Exercise 1
During the sixth month of the fiscal year, the program director of the Westchester Home-Delivered Meals (WHDM) program decides to again recompute fixed costs, variable costs, and the BEP using the high–low method. Here are the number of meals served and the total costs of the program for each of the first six months: Month Meals Served Total Costs July 3,500 $20,500 August 4,000 22,600 September 4,200 23,350 October 4,600 24,500 November 4,700 25,000 December 4,900 26,000 Recompute fixed costs, variable costs, and the BEP. What are the variable costs? What are the fixed costs? How many meals will the WHDM program need to provide during the fiscal year to reach the BEP?
How much profit will the programearn if it completes its 45,000-meal contract with the City of Westchester?
Exercise 2
It has been two years since the New River Community Council (NRCC) started its newsletter dealing with state and community funding opportunities for human service agencies. The current number of subscribers to the newsletter is 525. During the second year, the NRCC hired a new part-time newsletter coordinator (social work student). The NRCC has raised the salary of the part-time newsletter coordinator to $6,000 per year and has also hired another part-time student as an assistant for ten hours a week. The assistant is to be paid $75 per week or $3,900 per year. Together the newsletter coordinator and the part-time assistant believe they can handle up to 650 newsletter subscribers. Beyond this number, the newsletter program will require still more staff resources. In order to help cover the cost of the new part-time assistant, the executive director has also decided to increase the annual subscription price of the newsletter to $20. Additionally, the variable costs of preparing, printing, and mailing six bimonthly issues of the newsletter have risen to $4.50. Recompute the BEP for the newsletter program. What is the new BEP? Is the new BEP a feasible solution? Why or why not? Will any slack capacity exist? If so,how much? If not, why not?