I want to know the answer for problem 1and 2

1. Discuss some of the alternatives and factors that Greg should consider when developing the expense allocation system. What are some of the costs and benefits of the alternatives?
2. As shown in Table 1, Panel C, AXE Life is allocating all expenses of all departments to products. Are there any potential problems caused by allocating all expenses to products?

ISSN 1940-204X Product Costs: Application in an Insurance Company Scott McGregor Western Connecticut State University INTRODUCTION AXE Life sells individual life insurance products, individual annuities, and group annuities. The individual products, both life and annuity, are sold through insurance agents. The group annuity products are sold by banks and brokerage firms. The group business represents approximately 40% of total sales, and the individual business represents the remainder. The company continually develops new products, both life and annuity, typically bringing one or two new products to market each year. The company currently has 17 different life and annuity insurance products. AXE Life has a functional organization structure with Sales, Marketing, Finance, IT, and Service departments representing a functional discipline. The Service department has a joint management team but has separate functions to service annuity products and life insurance products. All other departments provide support to both life and annuity products. Because of the size of the functional departments and their annual expense budgets, there are financial support roles in each department. The financial support staffs provide budgeting and financial analysis support to the departments. Greg McAndrews has recently been hired as Vice President for Expense Management at a large insurance company. His responsibilities include the process for allocating expenses to products. Through discussions with his staff, he has learned that there is a great deal of discontent with the expense allocation process. He decided that one of his top priorities will be to analyze the product costing process and make necessary corrections. Greg is a CMA (Certified Management Accountant) and CPA (Certified Public Accountant) with an undergraduate degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Although he has worked in various roles with progressing responsibilities throughout his 12-year career, Greg has never been directly responsible for expense allocations. He has read numerous articles on the current applications of cost accounting techniques in service industries, including activity-based costing (ABC). He believes that he has a good understanding of cost accounting techniques and is eager for his team to improve the expense allocation process. COMPANY OVERVIEW LIFE INSURANCE TERMS, PRODUCTS, AND PROCESSES AXE Life Insurance Company is among the leading life insurance companies in the United States. AXE Life employs more than 5,000 people and has assets in excess of $17 billion and annual premiums (\"revenue\") in excess of $10 billion. The company is well established with a long successful history. IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL The two primary types of products sold and serviced by life insurance companies are life insurance and annuities. These two products have different characteristics. In general, life insurance is used for financial protection and annuities 1 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 for retirement savings. A life insurance policy provides a payment to the beneficiary upon the death of the insured. An annuity provides a stream of periodic payments to the customer upon attaining a specified age. A life insurance policy is usually sold to customers to provide financial protection for their families in the event of the insured's death. If the policy provides coverage for the full life of the insured, it is called whole life insurance. If the insurance coverage is only for a specified period, it is called term life insurance. For life insurance, customers most often pay the cost of the policy (\"premiums\") over a long period of time. During the period of time that the policy's coverage is active, the policy is considered to be \"inforce.\" The process involved with life insurance begins with the sale of the policy, often through a life insurance agent. The life insurance agent meets with the potential customer and gathers personal information, which is collected using an application for insurance. Potential customers also will provide medical information and are often subjected to a medical examination. The application containing personal information and medical information is submitted to the Underwriting department, which is responsible for deciding whether a policy should be issued and the appropriate premium for the policy. After the company and the customer agree on the policy's terms and conditions, the company issues the physical policy. Most life insurance companies have service departments that have an \"issuance\" function that performs this activity. After the policy has been issued, the company collects the premiums, answers ongoing customer questions, and terminates the policy if the insured decides to cancel the policy or fails to pay the premium. These functions also are performed in their service departments. Then, when the insured dies, the insurance company pays the benefits specified in the insurance policy to the beneficiarythis process is performed by the Claims department. Premiums under an annuity product may be paid in a lump sum or periodically over a number of years. The insurance company invests these funds and provides either a set return (\"fixed annuity\") or a return that varies with investment performance (\"variable annuity\"). For individual annuity sales, the issuance and premium collection processes are very similar to the processes for life insurance policies. For group annuity products, the sales process is completed by a licensed representative of a bank or brokerage firm instead of an insurance agent. But the other activities are consistent with individual annuity sales. Although many of the processes are similar for life and annuity products, insurance companies often have IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL separate Service departments performing functions for annuities products since there are activities associated with the products that differ. For example, when an annuity policy is canceled, or surrendered, the customer receives a payment that represents the premiums they have paid in addition to investment returns less a surrender fee. Most life insurance companies have a separate unit within its Service department that performs the surrender function. Once a customer