Question 1

Johnson Tap Company is a manufacturer of taps and fittings for the plumbing trade, located in Brisbane. The Company was established by Ken Hall in 1951, with a workforce of 10, to meet the needs of the post-war housing boom. Its product range was fairly limited but the company had an excellent reputation for quality.

Nowadays, CTC manufacturers an extensive range of high quality brass and chrome taps. The company is managed by Ken's son, Michael, and employs 20 people. It has annual sales averaging approximately $1million. Although it has been consistently profitable, CTC has experienced increasing pressure from competitors since the early 1990s. The company uses a cost-plus approach to pricing but is having to reduce its markup constantly in order to maintain market share.

Both Ken and Michael qualified as engineers. The business is small and has never been able to employ an accountant. Instead, a bookkeeper calculates monthly profit as sales revenue minus expenses. Prices are based on rough estimates of cost of direct material and direct labour inputs plus a 50% markup.

With the decline in profit and constant pressure on prices, Michael began to feel uneasy about the way costs and profits were calculated. The results for the month just ended were:

Additional Information:

• The beginning inventory consists of:

Raw material             $40,000

work in process        $60,000

finished goods         $50,000

• At the end of the month, 20% of the materials purchased remained on hand, work in process amounted to 30% of the manufacturing costs incurred during the month, and finished goods inventories were $80,000.
• The factory occupies 70% of the premises, the sales area 15% and administration 15%.
• Most of the equipment is used for manufacturing, with only 10% of the book value being used for sales and administrative functions.
• Almost all of the electricity is consumed in the factory.
• The truck is used to deliver finished goods to customers.
• Michael Hall spends about 40% of his time on factory management, 30% in the sales area and the rest on administration.

Required:

Michael Hall asks you to review the results for the month and evaluate the company's approach to estimating product cost. In doing so, you should:

1. Identify the fixed and variable costs from the above and comment on the cost behaviour.

2. Estimate the cost of goods manufactured and sold.

3. Prepare a revised income statement for the month.

4. Explain the differences between your income statement and the one above.

5. If possible, suggest a more useful format for analysing costs than that used in your revised income statement

6. Comment on the drawbacks of product costs based on direct materials and direct labour.

Question # 2

"Management accounting can help the managers to operate their business efficiently" Comments.