E18-22. Activity-Based Costing and Traditional Costs Compared Cuisinart, a Conair Corporation, manufactures outdoor gas cookers and charcoal smokers. Assume that Cuisinart only makes a single model of each product and that the following informa- tion pertains to the total manufacturing costs for the products in the current month. Gas Cooker 4,000 80 Units ...... Number of batches... Number of machine hours Direct materials.... Direct labor. Charcoal Smoker 3,500 35 3,000 $108,500 $50,341 16,000 $225,500 $100,683 Manufacturing overhead follows: Activity Materials acquisition and inspection.. Product assembly... Scheduling .... Cost Cost Driver $ 50,100 Amount of direct materials cost 123,500 Number of machine hours 15,180 Number of batches $188,780 E18-23. Activity-Based Costing Versus Traditional Costing Refer to the previous exercise in E18-22 for Cuisinart. REQUIRED a. Comment on the differences between the solutions to requirements (a) and (b). Which is more accurate? What errors might managers make if all manufacturing overhead costs are assigned on the basis of direct labor dollars? b. Cuisinart's manufacturing process has become increasingly automated over the past few years. Discuss how this will likely impact its ability to accurately measure product costs. Comment on the adequacy of the preceding data to meet management's needs. C