Problem 1 - Nuestras Vidas is a women's cooperative located in Guatemala.  The women make wallets that are then shipped to North America and Europe for sale.  The material for the wallets is purchased from a sister cooperative that makes fabric in native patterns.  The standard cost card for the wallets follows:

Direct Materials (.74 yards at $7.95 per yard)                $5.88

Direct Labour (3.12 hours at $8.60 per hour)                 26.83

Variable Overhead (3.12 hours at $.25 per hour)            .78

Fixed Overhead (3.12 hours at $1.8 per hour)                5.62

Total Cost to Manufacture                                            $39.11

During March, the women produced 8,360 wallets and sold 10,300.

The direct material price standard is based on the amount paid for the pattern and quality desired.  A just-in-time purchasing system is in place.  The direct materials quantity standard is based on the expected yardage for each wallet, adjusted by necessary rework when imperfections are found in the fabric and by wastage due to production errors.  In March 26,000 yards of fabric were purchased at a total cost of $212,700.  25,698 yards were used in production.

The direct labour rate standard is based on the living wage necessary to provide each worker with adequate earnings to support her family. No benefits are provided for.  Each worker receives an annual pay increase of 10%.  The direct labour quantity standard is based on time required to produce one unit, adjusted by productivity estimations as well as quality control issues related to the fabric and to production errors. Historically, more experienced workers are able to work more accurately and rapidly.  In March, 28,680 hours were worked. Payroll amounted to $222,400.

a. Compute the direct materials quantity variance.

b. Compute the direct labour rate variance.

c. Compute the direct labour efficiency variance.

d. Speculate as to the likely cause of the two labour related variances.

Problem 2 - Big Firm has many divisions.  Managers are independent decision makers and are compensated on the basis of net income. Mining Division produces gold. Coin Division produces collectible gold coins.  Each coin contains 4 ounces of gold.

Contribution format income statements for the two divisions before any potential transfer follow:

                                               Mining                              Coin

                  Capacity             150,000 ounces             40,000 units

                  Unit sales            150,000 ounces             18,000 units

                  Sales                   $810,000                     $2,700,000

                  VC                      517,500                       1,015,200

                  CM                     $292,500                      $1,684,800

                  FC                      300,000                        900,000

                  NI                       ($7,500)                      $784,800

The manager of Mining suggests that a transfer of gold to Coin Division might be best for the company as a whole. He believes that the transfer will save him $1.00 per ounce in variable selling costs. The manager of Coin Divisions states that the transfer will save her $4 per unit (per coin) in set-up costs.

a. What is the range for the transfer price?

b. Assume a transfer price of $2.60 is agreed upon.  Show how the contribution income statements for the two divisions would look assuming the transfer happens.

c. Which manager has the most incentive to agree to a transfer?  Explain.

Problem 3 - ABC Firm makes three products: small, medium and large.  The firm applies overhead on the basis of machine hours.  Information for the products follows:

                                                   Small                  Medium                  Large        

     Capacity (per month)               30,000                     25,000                15,000

     Unit Sales (per month)             21,400                     18,300                  9,400

     Selling price                            $10.50                     $40.95                $65.45

     Machine hours per unit                 1.2                           3.4                      5.2

     DL hours per unit                         1.7                           3.6                      1.9

     V man cost per unit                    $3.65                     $10.25                $29.30

     FOH per unit                                3.84                       10.88                  16.64

Note that each product is made on a separate production line.  The production lines are not interchangeable.  Variable selling costs are $1.00 per unit (for all products) and fixed selling and administrative costs are $50,000 per month.

a. The firm has been approached by a retailer in a far-off land.  They offer to buy 5,000 units of Large for $35 each.  No additional selling or administrative costs would be incurred on this order.  What would be the impact on net income of accepting this order?

b. Would you recommend the firm accept the order?  Explain.

c. (Assume the order discussed above was not accepted). Suppose that the workers go on strike.  The firm has been able to hire and train only enough workers to accomplish 50,000 direct labor hours.  Based only on the impact on net income, which product(s) should be produced and how many units?

d. Do you recommend scheduling the production according to your answer in part c?  Explain.

