Ouch! Is that Deluxe model ever a loser! I say the time has come to cut back its production and shift our resources toward the new Finest model! said Rachell Warner, executive vice-president of Wedgewood Acres Ltd.Just look at this statement Ive received from accounting. The Finest is generating more margin and significantly more profit than the Deluxe, and it has only about 40% as much in sales. I am convinced that our future depends on the Finest. The year-end statement to which Rachell was referring follows:

Wedgewood Acres Ltd.

Income Statement

Product Model

Total Deluxe Finest

Sales $10,200,000 $ 7,200,000 $ 3,000,000

Cost of goods sold . 7,860,000 6,120,000 1,740,000

Gross margin .. 2,340,000 1,080,000 1,260,000

Less selling and

administrative expenses . 2,004,000 1,494,000 510,000

Operating income(loss) .. $ 336,000 $ (414,000) $ 750,000

Number of units produced

and sold . - 36,000 12,000

Net income (loss) per unit . - $(11.50) $62.50

The numbers sure look that way, replied Con Artist, the companys sales manager. But why isnt the competition more excited about the Finest? I know weve only been producing the model for three years, but Im surprised that more of our competitors havent recognized what a cash cow it is.

I think its our new automated plant, replied Rachell. Now it takes two direct-labour hours to produce a unit of the Deluxe and one direct-labour hour to produce a unit of the Finest. Thats considerably less than it used to take us, especially for the Finest.

I agree that automation is wonderful, replied Con. I suppose thats how were able to hold down the price of the Finest. Lavel Company in Quebec tried to bring out a Finest but discovered they couldnt touch our price. But Lavel is killing us on the Deluxe by undercutting our price with some of our best customers. I suppose theyll pick up all of our Deluxe business if we move out of that market. But who cares? We dont even have to advertise the Finest, it just seems to sell itself.

My only concern about automation is how our manufacturing overhead rate has shot up, said Rachell. Our total manufacturing overhead cost is $3,612,000. That comes out to be a hefty amount per direct-labour hour,but Mabel down in accounting has been using direct-labour hours as the base for computing overhead rates for years and doesnt want to change. I dont suppose it matters so long as costs get assigned to products.

Ive never understood that debit and credit stuff, replied Con. But I think youve got a problem in production. I had lunch with Joanne yesterday and she complained about how complex the Finest is to produce. Apparently they have to do a lot of setups, special soldering, and other work on the Finest just to keep production moving. And they have to inspect the majority of units.

Itll have to wait, said Rachell. Im writing a proposal to the board of directors to phase out the Deluxe. Weve got to bring our bottom line up or well all be looking for jobs.

In preparation for the proposal further information was gathered by the accounting staff:

Prime Costs per unit produced:

Deluxe Finest

Direct materials . $60 $90

Direct labour .. 24 12

Total Manufacturing Overhead:

Indirect labour $ 596,000

Indirect materials 1,232,000

Equipment depreciation 800,000

Supervisor salary 184,000

Quality Control inspector salaries 800,000

Total $ 3,612,000

All overhead costs are considered directly traceable to the two models produced.

Total Selling and Administrative expenses:

Head office administration $ 1,800,000

Commissions 204,000

Total $ 2,004,000

The administration costs are all fixed and are common and untraceable. However, Mabel has arbitrarily allocated the cost between the two models based on the percentage of units sold of each product to total units sold.

The commission rate is 2% of sales. This rate applies to both models.

Required:

1. Re-state the traditional income statement prepared above as a contribution format income statement. Show a separate line item on the income statement for every component of product costs (all overhead items), and selling and administrative costs. (Hint: For overheads, the basis for allocating total overhead is the same basis for calculating individual overhead costs).

2. Compute the predetermined overhead rate that the company used during the year. This rate only needs to be calculated on the total overheard. You do not need to break it down into the individual components.

3. Using the costs given and the rate computed in Part 2 above, determine the unit product cost of each model. Break down that product cost into the three cost components.

4. The company is considering implementing an activity-based cost system. The accounting staff gathered the following information regarding the activity cost pools and measures. Also they analyzed staff and operations and determined the distribution of resource consumption. The results of the analysis are given below:

Activity Activity for each model

Activity Cost Pool Activity Measure for the year Deluxe Finest

Production planning Number of plans 1,200 plans 800 400

Moving product Number of hours 2,400 hours 1,680 720

Machine setup Number of setups 3,200 setups 2,000 1,200

Machine operation Machine hours 140,000 MH 60,000 80,000

Soldering Number of solder joints 400,000 joints 120,000 280,000

Quality control Number of inspections 18,000 inspections 8,000 10,000

Distribution of Resource Consumption across Activity Cost Pools

Production Moving Machine Machine Quality

Planning Product Setup Operation Soldering Control

Indirect labour - 30% 70% - - -

Indirect materials - - 25% - 75% -

Equipment depreciation - - - 100% - -

Supervisor salary 80% - - - - 20%

QC inspector salaries 15% - - - - 85%

4. Prepare a schedule that computes and presents the amount and the rate for each of the six cost pools.

5. Prepare a schedule detailing the allocation of the overhead between the two models.

6. Similar to Part 3 above, determine the unit product cost of each model. Break down that product cost into the detailed cost components.

7. Based on your analysis, would you support a recommendation to expand sales of the Finest? Explain your position, using your data to support your position.

8. If you were president of Wedgewood Acres Ltd. what strategy would you follow from this point forward to improve the companys overall profits?

9. Based on your analysis, why do you suppose the Finest just seems to sell itself?