Laredo Leather Company manufactures high-quality leather goods. The company’s profits have declined during the past nine months. In an attempt to isolate the causes of poor profit performance, management is investigating the manufacturing operations of each of its products. One of the company’s main products is leather belts. The belts are produced in a single, continuous process in the Dallas Plant. During the process, leather strips are sewn, punched, and dyed. The belts then enter a final finishing stage to conclude the process. Labor and overhead are applied continuously during the manufacturing process. All materials, leather strips, and buckles are introduced at the beginning of the process. The firm uses the weighted-average method to calculate its unit costs. The leather belts produced at the Dallas Plant are sold wholesale for $9.95 each. Management wants to compare the current manufacturing costs per unit with the market prices for leather belts. Top management has asked the Dallas plant controller to submit data on the cost of manufacturing the leather belts for the month of October. These cost data will be used to determine whether modifications in the production process should be initiated or whether an increase in the selling price of the belts is justified. The cost per belt used for planning and control is $5.35. The work-in-process inventory consisted of 400 partially completed units on October 1. The belts were 25 percent complete as to conversion. The costs included in the inventory on October 1 were as follows: During October 7,600 leather strips were placed into production. A total of 7,000 leather belts were completed. The work-in-process inventory on October 31 consisted of 1,000 belts, which were 50 percent complete as to conversion. The costs charged to production during October were as follows: Required: In order to provide cost data regarding the manufacture of leather belts in the Dallas Plant to the top management of Laredo Leather Company, compute the following amounts for the month of October. 1. The equivalent units for material and conversion. 2. The cost per equivalent unit of material and conversion. 3. The assignment of production costs to the October 31 work-in-process inventory and to goods transferred out. 4. The weighted-average unit cost of leather belts completed and transferred to finished goods. Comment on the company’s cost per belt used for planning and control. 5. Laredo Leather Company’s production manager, Jack Murray, has been under pressure from the company president to reduce the cost of conversion. In spite of several attempts to reduce conversion costs, they have remained more or less constant. Now Murray is faced with an upcoming meeting with the company president, at which he will have to explain why he has failed to reduce conversion costs. Murray has approached his friend, Jeff Daley, who is the corporate controller, with the following request: “Jeff, I’m under pressure to reduce costs in the production process. There is no way to reduce material cost, so I’ve got to get the conversion costs down. If I can show just a little progress in next week’s meeting with the president, then I can buy a little time to try some other cost-cutting measures I’ve been considering. I want you to do me a favor. If we raise the estimate of the percentage of completion of October’s inventory to 60 percent, that will increase the number of equivalent units. Then the unit conversion cost will be a little lower.” By how much would Murray’s suggested manipulation lower the unit conversion cost? What should Daley do? Discuss this situation, citing specific ethical standards for managerial accountants.

Laredo Leather Company manufactures high-quality leather goods. The company’s profits have declined during the past nine months. In an attempt to isolate the causes of poor profit performance, management is investigating the manufacturing operations of each of its products. One of the company’s main products is leather belts. The belts are produced in a single, continuous process in the Dallas plant. During the process, leather strips are sewn, punched, and dyed. The belts then enter a final finishing stage to conclude the process. Labor and overhead are applied continuously during the manufacturing process. All materials, leather strips, and buckles are introduced at the beginning of the process. The firm uses the weighted-average method to calculate its unit costs. The leather belts produced at the Dallas plant are sold wholesale for $9.95 each. Management wants to compare the current manufacturing costs per unit with the market prices for leather belts. Top management has asked the…

Muscat Tubes Manufacturing LLC is a manufacturer of television picture tubes. The company must keep various types of materials on hand for the manufacturing process. The store manager is having difficulty keeping track of all the inventory. When compared to last year, the amount of material lost has increased, which is a source of concern for the store manager. He wishes to employ an effective tool for controlling material loss. While exploring, he came across the concept of ABC analysis, which is used by many MNCs around the world. Because he has no background in costing, he is unable to grasp the concept. He asked you to explain the following because you are the company's cost accounting executive: Working/Application of ABC analysis?

