Managerial Accounting: The Cornerstone of Business Decision-Making
7th Edition
ISBN: 9781337115773
Author: Maryanne M. Mowen, Don R. Hansen, Dan L. Heitger
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Textbook Question
Chapter 3, Problem 71C
Suspicious Acquisition of Data, Ethical Issues
Bill Lewis, manager of the Thomas Electronics Division, called a meeting with his controller, Brindon Peterson, and his marketing manager, Patty Fritz. The following is a transcript of the conversation that took place during the meeting:
Bill: Brindon, the variable costing system that you developed has proved to be a big plus for our division. Our success in winning bids has increased, and as a result our revenues have increased by 25%. However, if we intend to meet this year’s profit targets, we are going to need something extra—am I right, Patty?
Patty: Absolutely. While we have been able to win more bids, we still are losing too many, particularly to our major competitor, Kilborn Electronics. If we knew more about their bidding strategy, we could be more successful at competing with them.
Brindon: Would knowing their variable costs help?
Patty: Certainly. It would give me their minimum price. With that knowledge, I’m sure that we could find a way to beat them on several jobs, particularly on those jobs where we are at least as efficient. It would also help us to identify where we are not cost competitive. With this information, we might be able to find ways to increase our efficiency.
Brindon: Well, I have good news. I’ve been talking with Carl Penobscot, Kilborn’s assistant controller. Carl doesn’t feel appreciated by Kilborn and wants to make a change. He could easily fit into our team here. Plus, Carl has been preparing for a job switch by quietly copying Kilborn’s accounting files and records. He’s already given me some data that reveal bids that Kilborn made on several jobs. If we can come to a satisfactory agreement with Carl, he’ll bring the rest of the information with him. We’ll easily be able to figure out Kilborn’s prospective bids and find ways to beat them. Besides, I could use another accountant on my staff. Bill, would you authorize my immediate hiring of Carl with a favorable compensation package?
Bill: I know that you need more staff, Brindon, but is this the right thing to do? It sounds like Carl is stealing those files, and surely Kilborn considers this information confidential. I have real ethical and legal concerns about this. Why don’t we meet with Laurie, our attorney, and determine any legal problems?
Required:
- 1. Is Carl’s behavior ethical? What would Kilborn think?
- 2. Is Bill correct in supposing that there are ethical and/or legal problems involved with the hiring of Carl? (Reread the section on corporate codes of conduct in Chapter 1.) What would you do if you were Bill? Explain.
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Carlyle Capital Company offers financial services to its clients. Recently, Carlyle has experienced rapid growth and has increased both its client base and the variety of services it offers. The company is becoming concerned about its rising costs, however, particularly related to technology overhead. After some study, Carlyle determines that its variable and fixed technology overhead costs are both driven by the processing time involved in meeting client requests. This is typically measured in CPU units of their computer usage. Carlyle’s measure of output is the number of client interactions in a given period.
Q.Calculate the variable overhead spending and efficiency variances, and indicate whether each is favorable (F) or unfavorable (U).
Chapter 3 Solutions
Managerial Accounting: The Cornerstone of Business Decision-Making
Ch. 3 - Prob. 1DQCh. 3 - What is a driver? Give an example of a cost and...Ch. 3 - Suppose a company finds that shipping cost is...Ch. 3 - Some firms assign mixed costs to either the fixed...Ch. 3 - Explain the difference between committed and...Ch. 3 - Explain why the concept of relevant range is...Ch. 3 - Why do mixed costs pose a problem when it comes to...Ch. 3 - Describe the cost formula for a strictly fixed...Ch. 3 - Describe the cost formula for a strictly variable...Ch. 3 - What is the scattergraph method, and why is it...
