Income Statements under Absorption Costing and Variable Costing Gallatin County Motors Inc. assembles and sells snowmobile engines. The company began operations on July 1 and operated at 100% of capacity during the first month. The following data summarize the results for July: Sales (18,000 units) $2,160,000 Production costs (23,000 units): Direct materials $1,021,200 Direct labor 489,900 Variable factory overhead 246,100 163,300 1,920,500 Fixed factory overhead Selling and administrative expenses: Variable selling and administrative expenses $297,700 Fixed selling and administrative expenses 115,200 412,900 If required, round interim per-unit calculations to the nearest cent. a. Prepare an income statement according to the absorption costing concept. Gallatin County Motors Inc. Absorption Costing Income Statement For the Month Ended July 31 b. Prepare an income statement according to the variable costing concept. Gallatin County Motors Inc. Variable Costing Income Statement For the Month Ended July 31 $ Fixed costs: c. What is the reason for the difference in the amount of operating income reported in (a) and (b)? Under the method, the fixed manufacturing cost included in the cost of goods sold is matched with the revenues. Under all of the fixed manufacturing cost is deducted in the period in which it is incurred, regardless of the amount of inventory change. Thus, when inventory increases, the income statement will have a higher operating income