Tomlinson Company manufactures car seats in its Tulsa plant. Each car seat passes through the assembly department and the testing department. This problem focuses on the assembly department (Click the icon for Tomlinson's process costing system information.) Data for the assembly department for October 2017 are as follows: Click the icon to view the assembly department data) Read the requirements The procese-casting system at Tominson Company has a single direct-cost category direct materials and a single indirect-cust calegory (conversion costs) Direct materials are added at the beginning of the process Conversion costs are added evenly during the process. When the assembly department finishes work on cach car seat, it is immediately transferred to testing. Tomlinson Company uses the weighted average method of process costing Physical Units Direct Conversion Cui Seuts! Muterials Costs Work in process October 1" 4.000 31,218.000 5241,650 Started during October 2017 22,500 Completed during October 2017 26.000 Work in process, October 31 500 Total costs added during October 2017 54,635,000 52.575,125 Degree of completion direct materials, 29; conversion costs, 45%. "Degree of completion direct materials, 2%, conversion costs, 65% Requirement 1. For each cost category.compute equivalent units in the assembly department. Show physical units in the first column of your schedule. Equivalent Units Physical Direct Conversion Flow of Production Materials Costs Work in process beginning Started during current period To account for Completed and transferred out during current period Work in process ending Accounted for Work done to date Requirement 2. What issues should the manager focus on when reviewing the equivalent-unit calculation? To show better performance, a department supervisor might report a higher degree of completion resulting in understated cost per equivalent unit and overstated operating income. In other words estimates of degree of completion can help to smooth eamings from one period to the next To guard against the possibility of bias, managers should ask supervisor specific questions about the process they followed. Top management should always emphasize obtaining the correct answer, regardless of how it affects reported performance. This emphasis drives ethical action throughout the organization Requirement 3. For each cost category, summarize total assembly department costs for October 2017 and calculate the cost per equivalent unit Begin by summarizing the total assembly department costs for October 2017 Total Direct Conversion Production Costs Materials Costs 1 Total costs to account for Now calculate the cost par equivalent unit for each cost category Direct Materials Conversion Costs Divide by il Cost per equivalent unit Requirement 1. Assign costs to units completed and transferred out and to units in ending work in process Total Direct Conversion Production Costs Materials Costs Completed and transferred out Work in process ending Total costs accounted for