly.$$

$$It$$s not just the format of his report I$$m concerned about. Look at that $$25\mathrm{.}71$ unit cost he$$s come up with for April. Doesn$$t that seem high to you?$$ said Ms$.$ Scarpino.

$$Yes$,$ it does seem high; but on the other hand, I know we had an increase in materials prices during April, and that may be the explanation,$$ replied Mr$.$ Harrop. $$I$$ll get someone else to redo this report and then we can see what$$s going on$.$

Provost Industries manufactures a ceramic product that goes through two processing departments$$Molding and Finishing. The company uses the weighted$-$average method of process costing.

Required:

$1.$ Prepare a report for the Finishing Department showing how much cost should have been assigned to the units completed and transferred to finished goods, and how much cost should have been assigned to ending work in process inventory in the Finishing Department.

$2.$ Explain to the president why the unit cost on the new assistant controller$$s report is so high.