reaches the age specified in the annuity contract, the company begins making a series of periodic payments, which is performed by the annuity Service department. CURRENT COSTING SYSTEM The vast majority of AXE Life's financial reporting is prepared at a company level, although there are periodic reports on product results. AXE Life allocates all expenses to products. All expense allocations are prepared within the expense management function in the Finance department with little input from the finance staff in the functional departments. AXE Life has a cost center structure with approximately 1,000 cost centers. In its hierarchy, multiple cost centers make up a functional center (see Figure 1). Each of these functional centers is part of a department. A manager may be responsible for one or more cost centers, a higher-level manager for a functional center, and an executive-level manager for departments. One of the performance measurement factors for cost center managers is how effectively they manage the expenses of the cost center against the budget. For managers of functions, their performance measurement includes how effectively they manage the expenses of all of the cost centers within their function. For the executives managing the business departments, their cost effectiveness is measured on all of the cost centers and functions within their department. Responsibility and accountability for expenses is based on responsibility center. There is no accountability for the expenses at the product level nor is there direct measurement or accountability for the cost effectiveness of any activities associated with the sale or service of the company's products. Figure 1. Illustration of the Hierarchy of Departments, Functions, and Cost Centers Department Function 1 Cost Center A 2 Cost Center B Function 2 Function 3 Cost Center C VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Expense allocations set at function level Expense data is captured at the cost center level, and the basis for allocating expenses is set at a functional center level. Because of the large number of cost centers and the lack of attention on cost allocations, Greg finds that cost driver information often is not used or is unavailable at the cost center level. The current system makes use of more generalized expense allocation bases, such as assets or sales, and uses that basis to allocate expenses of all cost centers within the functional center. These allocation bases may differ from the cost driver (the activities that actually drive expenses). For example, the expenses of the underwriting function within the Service department are allocated to products based on life insurance sales, even though the cost driver is the number of life insurance applications. Even when cost driver information is available at a cost center level it can vary with the allocation basis for expense since the same basis is used for all cost centers within the functional center. Due to the limited time available to analyze the inputs and results of the process, the basis of expense allocations to products is only reviewed on an annual basis. Greg finds that much of the cost center information has not been updated in years. During Greg's first month, he reviews AXE Life's process of allocating costs and finds that the current process takes up to three business days to complete during each monthly close, with significant manual intervention required. The expense allocation process is performed using a spreadsheet that was developed eight years ago, and the process requires a series of iterations. Under the current process, the staff accountant receives a downloaded file of cost center expenses on the day after the monthly expense accounting close is complete. She also receives information on the sales volume (in U.S. dollars) during the month, the annual premium for the policies inforce, and the amount of assets under management. These measures serve as the bases to allocate expenses to products. The staff accountant enters the volume information for the allocation bases (sales, assets, premium) for the month into the spreadsheet. She imports the cost center expenses into the spreadsheet to populate the cost centers with the expenses for the month. She runs a series of Microsoft Excel macros to allocate the expenses to product. The staff accountant then reconciles the allocations to ensure that all expenses have been allocated. The costs for the Sales department, Marketing department, and Service department related to issuing new policies (new customers) are allocated to product based on sales volume. The total annual premium per product is used to allocate the costs for the service functions including those IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL related to supporting and terminating customers and the costs for the claims function. After the costs are allocated to products, the process is considered complete. There are no rates per policy or per function calculated as part of the process. Additionally, there is no study of the time or cost required for activities. Table 1 shows the outcome of the expense allocations for the most recent month (July 2012) using the current cost allocation process. Table 1. Panel A: Monthly Expense Results Expenses July 2012 Expenses by Department Sales $ 30,700,125 Marketing 5,524,850 Finance 8,624,567 Customer Service 15,750,225 Information Technology 11,424,525 Human Resources 3,942,563 Executive 2,512,235 Corporate & Other 4,046,032 Total $82,525,122 Table 1. Panel B: Expenses July 2012 under Current Cost Allocations Product Product Expense Whole Life Series 1 $ 2,212,742 Whole Life Series 2 2,598,048 Variable Life Series 1 3,718,892 Variable Life Series 2 3,983,063 Term Life 2000 1,315,393 Term Life New Horizon 1,627,201 Flexible Life 1,719,782 Secure Life Brokerage Annuity Fixed Annuity, Brokerage Happy Life Annuity 7,018,232 10,457,380 3,298,115 12,849,825 Bankers Choice 1,958,313 Fixed Annuity, Bank 4,161,012 Individual Fixed Annuity 1 6,646,289 Individual Fixed Annuity 2 6,775,007 Individual Fixed Annuity 3 1,431,363 Life Style Annuity Total Allocated 3 10,754,464 $ 82,525,122 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 1. Panel C: Product Allocations by Department, Current System Product Sales Service Whole Life Series 1 $568,673 $972,669 Marketing $104,376 $211,240 IT Finance $160,037 All Other $195,746 $2,212,742 Total Whole Life Series 2 614,643 1,306,637 81,388 234,203 168,655 192,523 2,598,048 Variable Life Series 1 1,024,239 1,416,358 232,353 372,157 294,340 379,445 3,718,892 Variable Life Series 2 1,373,039 761,773 397,999 482,686 406,466 561,101 3,983,063 Term Life 2000 391,680 446,071 81,663 143,664 111,570 140,745 1,315,393 Term Life New Horizon 