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Managerial & Cost Accounting - ACCT 311 - Prof. Romn) Term Assignment - Spring 2016 Due in class: Tuesday, April 26 (submit a hard copy) (No late assignments will be accepted after the due date, no exceptions) Instructions The assignment should help you prepare for the third exam. It counts toward 10% of your overall grade and it is worth 30 points. You may either work individually or in a group of two (no more that two students per group). If you work in a group, you should submit only one report for the two of you with your respective names. Both of you will receive the same grade. The assignment is very straightforward. You are required to calculate and analyze production costs variances. Your report should be typed, neatly organized, well-written, and must include all necessary calculations. If you do not include the required calculations, your solution will be graded as incorrect. Please submit a hard copy (no electronic copies). One main requirement is that you cannot share any information, communicate, or discuss your answers with your classmates, or with students outside of your group. Doing so will be considered a violation to George Mason's University Academic Integrity rules. For fairness to everyone, please know that I cannot answer any specific inquiries related to the six questions on the assignment, other than simple inquiries regarding its format or submission. Company Background CEMEX fabricates large concrete slabs. The company had achieved remarkable growth in recent years, becoming an important player in the production of specialized concrete slabs that are used in commercial buildings and high rises. Despite its rapid growth and rise in sales, CEMEX has experienced a significant rise in production costs recently, forcing managers to look into the causes of this problem. To better manage production costs, assume that you and your teammates were hired by the company as cost accountants to help them design a standard costing system to monitor production costs at the concrete slab factory. Setting Cost Standards To gather information for creating the cost standards for the fiscal year (2013), you first studied the accounting and production records for the past year. Then, you reviewed the 2013 fiscal year's production scheduled, which showed a planned production volume of 90,000 concrete slabs. Direct costs standards You also identified the following production inputs and direct costs for producing the slabs: cement mix, sand, water, and direct labor. Because sand and water are readily available at a plant's reservoir, the company does not incur any costs for these two inputs. Therefore, the only material cost incurred is for the cement mix. After speaking with process engineers, the standard cost per cement mix is set at $10 per ton of cement. You also estimate that it should take about 1 ton of cement mix per each slab of concrete. In addition, the cost standard for direct labor is set at $10 per hour, and the standard of quantity of labor required to produce 100 slabs of concrete is set at one direct labor hour. In other words, it costs about $0.10 cents in direct labor to produce one single concrete slab. Manufacturing overhead cost standards You turn next to estimate manufacturing overhead costs. Variable overhead costs consisted of the salaries of supervisors, depreciation of equipment, and electricity costs mainly related to the use of the ovens and machinery. You estimated the fiscal year's variable manufacturing overhead costs at $80,000 and decided to use direct labor hours to allocate variable manufacturing overhead into units of output (slabs). You also estimated that the plant would work 40,000 direct labor hours on the fiscal year. Thus, the variable overhead standard rate is set at $2 per direct labor hour. 1 You then classified all remaining overhead costs as fixed and estimated the fiscal year's fixed overhead spending at $180,000. After considering several allocation bases for the fixed overhead costs, you decided that volume of production would be appropriate as the allocation base to apply fixed overhead costs. With a planned production of 90,000 slabs for the fiscal year, the standard fixed overhead allocation rate is set at $2 per unit of output (per slab). Refer to Exhibit 1 for a summary of the costs standards mentioned previously. Actual results The following actual costs and production data are reported at the plant at the end of the fiscal year (assume that the fiscal year has already ended): 100,000 slabs were produced. The company purchased 130,000 tons of cement mix for $975,000. 120,000 tons of cement mix was used in production. Direct labor costs incurred were $16,500 and 1,100 direct labor hours were worked during the year. Actual fixed manufacturing overhead costs amounted to $175,000 and variable manufacturing overhead to $2,500. EXHIBIT 1 - Summary of Direct and Overhead Cost Standards Production Inputs Direct materials: Cost of cement mix Quantity of cement mix $10 per ton 1 ton per slab Standard cost per slab ($10 per ton x 1 ton per slab) $10 per slab Direct labor: Labor pay rate Quantity of labor per unit of output Standard cost per slab ($10 per hour x 1 hour per 100 slabs) $10 per hour 100 slabs per labor hour 0.10 cents per slab Fixed manufacturing overhead: Planned (budgeted) fixed overhead Volume of allocation base (slabs produced) Standard cost per slab ($180,000 90,000 slabs) $180,000 90,000 slabs $2 per slab Variable manufacturing overhead: Planned (budgeted) variable overhead Volume of allocation base (direct labor hours) Standard cost per slab ($80,000 40,000 slabs) $ 80,000 40,000 direct labor hours $2 per direct labor hour Standard 2 Requirements 1. Calculate the price and efficiency variances for direct materials and direct labor and interpret each answer (5 points). 2. Calculate the spending and efficiency variances for variable manufacturing overhead and the spending and production volume variances for fixed manufacturing overhead and interpret each answer (5 points). 3. (a) Explain thoroughly what each of the six cost variances mean and then discuss possible reasons as to why each variance arises. (b) Also, discuss some of the actions that the company could implement to minimize the cost variances and reduce its production costs. [Be as thorough as possible] (5 points) 4. Reconcile the four manufacturing overhead costs variances in the accounting books. What do you conclude, is the amount of overhead applied to the actual units in the period under- or over-allocated? (5 points) 5. Prepare the necessary journal entries to record the production costs and the corresponding cost variances for direct materials, direct labor, variable and fixed overhead in the accounting books. (5 points) 6. Assume the company closes out the cost variances to Cost of Goods Sold. Prepare the necessary journal entries to write-off all direct and overhead cost variances at the end of the accounting period. (5 points) 3