You have a client who operates a large upmarket grocery store that has a full range of departments. The management has encountered difficulty in using accounting data as a basis for decisions as to possible change in departments operations, products marketing methods, and so forth.

Question List several overhead costs, or costs that are not applicable to a particular department, and explain how the existence of such costs (sometimes called common costs) complicates and limits the use of accounting data in making decisions in such a store.