586,255 338,417 114,267 216,523 165,901 205,837 1,627,201 Flexible Life 279,446 962,249 146,498 85,970 91,727 153,893 1,719,782 Secure Life 1,520,900 3,049,065 698,525 486,402 485,649 777,691 7,018,232 Brokerage Annuity 4,731,929 959,177 341,303 1,856,485 1,259,212 1,309,274 10,457,380 Fixed Annuity, Broker 1,161,666 573,359 336,322 408,455 343,836 474,476 3,298,115 Happy Life Annuity 4,897,700 1,790,417 1,142,659 1,773,658 1,411,813 1,833,579 12,849,825 494,749 563,186 294,031 145,714 167,162 293,470 1,958,313 Fixed Annuity, Bank 1,912,221 283,261 163,261 745,479 512,342 544,447 4,161,012 Ind. Fixed Annuity 1 3,230,604 310,625 137,274 1,285,402 846,537 835,846 6,646,289 Ind. Fixed Annuity 2 3,268,866 402,744 114,201 1,305,252 853,169 830,776 6,775,007 Ind. Fixed Annuity 3 740,165 27,522 783 300,243 189,736 172,914 1,431,363 Bankers Choice Life Style Annuity 3,903,351 1,586,694 1,137,947 1,370,992 1,156,416 1,599,065 10,754,464 Total Allocated $30,700,125 $15,750,225 $5,524,850 $11,424,525 $8,624,567 $10,500,830 $82,525,122 IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 4 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 1. Panel D: Cost Driver Information, Current Allocations Department/Function Description of Activities Cost Driver Products Supported Allocation Manage marketing dept. Marketing Campaigns All Sales Marketing Marketing Management Marketing Department Staff Marketing campaigns Secure Life Insurance Campaign Total Company Ad Campaign Marketing Campaigns All Sales Costs for media campaign Media campaign Happy Retirement Annuity Sales Media campaign for secure life product Media campaign Secure Life Sales Media campaign for company Happy Retirement Annuity Campaign Media campaign All Sales Customer Service - Life New Business Management Manage new business New policy volume Life (all) Sales Applications Review applications Number of applications Life (all) Sales Underwriting Underwriting applications Number of applications Life (all) Sales Issuing new policies Number of policies issued Life (all) Sales Tech support for e-applications Number of e-applications Life (all) Sales Manage customer service Number of policies All Premium Policy Issuance e-Issuance Customer Service Management Call Center Life Insurance Inforce Maintenance Claims Management Staff in call center Number of phone calls All Premium Servicing life policies Number of policies Life (all) Premium, life Manage staff for claims Number of claims Life (all) Premium, life Life Insurance Claims Adjusters Adjudicate claims Number of claims Life (all) Premium, life Life Insurance Claims Issue claim checks Number of claims Life (all) Premium, life Manage new business issuance New policies sold Annuities (all) Sales Customer Service - Annuity New Business Management Applications Reviewing applications Number of applications Annuities (all) Sales Staff issuing new policies Number of policies issued Annuities (all) Sales Tech support for e-applications Number of e-applications Annuities (all) Sales Service all annuity products Number of policies Annuities (all) Premium, annuity Issue surrenders Number of surrenders Annuities (all) Premium, annuity Manage staff for IT Number of systems/projects All Assets Managing financial systems Number of systems/projects All Assets Manage HR systems Number of systems/projects All Assets Managing life claim system Number of systems/projects Life Assets Managing life systems Number of systems/projects Life Assets Annuity Systems Managing annuity systems Number of systems/projects Annuity Assets Annuity Projects Projects for annuity products Project hours Annuity Assets Policy Issuance e-Issuance Annuity Inforce Maintenance Annuity Surrenders Information Technology IT Management Financial Management Systems Human Resource Systems Life Insurance Claims Systems Life Policy Systems Life Insurance Projects Projects for life products Project hours Life Assets Project for upgrading financial system Project hours All Assets Controller Accounting staff Number of reports All Assets Actuarial Actuarial staff Number of reports All Assets Financial analysts and budget analysts Number of analysis and reports All Assets Cost accounting staff Number of reports All Assets Financial Systems Update Financial Planning and Analysis Expense Management IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 5 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 1. Panel D: Cost Driver Information, Current Allocations (continued) Department/Function Description of Activities Cost Driver Products Supported Allocation Manage staff Employees All Assets Executive and employee compensation Employees All Assets Recruit for all company positions Open positions All Assets Human Resources HR Management Compensation and Payroll Staffing and Recruiting Sales Sales Management Manage sales function for company Sales Life and annuity (all) Sales East coast sales staff and management Sales for region Life and annuity (all) Sales Midwest Region Midwest sales staff and management Sales for region Life and annuity (all) Sales South Region Sales staff and management for south Sales staff and management for west coast Sales for region Life and annuity (all) Sales Sales for region Life and annuity (all) Sales East Region West Region Facilities Facilities Management Facilities Staff Corporate Unallocated Rent Manage staff for Facilities Number of employees/sq. ft. All Assets Maintenance and other Facility staff Number of employees/sq. ft. All Assets Rent for entire corporate office Number of employees/sq. ft. All Assets Manage staff for Treasurer's dept. Assets All Assets Manage cash & banking relationships Number of bank accounts All Assets Manage investments Invested assets All Assets All Assets All Assets Treasurers Treasurer Cash Management and Banking Investments Executive & Corporate Office of the CEO Corporate CEO and support staff Expenses not chargeable to any business area IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 6 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 In discussions with his team, Greg finds that the team does not fully understand how the information is used and its importance. Also, he learns that they are frustrated with the time required to complete the expense allocation process and complain that they do not have adequate time to review results or maintain the inputs for the expense allocation process. Greg believes that the expense allocation process could be accomplished in one business day instead of three. If processing time can be reduced, Greg anticipates the staff would be afforded more time to analyze the results and maintain the cost allocation information used in the process. Sal further explains that the product expenses are a critical component in