Ch. 3 - Describe how the scattergraph method breaks out...Ch. 3 - What are the advantages of the scattergraph method...Ch. 3 - Prob. 13DQCh. 3 - What is meant by the best-fitting line?Ch. 3 - What is the difference between the unit cost of a...Ch. 3 - Prob. 16DQCh. 3 - (Appendix 3A) Explain the meaning of the...Ch. 3 - A factor that causes or leads to a change in a...Ch. 3 - Which of the following would probably be a...Ch. 3 - Prob. 3MCQCh. 3 - In the cost formula, the term 128,000,000 a. is...Ch. 3 - In the cost formula, the term 12,000 a. is the...Ch. 3 - Prob. 6MCQCh. 3 - Prob. 7MCQCh. 3 - The following cost formula for total purchasing...Ch. 3 - An advantage of the high-low method is that it a....Ch. 3 - Prob. 10MCQCh. 3 - Prob. 11MCQCh. 3 - Prob. 12MCQCh. 3 - The total cost for monthly supervisory cost in a...Ch. 3 - Yates Company shows the following unit costs for...Ch. 3 - (Appendix 3A) In the method of least squares, the...Ch. 3 - Creating and Using a Cost Formula Big Thumbs...Ch. 3 - Using High-Low to Calculate Fixed Cost, Calculate...Ch. 3 - Using High-Low to Calculate Predicted Total...Ch. 3 - Using High-Low to Calculate Predicted Total...Ch. 3 - Using Regression to Calculate Fixed Cost,...Ch. 3 - Inventory Valuation under Absorption Costing Refer...Ch. 3 - Inventory Valuation under Variable Costing Refer...Ch. 3 - Absorption-Costing Income Statement Refer to the...Ch. 3 - Variable-Costing Income Statement Refer to the...Ch. 3 - Creating and Using a Cost Formula Kleenaire Motors...Ch. 3 - Using High-Low to Calculate Fixed Cost, Calculate...Ch. 3 - Using High-Low to Calculate Predicted Total...Ch. 3 - Brief Exercise 3-28 Using High-Low to Calculate...Ch. 3 - Using Regression to Calculate Fixed Cost,...Ch. 3 - Inventory Valuation under Absorption Costing Refer...Ch. 3 - Inventory Valuation under Variable Costing Refer...Ch. 3 - Brief Exercise 3-32 Absorption-Costing Income...Ch. 3 - Brief Exercise 3-33 Variable-Costing Income...Ch. 3 - Variable and Fixed Costs What follows are a number...Ch. 3 - Cost Behavior, Classification Smith Concrete...Ch. 3 - Prob. 36ECh. 3 - Prob. 37ECh. 3 - Prob. 38ECh. 3 - Step Costs, Relevant Range Bellati Inc. produces...Ch. 3 - Matching Cost Behavior Descriptions to Cost...Ch. 3 - Examine the graphs in Exercise 3-40. Required: As...Ch. 3 - Prob. 42ECh. 3 - Prob. 43ECh. 3 - High-Low Method Refer to the information for Luisa...Ch. 3 - Scattergraph Method Refer to the information for...Ch. 3 - Method of Least Squares Refer to the information...Ch. 3 - Use the following information for Exercises 3-47...Ch. 3 - Use the following information for Exercises 3-47...Ch. 3 - Method of Least Squares, Developing and Using the...Ch. 3 - The method of least squares was used to develop a...Ch. 3 - Identifying the Parts of the Cost Formula;...Ch. 3 - Inventory Valuation under Absorption Costing...Ch. 3 - Inventory Valuation under Variable Costing Lane...Ch. 3 - Income Statements under Absorption and Variable...Ch. 3 - (Appendix 3A) Method of Least Squares Using...Ch. 3 - (Appendix 3A) Method of Least Squares Using...Ch. 3 - Identifying Fixed, Variable, Mixed, and Step Costs...Ch. 3 - Identifying Use of the High-Low, Scattergraph, and...Ch. 3 - Identifying Variable Costs, Committed Fixed Costs,...Ch. 3 - Scattergraph, High-Low Method, and Predicting Cost...Ch. 3 - Method of Least Squares, Predicting Cost for...Ch. 3 - Cost Behavior, High-Low Method, Pricing Decision...Ch. 3 - Prob. 63PCh. 3 - Variable and Fixed Costs, Cost Formula, High-Low...Ch. 3 - Cost Separation About 8 years ago, Kicker faced...Ch. 3 - Variable-Costing and Absorption-Costing Income...Ch. 3 - Refer to the information for Farnsworth Company...Ch. 3 - (Appendix 3A) Scattergraph, High-Low Method,...Ch. 3 - (Appendix 3A) Separating Fixed and Variable Costs,...Ch. 3 - (Appendix 3A) Cost Formulas, Single and Multiple...Ch. 3 - Suspicious Acquisition of Data, Ethical Issues...
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