Mercury, Incorporated, produces cell phones at its plant in Texas. A year ago, a consumer survey ranked the company's cell phones low in product quality. Shocked by this result, Jorge Gomez, Mercury's president, set up a task force to implement a formal quality improvement program. Included on this task force were representatives from the Engineering, Marketing, Customer Service, Production, and Accounting departments. After working together for a year, the task force prepared the quality cost report shown below: Prevention costs: Machine maintenance Training suppliers Quality circles Total prevention cost Appraisal costs: Incoming inspection Final testing Total appraisal cost Internal failure costs: Rework Scrap Total internal failure cost External failure costs: Warranty repairs Customer returns Mercury, Incorporated Quality Cost Report (in thousands) Total external failure cost Total quality cost Total production cost Prevention costs: Machine maintenance Training suppliers Quality…

LL is a company that makes and sells clothing made out of wool. It has been having problems manufacturing sufficient garments for its customers for several years as demand has increased significantly. LL's current wool spinning process has been identified as a bottleneck process.It is considering the purchase of an automated spinning machine that it believes will significantly improve the speed of its manufacturing process. In addition it will allow LL to lay off around fifty members of staff (who are heavily unionised).The machine will cost around $5m. LL does not have this cash available, but believes that it will be able to raise these funds from its investors.LL will only purchase the machine if it is: suitable acceptable; AND feasible From the information given above, which of these three criteria does the acquisition of the machine meet? Suitable and acceptable only Suitable only Acceptable and feasible only Suitable and feasible only

Alexandria Ltd. manufactures high-quality pens. For many years the company manufactured only one type of pen (namely, ballpoint pens) but last year the company also began to manufacture fountain pens. The decision to begin manufacturing fountain pens was taken only after the company’s marketing manager confirmed that there was a significant niche market for fountain pens and the company’s cost accountant estimated that the cost of production for such pens would be much less than the selling price predicted by the marketing manager. When the fountain pen was introduced, sales (in terms of both quantity and price) were higher than expected. Nevertheless the overall profits of Alexandria Ltd. have declined steadily. As a result, the cost accountant decided that he should re-examine his estimate of the cost of producing the fountain pen, with particular reference to overhead costs. In his original analysis, he allocated all manufacturing overhead costs to products in proportion to direct…

A manufacturer of baseballs controls material flow by using a Kanban system. The balls are transported to the final operation, Cover Sewing, in a transport bin that contains (35) baseballs. The Cover Sewing operation produces 15 baseballs per hour. It takes about five hours to replenish the transport bin. There is a high level of turnover in the Cover Sewing department, so management has decided to keep a safety stock of 18%. How many kanban card sets are required for this process?

The demand for solvent, one of numerous products manufactured by Celecia Industries Inc., has dropped sharply because of recent competition from a similar product. The company’s chemists are currently completing tests of various new formulas, and it is anticipated that the manufacture of a superior product can be started on July 1, one month in the future. No changes will be needed in the present production facilities to manufacture the new product because only the mixture of the various materials will be changed. The controller has been asked by the president of the company for advice on whether to continue production during June or to suspend the manufacture of solvent until July 1. The following data have been assembled: Celecia Industries Inc. Income Statement—Solvent For the Month Ended May 31 1 Sales (25,000 units x $15 per unit) $375,000.00 2 Cost of goods sold (256,250.00) 3 Gross profit $118,750.00 4 Selling and…

The demand for solvent, one of numerous products manufactured by Logan Industries Inc., has dropped sharply because of recent competition from a similar product. The companys chemists are currently completing tests of various new formulas, and it is anticipated that the manufacture of a superior product can be started on November 1, one month in the future. No changes will be needed in the present production facilities to manufacture the new product because only the mixture of the various materials will be changed. The controller has been asked by the president of the company for advice on whether to continue production during October or to suspend the manufacture of solvent until November 1. The following data have been assembled: The production costs and selling and administrative expenses, based on production of 10,000 units in September, are as follows: Sales for October are expected to drop about 40% below those of September. No significant changes are anticipated in the fixed costs or variable costs per unit. No extra costs will be incurred in discontinuing operations in the portion of the plant associated with solvent. The inventory of solvent at the beginning and end of October is not expected to be significant (material). Instructions 1. Prepare an estimated income statement in absorption costing form for October for solvent, assuming that production continues during the month. 2. Prepare an estimated income statement in variable costing form for October for solvent, assuming that production continues during the month. 3. What would be the estimated operating loss if the solvent production were temporarily suspended for October? 4. What advice should you give to management?

One of the tennis rackets that Ace Sporting Goods manufactures is a titanium model (Slam) that sells for 149. The cost of each Slam consists of: Job 100 produced 100 Slams, of which six were spoiled and classified as seconds. Seconds are sold to discount stores for 50 each. Required: 1. Under the assumption that the loss from spoilage will be distributed to all jobs produced during the current period, use general journal entries to (a) record the costs of production, (b) put spoiled goods into inventory, and (c) record the cash sale of spoiled units. 2. Under the assumption that the loss due to spoilage will be charged to Job 100, use general journal entries to (a) record the costs of production, (b) put spoiled goods into inventory, and (c) record the cash sale of spoiled units.