determining the appropriate pricing for each of AXE Life's existing products. Additionally, when new products are developed, the actuaries rely on the historical unit costs for similar products. Thus, if the product expenses are inaccurate, they could over-price or under-price a product, which would hurt AXE Life's long-term profitability. Sal believes that the cost information is inadequate in meeting the needs of his department and AXE Life. Sal expresses concern that the cost system is inaccurate, and the information is not available in a timely fashion. As a result, Sal's staff spends hours analyzing the data and making adjustments, all within a compressed time frame. He outlines the format the actuaries would prefer the cost information to be organized, with the following broad categories of expenses organized along the major activities associated with a product: OBJECTIVES OF THE PRODUCT COST ALLOCATIONS In his discussion with the staff, Greg learned that they receive limited information after recording the monthly product expenses. Their understanding is that the product expense allocation is coupled with claims information and premium revenue information to determine the profitability of each product. This process of reporting on product profitability is completed within the Actuarial department. To better learn what the objectives of the expense allocation process should be, Greg meets with the actuaries to find how the product expense information is used and gathers their concerns with the current process. Sal Enrich, the company's chief actuary, discusses how his department uses the expense allocation information. Sal explains that the product-based expenses are critical for determining product profitability and for setting the pricing for products, both of which are vital to the company's success. The Actuarial department is the sole provider of product profitability information for the company. Sal explains that no individual manager is directly responsible for individual product profitability and that his department is in charge of monitoring product profitability, and the results are shared with executive management. Sal emphasizes that executive management looks to his department to ensure that products' profitability information is correct. Executive management uses the information to determine which products to emphasize in the sales process and the insurance agents receive larger commissions on the sale of more profitable products. Sal details how the actuaries take the product expense information, revenue, mortality results (death benefits), sales commissions, and other nonoperating expenses to determine the profitability of each product. Since the product expense information is a significant component in determining the profitability of each product, misstating it could lead the company to cease selling a profitable product or to oversell an unprofitable product. IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL Cost to develop the product Cost to market the product Cost to sell the product Cost to issue the product Cost to service the product Overhead expenses (other administrative expenses) \t\u0007 One-time expenses (such as special projects) and nonrecurring expenses After the meeting, Greg decides that the expense allocation system needs immediate attention. He assembles a small project team and, during the first meeting, outlines the features of a useful cost system: Timely, accurate information to use the information for product pricing, product profitability, and management decision making \t\u0007 Ability Greg also lists the shortfalls of the current system: \t\u0007 Requires significant manual intervention using spreadsheets \t\u0007 Long processing time \t\u0007 Expense allocations based on general factors (e.g., sales at the functional level) \t\u0007 Outdated or nonexistent cost driver information for cost centers \t\u0007 Lack of reporting (limited monthly information, no comparison of budget to actual results) \t\u0007 Lack of cost information based on activity \t\u0007 Lack of information on the time to complete each activity \t\u0007 No identification of direct costs vs. indirect costs \t\u0007 No identification of expenses as variable or fixed 7 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 PROJECT OVERVIEW Greg explains the importance of the information to the company and the value of the involvement of the financial support staff. He also seeks management's input as how to best implement a process to ensure the information is consistently updated on an ongoing basis. The group is receptive and agrees to the following actions: Greg and two staff members make up the primary project team. The team decides that the first two shortfalls (significant manual intervention and long processing time) can be improved by eliminating the current spreadsheet approach and replacing it with cost allocation software. After the team has selected software to support their process, the next step is the most critical aspect of the project: solve the lack of sufficient and updated information to allocate expenses to products. To assist in improving and updating the cost driver information, the team decides to involve the financial support staff in the various functional departments since they have a better understanding of the activities in the respective departments they support and can easily meet with employees performing the activities. They put in place a project plan that includes the following actions for the initial phase of the project: \t\u0007 Complete an update of the cost center information within the next 30 calendar days. \t\u0007 Provide activity and driver information for each new cost center that is added. \t\u0007 Annually update all of the cost center information as part of the annual budget cycle. The financial support staffs are given a grid to use while collecting data on each cost center, which includes: \t\u0007 Function center number, center, \t\u0007 Cost center number, \t\u0007 Cost center name, \t\u0007Activity, \t\u0007 Cost driver, and \t\u0007Products supported. \t\u0007Functional \t\u0007 Review available cost accounting software packages. a project proposal including estimates of cost and benefits. \t\u0007 Submit the project plan and receive approval. \t\u0007 Engage finance support staff to update all cost center/cost driver information. \t\u0007 Purchase and install software. \t\u0007 Load cost center data. \t\u0007Test it. \t\u0007Implement it. \t\u0007 Prepare ABC Software, Inc. completes the installation of the cost allocation software during week three of the four-month project. During week four, the project team loads all of the cost centers into the ABC software. By the end of the first month of