Cost of Production and Journal Entries

Performance Castings Inc. casts blades for turbine engines. Within the Casting Department, alloy is first melted in a crucible, then poured into molds to produce the castings. On March 1, there were 500 pounds of alloy in process, which were 40% complete as to conversion. The Work in Process balance for these 500 pounds was $59,200, determined as follows:

Direct materials (500 x $110) $55,000

Conversion (500 x 40% x $21) 4,200  $59,200

During March, the Casting Department was charged $498,200 for 4,700 pounds of alloy and $38,320 for direct labor. Factory overhead is applied to the department at a rate of 150% of direct labor. The department transferred out 4,900 pounds of finished castings to the Machining Department. The March 31 inventory in process was 30% complete as to conversion.

a1. Prepare the March journal entry for the Casting Department for the materials charged to production.

a2. Prepare the March journal entry for the Casting Department for the conversion costs charged to production. If an amount box does not require an entry, leave it blank.

a3. Prepare the March journal entry for the Casting Department for the completed production transferred to the Machining Department.

b. Determine the Work in Process-Casting Department March 31 balance.

c. Compute the change in costs per equivalent unit for direct materials and conversion from the previous month (February).