Posavek is a wholesale supplier of building supplies building contractors, hardware stores, and home-improvement centers in the Boston metropolitan area. Over the years, Posavek has expanded its operations to serve customers across the nation and now employs over 200 people as technical representatives, buyers, warehouse workers, and sales and office staff. Most recently, Posavek has experienced fierce competition from the large online discount stores. In addition, the company is suffering from operational inefficiencies related to its archaic information system. Posavek revenue cycle procedures are described in the following paragraphs. Revenue Cycle Posaveks sales department representatives receive orders via traditional mail, e-mail, telephone, and the occasional walk-in customer. Because Posavek is a wholesaler, the vast majority of its business is conducted on a credit basis. The process begins in the sales department, where the sales clerk enters the customers order into the centralized computer sales order system. The computer and file server are housed in Posaveks small data processing department. If the customer has done business with Posavek in the past, his or her data are already on file. If the customer is a first-time buyer, however, the clerk creates a new record in the customer account file. The system then creates a record of the transaction in the open sales order file. When the order is entered, an electronic copy of it is sent to the customers e-mail address as confirmation. A clerk in the warehouse department periodically reviews the open sales order file from a terminal and prints two copies of a stock release document for each new sale, which he uses to pick the items sold from the shelves. The warehouse clerk sends one copy of the stock release to the sales department and the second copy, along with the goods, to the shipping department. The warehouse clerk then updates the inventory subsidiary file to reflect the items and quantities shipped. Upon receipt of the stock release document, the sales clerk accesses the open sales order file from a terminal, closes the sales order, and files the stock release document in the sales department. The sales order system automatically posts these transactions to the sales, inventory control, and cost-of-goods-sold accounts in the general ledger file. Upon receipt of the goods and the stock release, the shipping department clerk prepares the goods for shipment to the customer. The clerk prepares three copies of the bill of lading. Two of these go with the goods to the carrier and the third, along with the stock release document, is filed in the shipping department. The billing department clerk reviews the closed sales orders from a terminal and prepares two copies of the sales invoice. One copy is mailed to the customer, and the other is filed in the billing department. The clerk then creates a new record in the accounts receivable subsidiary file. The sales order system automatically updates the accounts receivable control account in the general ledger file. CASH RECEIPTS PROCEDURES Mail room clerks open customer cash receipts, reviews the check and remittance advices for completeness, and prepares two copies of a remittance list. One copy is sent with the checks to the cash receipts department. The second copy of the remittance advices are sent to the billing department. When the cash receipts clerk receives the checks and remittance list, he verifies the checks received against those on the remittance list and signs the checks For Deposit Only. Once the checks are endorsed, he records the receipts in the cash receipts journal from his terminal. The clerk then fills out a deposit slip and deposits the checks in the bank. Upon receipt of the remittances, the billing department clerk records the amounts in the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger from the department terminal. The system automatically updates the AR control account in the general ledger Posavek has hired your public accounting firm to review its sales order procedures for internal control compliance and to make recommendations for changes. Required a. Create a data flow diagram of the current system. b. Create a system flowchart of the existing system. c. Analyze the physical internal control weaknesses in the system. d. (Optional) Prepare a system flowchart of a redesigned computer-based system that resolves the control weaknesses that you identified. Explain your solution.