the project, all of the finance support staff submits the updated cost center/cost driver information. For the next month, the project team loads all of the cost center information, including activities and cost drivers. For the first test of the system, the team loads the expense information for July 2012. The team sets a four-month time frame for the project with the goal to have the new process in place for the next calendar year. They also include as deliverables using the new process for the preparation of the current year's annual product expenses and the annual budgeted product expenses for the next calendar year. During the first month of the project, Greg and his team review software products. After narrowing their choices, the team conducts an in-depth review of four potential software products. The team chooses a package from ABC Software, Inc. as its preferred software product. This product will not only support the department's ability to allocate the expenses quickly and accurately, but it also can support activity-based costing, which will be the second phase of the project. The team prepares a project proposal and receives approval from executive management to undertake the project. Greg and his staff meet with the finance support staff from the various departments to put in place a process to update the information associated with the expense allocation process, including the cost driver information. IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL RESULTS OF THE FIRST TEST OF REVISED PROCESS The team collects the volumes of activity (Table 3) and expenses for July 2012. Using the new process, the product allocations are completed with a summary of the results from Table 2. Panels A and B show the total expenses and the product expenses after allocation. Table 2, Panel C, shows a table with the grid completed for each of the functional centers within each department. The expense details for those functional centers for July 2012 allocated to product are provided in Table 2, Panel D. 8 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 2. Panel A: First Test of Revised Cost Allocation Process Expenses by Department July 2012 Table 2. Panel B: Expenses by Product July 2012 under Revised Cost Allocations Expenses by Department Product Sales Product Expense $30,700,125 Whole Life Series 1 $ 3,186,824 Marketing 5,524,850 Whole Life Series 2 2,945,549 Finance 8,624,567 Variable Life Series 1 4,105,859 Customer Service 15,750,225 Variable Life Series 2 5,571,684 Information Technology 11,424,525 Term Life 2000 3,245,164 Human Resources 3,942,563 Term Life New Horizon 2,432,906 Executive 2,512,235 Flexible Life 2,611,487 4,046,032 Secure Life 8,255,685 Brokerage Annuity 6,523,542 Corporate & Other Total $82,525,122 Fixed Annuity, Brokerage 4,239,529 Happy Life Annuity 12,511,268 Bankers Choice 3,539,366 Fixed Annuity, Bank 3,407,226 Individual Fixed Annuity 1 3,969,907 Individual Fixed Annuity 2 4,068,980 Individual Fixed Annuity 3 1,336,349 Life Style Annuity 10,573,797 Total Allocated $ 82,525,122 Table 2. Panel C: Product Allocations by Department, Revised Allocations Product Sales Whole Life Series 1 $584,062 $1,290,124 Service Marketing $157,635 $660,831 IT Finance $300,011 All Other $194,161 $3,186,824 Total Whole Life Series 2 458,626 1,155,822 141,994 661,092 312,748 215,267 2,945,549 Variable Life Series 1 1,307,471 1,159,683 244,710 662,657 389,270 342,067 4,105,859 Variable Life Series 2 2,238,117 1,476,626 357,415 663,911 391,954 443,660 5,571,684 Term Life 2000 453,580 1,653,389 142,181 660,064 203,902 132,048 3,245,164 Term Life New Horizon 641,752 522,565 164,365 660,891 244,317 199,017 2,432,906 Flexible Life 831,076 683,788 186,295 659,410 171,900 79,019 2,611,487 Secure Life 3,835,669 2,076,504 700,018 802,403 394,015 447,075 8,255,685 Brokerage Annuity 1,880,550 804,511 318,840 659,270 1,153,987 1,706,385 6,523,542 Fixed Annuity, Broker 1,832,987 722,040 315,451 642,840 350,779 375,431 4,239,529 Happy Life Annuity 6,182,754 1,767,557 1,019,206 803,455 1,108,043 1,630,254 12,511,268 Bankers Choice 1,662,587 611,271 286,676 639,859 205,039 133,933 3,539,366 Fixed Annuity, Bank 936,802 403,131 197,700 646,664 537,723 685,205 3,407,226 Ind. Fixed Annuity 1 784,688 333,724 180,019 652,790 837,212 1,181,475 3,969,907 Ind. Fixed Annuity 2 661,673 542,029 164,320 653,015 848,223 1,199,720 4,068,980 Ind. Fixed Annuity 3 5,226 35,638 87,150 641,612 290,755 275,968 1,336,349 Life Style Annuity 6,402,505 511,823 860,875 653,761 884,688 1,260,144 10,573,797 Total Allocated $30,700,125 $15,750,225 $5,524,850 $11,424,525 $8,624,567 $10,500,830 $82,525,122 IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 9 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 2. Panel D: Cost Driver Information, Revised Allocations Department/Function Description of Activities Cost Driver Products Supported Allocation Manage Marketing dept. Marketing Campaigns All Sales Marketing campaigns Marketing Campaigns All Costs for media campaign Media campaign Media campaign for secure life product Media campaign Media campaign for total company Media campaign All Sales Manage new business New policy volume Life (all) # of new policies Applications Review applications Number of applications Life (all) # of applications Underwriting Underwriting applications Number of applications Life (all) # of applications Issuing new policies Number of policies issued Life (all) # of polices issued Tech support for e-applications Number of e-applications Life (all) # of e-applications Manage customer service Number of policies Life and annuities (all) # of policies Receive incoming calls Number of phone calls Life and annuities (all) # of phone calls Marketing Marketing Management Marketing Department Staff Happy Retirement Annuity Campaign Secure Life Insurance Campaign Total Company Ad Campaign Sales Direct to Happy Happy Retirement Annuity Retirement Secure Life Direct to Secure Life Customer Service - Life New Business Management Policy Issuance - Life Insurance e-Issuance Customer Service Management Call Center Life Insurance Inforce Maintenance Servicing life policies Number of policies Life (all) # of life policies Manage staff for claims Number of claims Life (all) # of claims Life Insurance Claims Adjusters Adjudicate claims Number of claims Life (all) # of claims Life Insurance Claims Issue claim checks Number of claims Life (all) # of claims Manage new business issuance New policies sold Annuities (all) # of new policies Reviewing applications Number of applications Annuities (all) # of applications Claims Management Customer Service - Annuity New Business Management Applications Policy Issuance e-Issuance Annuity Inforce Maintenance Annuity Surrenders Staff issuing