Question 2 Accounting for Sustainability [15 Marks] Hannah Pty Ltd is a manufacturer of spices currently considering making dramatic changes to the company. It currently has production facilities in Gold Coast, Queensland, as well as in Asia. The CEO, Jim Carlos, is concerned about several issues currently facing the company and she would like to solve these using a sustainability approach. First, the major supplies of spices are imported from the small countries of East Asia. In both countries toxic chemical sprays are used on plantations, and these sprays have a long life. The spice processors in both countries pay their employees only A$3 per hour. The employees work long hours and breathe in chemical fumes, which over time may burn their lungs. Jim is considering setting up a factory for preliminary processing of spices in East Asia. Finance manager, Belen Bilanco, believes that setting up this factory is a good idea, as the setup costs will be only A$1.2 million. The current cost of processing spices at Gold Coast is $0.33 per kilogram but will fall to $0.11 per kilogram if pre-processing is undertaken in East Asia. The Gold Coast gure is based on the following costs: Cost per kg Direct labour $19 per hour to process 126 kilograms $01508 Variable overhead $5 per hour to process 126 kilograms 0.0397 Fixed overhead $145 000 per annum to produce 1 039 427 w kilograms Total cost per kilogram $0.33 Matt Carlton, the production manager, believes that the quality of the nal spice products will not reduce if the pre-processing is undertaken off shore. Second, although the Gold Coast plant currently meets the required environmental emissions standards, it has been prosecuted in the past for several violations of air pollution standards, and neighbours still complain about the smell. An improved ltering system would cost $290 000 to purchase and $17 500 per annum to run. Belen Bilanco believes there would be no nancial benets in improving the air quality since the facility meets government standards. He does not think that the new system should be purchased. The quality manager, .Tullian Ses, disagrees and believes that the improvements would enhance the company's reputation and reduce discolouration of the buildings. The local newspaper has twice run stories that were critical of Hannah Pty Ltd. A recent story suggested that they were also water polluters, an assertion that the company claims is untrue. No contaminated water is released into the waterways; it is all evaporated using recycling ponds and a septic system. The third problem is continuing low employee morale at the Gold Coast plant. The previous production manager came to the plant from the army, and ran the factory very smoothly and efciently, but using a military style. This led to serious clashes with some of the production 4