Problem 4 - Future Firm prepares a master budget for each quarter of the year.  The sales budget for the second quarter of 2016 follows:

                                April                   May                June                   Total

     Unit Sales             6,400                 8,500              3,900                18,800

     Price                    120                    120                 120                     120

     Sales                   $768,000            $1,020,000      $468,000         $2,256,000

At the end of March, the balance in the cash account was $21,400.  Sales in February were 5,000 units.  Sales in March were 5,500 units.  Inventory at the end of March was $37,500.  Predicted sales in units for July are 6,000.

30% of all sales are on account.  Of the sales on account, 40% are collected in the month of the sale, 30% in the month following the sale and 25% in the second month after the sale.  The firm requires a cash balance of $30,000 to be maintained at all times.

Inventory levels are monitored very closely.  At the end of each month, inventory amounting to 25% of the following month's sales must be on hand.  Unit cost for the product is $25.

a. Prepare a cash collections for the appropriate budget period.

b. What is the purpose of the cash collections budget?

Problem 5 - No computations are required for this problem.

Payrolls R Us manages payment of employees for small to medium sized firms that do not have the resources to process payroll in house.  Clients transmit time-cards either electronically or in hard copy. Payrolls R Us then cleans the data, looking for potential reporting errors or outliers, determines the amount earned by each employee, cuts the checks and files payroll related returns.  In addition, the firm's analysts alert the client to any potential problems or chances for increased efficiencies based on the payroll information.

Payrolls R Us uses an ABC costing system.  There are three cost pools.  Data processing costs includes space, computer time, and salaries for those who handle the basic operations.  Analysis costs includes space, compute time, salaries and forensic training for the employees who conduct the analysis.  Customer services costs includes salaries, travel expenses, communication equipment and client relations training for the people who meet the clients either to sell the product or to discuss findings of the data processing or analysis departments with the client.

The cost driver for data processing is the number of employees covered by the client's contract.  The rate is $5.67 per employee per month. The cost driver for analysis is total payroll size of the client.  The rate is $.001 per payroll dollar. The cost driver for customer service is contact hours with the client.  The rate is $39.45 per contact hour.

The firm uses a flat rate pricing system.  Each client is charged $500 per month.

Below is a comparison of the cost for the month of March for Sally's Gift shop (one of the smallest clients) and Jerry's Automotive Repair (one of the largest clients):

                                                    Sally's                        Jerry's

     Data Processing                        $56.70                       $425.25

     Analysis                                   36.00                         450.00

     Customer Service                     39.45                         197.25

     Total Cost                                $132.15                    $1,072.50

a. Based on the information from the ABC system, do you believe the flat rate pricing should be continued?  If not, what changes would you make? Explain.

Problem 6 - Accounting Rules is a for-profit educational institution.  It guarantees that students who obey all the rules will pass the professional exam.  Students must arrive at school no later than 7:00 a.m.  They receive a high energy brain food meal and then attend classes until 6:00 p.m.  Lunch is also served at school.  Students who have not met minimum standards on the progress exams must stay on campus for mandatory individual tutoring sessions until 11:00 p.m.

For the month of March, the following static budget was prepared (note that all costs should be driven by enrollment numbers except tutors):

                                                     Budget                  Actual                Variance

Students enrolled                           5,000                    4,500                        500U

Students in tutoring                           500                       420                          80F

Students that pass                          4,900                    4,450                        450U

Variable Costs

   Food cost                               $422,500              $402,300                 $20,200F

   Tutoring                                   450,000              $385,000                   65,000F

    Supplies                                  225,000                190,000                   35,000F

Fixed Costs

   Physical Facilities                    990,000                992,000                     2,000U

   Instructor Salaries                    854,000                880,000                   26,000U

a. Prepare a flexible budget analysis for the firm for the month of March.  Do not forget to do the activity variances.

b. What do you believe caused the variances (look at the variances as whole-not one by one).

Problem 7 - No computations are required for this problem.

Big Corporation has two divisions: One operates in the eastern part of the country and the other in the west.  The firm requires an ROI of at least 18% from all divisions.  Information about the two divisions for the most recent month follows:

                                                                         One                    Two

                        NI                                    $194,400              $77,350

                        Break Even Sales             $298,572            $180,364

                        DOL                                             1.5                      2.3

                        CM%                                          35.0%                 55.0%

                        ROS                                            22.8%                 26.1%

                        AT                                                1.09                      .84

                        ROI                                            24.9%                 21.9%

Suppose you were given the opportunity to become manager of one of these divisions.  Which one would you choose?  Explain your answer.