new policies Number of policies issued Annuities (all) # of polices issued Tech support for electronic applications Number of e-applications Annuities (all) # of e-applications Service all annuity products Number of inforce policies Annuities (all) # of policies Issue surrenders Number of surrenders Annuities (all) # of surrenders Information Technology IT Management Financial Management Systems Human Resource Systems Life Insurance Claims Systems Life Policy Systems Manage staff for IT Number of systems/projects All Assets Managing financial systems Number of systems/projects All Assets Manage HR systems Number of systems/projects All Assets Managing life claim system Number of systems/projects Life Life claims Managing life systems Number of systems/projects Life Life policies Annuity Systems Managing annuity systems Number of systems/projects Annuity Annuity policies Annuity Projects Project for new annuity product Project hours Happy Retirement Annuity Project for new life product Project hours Secure Life Insurance Project for upgrading financial system Project hours All Annuity policies Life insurance policies Assets Accounting dept. Number of reports All Assets Actuarial staff Number of reports All Assets All Assets All Assets Life Insurance Projects Financial Systems Update Controller Actuarial Financial Planning and Analysis Expense Management Financial analysts and budget analysts Number of analysis and reports Cost Accounting staff IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL Number of reports 10 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 2. Panel D: Cost Driver Information, Revised Allocations (continued) Department/Function Description of Activities Cost Driver Products Supported Allocation Manage staff for HR Employees All Assets Executive and employee compensation Employees All Assets Recruit for all company positions Open positions All Assets Human Resources Human Resource Management Compensation and Payroll Staffing and Recruiting Sales Sales Management Manage sales function for company Sales Life and annuity (all) Sales East Region East coast sales staff and management Sales for region Life and annuity (all) Sales Midwest Region Midwest sales staff and management Sales for region Life and annuity (all) Sales South Region South sales staff and management Sales for region Life and annuity (all) Sales West Region West coast sales staff and management Sales for region Life and annuity (all) Sales Manage staff for facilities Number of employees/sq. ft. All Assets Maintenance and other facility staff Number of employees/sq. ft. All Assets Rent for entire corporate office Number of employees/sq. ft. All Assets Facilities Facilities Management Facilities Staff Corporate Unallocated Rent Treasurers Treasurer Manage staff for Treasurer's dept. Assets All Assets Manage cash & banking relationships Number of bank accounts All Assets Manage investments Invested assets All Assets CEO and support staff All Assets Expenses not chargeable to any area Cash Management and Banking All Assets Investments Executive & Corporate Office of the CEO Corporate Table 3: Actual Cost Driver Volumes for July 2012 in millions 1,425 Inforce Policies 332,500 720 785 280,250 525 Variable Life Series 1 1,475 1,752 225,000 Variable Life Series 2 2,125 3,150 75,000 Term Life 2000 650 720 331,250 625 Term New Horizons 525 650 91,501 65 Product Whole Life Series 1 Whole Life Series 2 Policies Issued 1,025 Apps e-Apps 125 Phone Calls 1,520 816 Annuity Claims Surrenders Checks 1,240 Assets $1,850 Annual Premium $507 Sales $16 1,517 2,050 726 13 710 910 3,258 678 36 1,215 1,175 4,225 158 61 915 2,885 1,258 207 123 362 575 1,895 118 178 Flexible Life 715 755 147,250 70 1,665 615 753 469 23 Secure Life 2,150 2,252 252,500 775 5,517 2,410 4,258 1,309 108 Brokerage Annuity 1,150 1,175 88,125 4,175 1,415 12,125 16,250 1,823 53 Fixed Annuity, Broker 1,125 1,150 72,500 250 3,215 715 14,141 3,575 521 52 Happy Life Annuity 3,850 4,005 115,050 350 6,152 875 11,250 15,525 1,229 176 Bankers Choice Annuity 725 755 62,500 3,150 2,102 15,010 1,276 668 45 Fixed Annuity, Bank 625 650 25,250 120 1,185 1,650 5,500 6,526 270 25 Individual Fixed Annuity 1 525 550 42,500 1,275 125 10,101 11,251 475 21 Individual Fixed Annuity 2 375 415 85,750 415 2,282 450 19,252 11,425 891 18 Individual Fixed Annuity 3 10 10 8,520 10 115 10 1,010 2,628 91 0 .1 1,105 1,215 40,248 615 445 5,250 12,000 550 175 18,875 21,412 2,275,694 3,330 34,884 11,327 7,787 93,639 $100,000 $10,690 $850 Life Style Annuity Total IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 11 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 ASSIGNMENT PHASE II: ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING 1.\t\u0007 iscuss some of the alternatives and factors that Greg D Greg charges the project team to begin work on the second phase of the project, which is to use the expense allocation process to begin to develop activity-based costs. As an initial step, the team reviews the information provided on the activities performed by each of the functions as shown in Table 2, Panel D, and categorizes the activities as unit, batch, product, and facility. should consider when developing the expense allocation system. What are some of the costs and benefits of the alternatives? 2.\t\u0007s shown in Table 1, Panel C, AXE Life is allocating A all expenses of all departments to products. Are there any potential problems caused by allocating all expenses to products? 3.\t\u0007eview the basis for the expense allocations under the R current system (Table 1, Panel D) and identify functional centers that are using expense allocation bases that may be inconsistent with the activities that drive costs for that function. Using the information provided, suggest changes to the expense allocations for each function. 4.\t\u0007able 2 shows the results of the test month of the first T iteration for the system. Greg has confirmed that all expenses were allocated. Review the expense allocations used in the first test and discuss the functional centers in which the expense allocation bases have been improved and those that still may need improvement. 5.\t\u0007able 4 shows the cost centers for the Life Insurance T Projects functional center and a description of the activities in each cost center that make up that functional center. Based on this information, is the proposed basis for allocating expenses for these cost centers accurate? Why? How could it be improved? 6.\t\u0007 iscuss the steps Greg should take to complete the D project and then maintain the expense allocation process going forward. Based on the data provided, what additional steps can be taken to improve the product expense allocation process at AXE Life? 7.