At the beginning of the last quarter of 20x1, Youngston, Inc., a consumer products firm, hired Maria Carrillo to take over one of its divisions. The division manufactured small home appliances and was struggling to survive in a very competitive market. Maria immediately requested a projected income statement for 20x1. In response, the controller provided the following statement: After some investigation, Maria soon realized that the products being produced had a serious problem with quality. She once again requested a special study by the controllers office to supply a report on the level of quality costs. By the middle of November, Maria received the following report from the controller: Maria was surprised at the level of quality costs. They represented 30 percent of sales, which was certainly excessive. She knew that the division had to produce high-quality products to survive. The number of defective units produced needed to be reduced dramatically. Thus, Maria decided to pursue a quality-driven turnaround strategy. Revenue growth and cost reduction could both be achieved if quality could be improved. By growing revenues and decreasing costs, profitability could be increased. After meeting with the managers of production, marketing, purchasing, and human resources, Maria made the following decisions, effective immediately (end of November 20x1): a. More will be invested in employee training. Workers will be trained to detect quality problems and empowered to make improvements. Workers will be allowed a bonus of 10 percent of any cost savings produced by their suggested improvements. b. Two design engineers will be hired immediately, with expectations of hiring one or two more within a year. These engineers will be in charge of redesigning processes and products with the objective of improving quality. They will also be given the responsibility of working with selected suppliers to help improve the quality of their products and processes. Design engineers were considered a strategic necessity. c. Implement a new process: evaluation and selection of suppliers. This new process has the objective of selecting a group of suppliers that are willing and capable of providing nondefective components. d. Effective immediately, the division will begin inspecting purchased components. According to production, many of the quality problems are caused by defective components purchased from outside suppliers. Incoming inspection is viewed as a transitional activity. Once the division has developed a group of suppliers capable of delivering nondefective components, this activity will be eliminated. e. Within three years, the goal is to produce products with a defect rate less than 0.10 percent. By reducing the defect rate to this level, marketing is confident that market share will increase by at least 50 percent (as a consequence of increased customer satisfaction). Products with better quality will help establish an improved product image and reputation, allowing the division to capture new customers and increase market share. f. Accounting will be given the charge to install a quality information reporting system. Daily reports on operational quality data (e.g., percentage of defective units), weekly updates of trend graphs (posted throughout the division), and quarterly cost reports are the types of information required. g. To help direct the improvements in quality activities, kaizen costing is to be implemented. For example, for the year 20x1, a kaizen standard of 6 percent of the selling price per unit was set for rework costs, a 25 percent reduction from the current actual cost. To ensure that the quality improvements were directed and translated into concrete financial outcomes, Maria also began to implement a Balanced Scorecard for the division. By the end of 20x2, progress was being made. Sales had increased to 26,000,000, and the kaizen improvements were meeting or beating expectations. For example, rework costs had dropped to 1,500,000. At the end of 20x3, two years after the turnaround quality strategy was implemented, Maria received the following quality cost report: Maria also received an income statement for 20x3: Maria was pleased with the outcomes. Revenues had grown, and costs had been reduced by at least as much as she had projected for the two-year period. Growth next year should be even greater as she was beginning to observe a favorable effect from the higher-quality products. Also, further quality cost reductions should materialize as incoming inspections were showing much higher-quality purchased components. Required: 1. Identify the strategic objectives, classified by the Balanced Scorecard perspective. Next, suggest measures for each objective. 2. Using the results from Requirement 1, describe Marias strategy using a series of if-then statements. Next, prepare a strategy map. 3. Explain how you would evaluate the success of the quality-driven turnaround strategy. What additional information would you like to have for this evaluation? 4. Explain why Maria felt that the Balanced Scorecard would increase the likelihood that the turnaround strategy would actually produce good financial outcomes. 5. Advise Maria on how to encourage her employees to align their actions and behavior with the turnaround strategy.

Wright Plastic Products is a small company that specialized in the production of plastic dinner plates until several years ago. Although profits for the company had been good, they have been declining in recent years because of increased competition. Many competitors offer a full range of plastic products, and management felt that this created a competitive disadvantage. The output of the companys plants was exclusively devoted to plastic dinner plates. Three years ago, management made a decision to add additional product lines. They determined that existing idle capacity in each plant could easily be adapted to produce other plastic products. Each plant would produce one additional product line. For example, the Atlanta plant would add a line of plastic cups. Moreover, the variable cost of producing a package of cups (one dozen) was virtually identical to that of a package of plastic plates. (Variable costs referred to here are those that change in total as the units produced change. The costs include direct materials, direct labor, and unit-based variable overhead such as power and other machine costs.) Since the fixed expenses would not change, the new product was forecast to increase profits significantly (for the Atlanta plant). Two years after the addition of the new product line, the profits of the Atlanta plant (as well as other plants) had not improvedin fact, they had dropped. Upon investigation, the president of the company discovered that profits had not increased as expected because the so-called fixed cost pool had increased dramatically. The president interviewed the manager of each support department at the Atlanta plant. Typical responses from four of those managers are given next. Materials handling: The additional batches caused by the cups increased the demand for materials handling. We had to add one forklift and hire additional materials handling labor. Inspection: Inspecting cups is more complicated than plastic plates. We only inspect a sample drawn from every batch, but you need to understand that the number of batches has increased with this new product line. We had to hire more inspection labor. Purchasing: The new line increased the number of purchase orders. We had to use more resources to handle this increased volume. Accounting: There were more transactions to process than before. We had to increase our staff. Required: 1. Explain why the results of adding the new product line were not accurately projected. 2. Could this problem have been avoided with an activity-based cost management system? If so, would you recommend that the company adopt this type of system? Explain and discuss the differences between an activity-based cost management system and a traditional cost management system.

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