Cranshaw Business Services (CBS) operates an information technology (IT) consulting firm out of two offices: Detroit and Los Angeles. Corporate services, such as legal, finance, and personnel, are centralized at the main office and the costs of these services are allocated to the two offices for the purposes of profitability assessment. The Detroit office is the original unit of the company and is well established, having long-time clients from the automotive and other manufacturing industries. The Los Angeles office is new with a smaller, much more varied, clientele. The costs of personnel services at CBS are currently allocated on the basis of the number of employees in each office. The annual costs of the personnel department total $550,000. Data for the fiscal year just ended show the following: Number of employees Detroit 340 Los Angeles 160

Principles of Accounting Volume 2
19th Edition
ISBN:9781947172609
Author:OpenStax
Publisher:OpenStax
Chapter12: Balanced Scorecard And Other Performance Measures
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1EA: For the following situations, identify whether the description is probably a centralized or...
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Cranshaw Business Services (CBS) operates an information technology (IT) consulting firm out of two offices: Detroit and
Los Angeles. Corporate services, such as legal, finance, and personnel, are centralized at the main office and the costs of
these services are allocated to the two offices for the purposes of profitability assessment. The Detroit office is the original
unit of the company and is well established, having long-time clients from the automotive and other manufacturing
industries. The Los Angeles office is new with a smaller, much more varied, clientele. The costs of personnel services at
CBS are currently allocated on the basis of the number of employees in each office. The annual costs of the personnel
department total $550,000. Data for the fiscal year just ended show the following:
Number of employees
Number of new hires
Number of employees departing
Allocation based on
Employees
Transitions
Detroit
340
Variable Cost
$ 120,000
120,000
9
1
Los Angeles
160
Exercise 9-32 (Algo) Unitwide versus Department Allocation-Decision Making (LO 9-1, 2, 3)
The manager of the Los Angeles office is now unhappy with the results of the controller's study. The manager asks the controller to
develop separate rates for fixed and variable costs in the Personnel Department. The controller reports back to the Los Angeles
manager that the costs would be as follows:
20
10
Fixed Cost
$ 160,000
150,000
Total Cost
$ 280,000
270,000
Required:
a. The manager claims that the Los Angeles office should only be allocated the variable costs from this system, because the company
would have to pay the fixed costs even if the Los Angeles office did not exist. Compute the cost allocated to each unit using the
approach the Los Angeles manager prefers.
Transcribed Image Text:Cranshaw Business Services (CBS) operates an information technology (IT) consulting firm out of two offices: Detroit and Los Angeles. Corporate services, such as legal, finance, and personnel, are centralized at the main office and the costs of these services are allocated to the two offices for the purposes of profitability assessment. The Detroit office is the original unit of the company and is well established, having long-time clients from the automotive and other manufacturing industries. The Los Angeles office is new with a smaller, much more varied, clientele. The costs of personnel services at CBS are currently allocated on the basis of the number of employees in each office. The annual costs of the personnel department total $550,000. Data for the fiscal year just ended show the following: Number of employees Number of new hires Number of employees departing Allocation based on Employees Transitions Detroit 340 Variable Cost $ 120,000 120,000 9 1 Los Angeles 160 Exercise 9-32 (Algo) Unitwide versus Department Allocation-Decision Making (LO 9-1, 2, 3) The manager of the Los Angeles office is now unhappy with the results of the controller's study. The manager asks the controller to develop separate rates for fixed and variable costs in the Personnel Department. The controller reports back to the Los Angeles manager that the costs would be as follows: 20 10 Fixed Cost $ 160,000 150,000 Total Cost $ 280,000 270,000 Required: a. The manager claims that the Los Angeles office should only be allocated the variable costs from this system, because the company would have to pay the fixed costs even if the Los Angeles office did not exist. Compute the cost allocated to each unit using the approach the Los Angeles manager prefers.
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