\t\u0007ctivities can be categorized as unit, batch, product, and A facility. Provide the definitions of each of these categories and then use the information in Table 2, Panel D, to categorize the activities as unit, batch, product, or facility. 8.\t\u0007 its next step, the team gathers information in Table As 5 and calculates a rate for each of the functions based on the associated volumes. Use the information in Table 5 to calculate cost rates for the functions identified. Is this information sufficient for decision making? Why or why not? \u0007 Referring back to his discussion with the chief actuary, Greg identifies two activities to begin developing activitybased costs: the cost to issue life insurance products and the cost to service them. The project team defines the activities encompassing the cost to issue a policy as the cost to receive and process applications, underwrite policies and print, and collate and mail policies (termed \"issuance\"). The cost to maintain policies is defined as the cost of storing policy information, updating policy information as needed, responding to requests for service on insurance policies, the payment of claims and benefits, and the associated computer costs. \u0007 Table 4: Cost Level Data for Life Insurance Projects Function 19008 Life Insurance Projects Cost Center Number 19008-001 Cost Center Products Supported Activity Expense Whole Life Series 2 Update Whole Life Series 2 Update system to reflect 2012 changes in policy conditions $ 12,425 19008-002 Variable Life Series 2 Update Variable Life Series 2 Update system to reflect 2012 changes in policy conditions 11,429 19008-003 19008-004 Term Life New Horizon Update Secure Life Project Term Life New Horizon Secure Life Project Update system to reflect 2012 changes in policy conditions System modifications for new secure life product Total 13,152 101,444 $ 138,450 IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 12 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 5: Cost and Volume Data Department/Function Driver Volume Expense New Business Life New life policies 9,345 $ 191,525 New Applications Number of life applications 11,489 815,251 Policy Underwriting Number of life applications 11,489 1,610,825 Policy Issuance - Life Number of life policies issued 9,385 1,155,424 e-Policy Issuance - Life Number of electronic life policies 2,185 172,515 New Business Annuity New annuity policies 9,490 397,125 New Applications Number of annuity applications 9,925 1,215,241 Policy Issued New annuity policies 9,490 1,192,500 e-Policy Issuance - Annuity Number of electronic annuities Customer Service Management Number of policies (all) Call Center Number of calls Life Inforce Management Number of life policies Annuity Inforce Management Annuity Surrenders/Payments 1,145 173,525 2,275,694 1,156,250 34,884 910,257 1,735,251 1,115,497 Number of annuities 540,443 1,485,273 Number of annuities 101,426 415,125 Claims Management Number of life claims 11,327 1,101,010 Life Claims Adjusters Number of life claims 11,327 1,415,000 Life Claims Support Number of life claims 11,327 1,227,904 Life Claims System Number of life claims 11,327 1,215,250 Life Insurance System Number of life policies Annuity System Number of annuities 1,735,251 As its first step, the team is going to focus on developing the costs to receive life insurance applications manually and issue a life insurance policy. During July 2012, the company received 11,489 applications and issued 9,385 life insurance policies. Not all applications are issued policies, thus the team must calculate the cost to receive and process the applications and adjust those costs to reflect that approximately one out of five applications does not result in a policy being issued. 9.\t\u0007se the information provided in Table 6 to calculate the U cost to issue a life insurance policy, including receiving and processing applications for each product. 10.\t\u0007 se the information from Table 7 to calculate the U costs to service and maintain a policy for each product. Assume that AXE Life has defined the cost to service and maintain a policy as the customer service costs, call center costs, and costs to adjudicate and pay claims. What do you notice about the costs per policy? Is there other information that would make this analysis more useful? IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 1,229,850 540,443 $1,201,525 11.\t\u0007 n activity-based costing system would provide AXE A Life with an understanding of the costs to develop, sell, and service their products. How can AXE Life use this information to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of their operations? 12.\t\u0007 reg also read an article that stated that using time-driven G activity-based costing reduces the time and complexity associated with implementing an activity-based costing system. Based on his understanding, Greg believes that using a time-driven system may be an efficient way of implementing activity-based costing. Describe how Greg can create an activity-based costing system and include the steps necessary if the team follows (a) the traditional approach to activity-based costing and (b) a time-driven activity-based costing approach. 13 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 6: Cost to Receive and Process Life Insurance Application - July 2012 Volumes for Cost Drivers Applications 11,489 New Life Policies 9,385 Function Variable Fixed Total Characteristics of Costs New Business - Life (Management): Manage new policy underwriting and issuance Salaries & Benefits 112,522 Supplies 112,522 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 4,252 4,252 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Depreciation - Furniture 10,200 10,200 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 14,650 14,650 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 15,250 15,250 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 34,651 34,651 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $191,525 $191,525 All Other Total New Applications: Receive and review new life policy applications Salaries & Benefits 62,150 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with applications Depreciation - Furniture 32,500 32,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 52,500 52,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 65,250 65,250 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 125,226 125,226 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $527,976 $815,251 Supplies 225,125 477,625 62,150 All Other Total 252,500 $287,275 Policy Underwriting: Review and underwrite new life policies Salaries & Benefits 375,125 Medical reports 215,047 Supplies 887,625 215,047 61,250 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with applications 61,250 Vary with applications 51,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 62,500 62,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 125,250 125,250 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 207,653 Depreciation - Furniture 207,653 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $959,403 $1,610,825 51,500 Leased PCs Allocated Rent All Other Total 512,500 $651,422 Policy Issuance: Process and issue new life policies Postage & Mail Costs Salaries & Benefits Supplies 37,540 412,525 37,540 125,862 538,387 Vary with applications 72,175 72,175 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with applications Depreciation - Furniture 56,750 56,750 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 82,500 82,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 145,250 145,250 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels All Other 260,362 260,362 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $670,724 $1,155,424 Total $484,700 IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 14 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 7: Cost to Service Life Insurance Policies Function Variable Fixed Total Characteristics of Costs Customer Service Management: Manage customer service support of existing policies Salaries & Benefits 21,520 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Depreciation - Furniture 55,425 55,425 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 47,500 47,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Supplies 254,750 750,000 21,520 Allocated Rent 82,500 $ 276,270 82,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 199,305 All Other Total 495,250 199,305 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $879,980 $1,156,250 42,520 457,670 Call Center: Respond to customer inquiries Salaries & Benefits 21,514 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with applications Depreciation - Furniture 62,520 62,520 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 55,125 55,125 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 90,500 90,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 222,928 222,928 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $250,665 $910,257 Supplies 415,150 21,514 All Other Total $436,664 Life Inforce Management: Provide service to all existing policies (changes in beneficiary, address, questions) Salaries & Benefits 44,450 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with policies Depreciation - Furniture 71,500 71,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 61,750 61,750 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 95,120 95,120 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 208,280 208,280 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $348,495 $1,115,475 215,250 632,750 Supplies 514,250 634,375 44,450 All Other Total 120,125 $558,700 Claims Management: Manage claims process Salaries & Benefits 21,250 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with policies Depreciation - Furniture 81,742 81,742 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 91,250 91,250 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 111,500 111,500 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 162,518 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $499,742 $1,101,010 333,525 940,675 Depreciation - Furniture 101,525 101,525 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 100,752 100,752 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 117,850 117,850 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels All Other 112,673 112,673 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $653,625 $1,415,000 Supplies 417,500 21,250 Allocated Rent All Other Total $438,750 Claims Adjusters: Adjudicate claims Salaries & Benefits Supplies Total 607,150 41,525 $648,675 41,525 IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 15 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with policies VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 Table 7: Cost to Service Life Insurance Policies (continued) Function Variable Fixed Total Characteristics of Costs Life Claims Support: Support claims adjusters, process and issue all claims checks Postage & Mail Costs Salaries & Benefits 91,425 91,425 Vary with claims paid 112,525 594,025 41,525 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with applications Depreciation - Furniture 91,250 91,250 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 77,141 77,141 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 99,750 99,750 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels 23,788 232,788 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels $613,454 $1,227,904 Supplies 481,500 41,525 All Other Total $614,450 Life Insurance Systems: System and IT personnel that supports life insurance policies Salaries & Benefits Supplies 115,400 411,500 526,900 11,750 11,750 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with applications Depreciation - Furniture 66,271 66,271 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 77,141 77,141 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 61,250 Total $127,150 61,250 471,938 All Other 471,938 $1,088,100 $1,215,250 Fixed, mostly system maintenance charges Life Claims Systems: System and IT personnel that support life insurance claims Salaries & Benefits Supplies 115,400 372,500 487,900 33,250 33,250 Hourly, part time considered variable; others are within a range of +/- 20% of current levels Vary with applications Depreciation - Furniture 88,815 88,815 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Leased PCs 91,250 91,250 Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Fixed within range of +/- 20% of current levels Allocated Rent 91,475 Total $148,650 91,475 437,160 All Other 437,160 $1,081,200 $1,229,850 IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 16 Fixed, mostly system maintenance charges VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014 ADDITIONAL READING ABOUT IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) IMA, the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 70,000 members in 120 countries and 300 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/Africa. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org. Robert S. Kaplan and Steven R. Anderson, \"Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing,\" Harvard Business Review, November 2004. Mohan Nair, \"Activity-Based Costing: Who's Using It and Why?\" Management Accounting Quarterly, Spring 2000, pp. 29-33. Anna Szychta, \"Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing in Service Industries,\" Social Sciences/Socialiniai Mokslai, 2010, pp. 49-60. IM A ED U C ATIO NA L C A S E JOURNAL 17 VOL. 7, N O. 3, ART. 1, SEPTEMBER 2014