Concept explainers
Communications
Jamarcus Bradshaw, plant manager of Georgia Paper Company’s papermaking mill, was looking over the cost of production reports for July and August for the Papermaking Department. The reports revealed the following:
Jamarcus was concerned about the increased cost per ton from the output of the department. As a result, he asked the plant controller to perform a study to help explain these results. The controller, Leann Brunswick, began the analysis by performing some interviews of key plant personnel in order to understand what the problem might be. Excerpts from an interview with Len Tyson, a paper machine operator, follow:
Len: We have two papermaking machines in the department. I have no data, but I think paper machine No. 1 is applying too much pulp and, thus, is wasting both conversion and materials resources. We haven't had repairs on paper machine No. 1 in a while. Maybe this is the problem.
Leann: How does too much pulp result in wasted resources?
Len: Well, you see, if too much pulp is applied, then we will waste pulp material. The customer will not pay for the extra product; we just use more material to make the product. Also, when there is too much pulp, the machine must be slowed down in order to complete the drying process. This results in additional conversion costs.
Leann: Do you have any other suspicions?
Len: Well, as you know, we have two products—green paper and yellow paper. They are identical except for the color. The color is added to the papermaking process in the paper machine. I think that during August these two color papers have been behaving very differently. I don't have any data, but it just seems as though the amount of waste associated with the green paper has increased.
Leann: Why is this?
Len: I understand that there has been a change in specifications for the green paper, starting near the beginning of August. This change could be causing the machines to run poorly when making green paper. If this is the case, the cost per ton would increase for green paper.
Leann also asked for a database printout providing greater detail on August’s operating results. September 9 Requested by: Leann Brunswick Papermaking Department—August detail
Prior to preparing a report, Leann resigned from Georgia Paper Company to start her own business. You have been asked to take the data that Leann collected, and write a memo to Jamarcus Bradshaw with a recommendation to management. Your memo should include analysis of the August data to determine whether the paper machine or the paper color explains the increase in the unit cost from July. Include any supporting schedules that are appropriate. Round any calculations to the nearest cent.
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Chapter 3 Solutions
Managerial Accounting
- Emery Manufacturing Company produces component parts for the farm equipment industry and has recently undergone a major computer system conversion. Jake Murray, the controller, has established a troubleshooting team to alleviate accounting problems that have occurred since the conversion. Jake has chosen Gus Swanson, assistant controller, to head the team that will include Linda Wheeler, cost accountant; Cindy Madsen, financial analyst; Randy Lewis, general accounting supervisor; and Max Crandall, financial accountant. The team has been meeting weekly for the last month. Gus insists on being part of all the team conversations in order to gather information, to make the final decision on any ideas or actions that the team develops, and to prepare a weekly report for Jake. He has also used this team as a forum to discuss issues and disputes about him and other members of Emerys top management team. At last weeks meeting, Gus told the team that he thought a competitor might purchase the common stock of Emery, because he had overheard Jake talking about this on the telephone. As a result, most of Emerys employees now informally discuss the sale of Emerys common stock and how it will affect their jobs. Required: Is Gus Swansons discussion with the team about the prospective sale of Emery unethical? Discuss, citing specific standards from the code of ethical conduct to support your position. (CMA adapted)arrow_forwardThe Westfield branch of Security Home Bank submitted the following cost data for last year: Teller wages Assistant branch manager salary Branch manager salary Total Virtually all other costs of the branch-rent, depreciation, utilities, and so on-are organization-sustaining costs that cannot be meaningfully assigned to individual customer transactions such as depositing checks. In addition to the cost data above, the employees of the Westfield branch were interviewed concerning how their time was distributed last year across the activities included in the activity-based costing study. The results of those interviews appear below: Teller wages Assistant branch manager salary Branch manager salary $ 144,000 74,000 90,000 $ 308,000 Activity Opening accounts Processing deposits and withdrawals Processing other customer transactions Distribution of Resource Consumption Across Activities Processing Deposits and Withdrawals 75% 15% 0% Opening Accounts 4% 15% 4% Activity Cost Pool Opening…arrow_forwardThe managers of Sandusky Inc. have decided to use the month of January to determine the cost of producing their widget for the year. This will help determine proper product pricing and is important for control purposes. Using the data from January, the managers can determine the costs associated with material and labor. However, fixed indirect costs must still be determined. Management intends to use the prior year’s data to determine overhead costs. It is assumed that management will allocate an equal amount of estimated costs each month. Is this an appropriate decision by management? Should January be used as the reference point for the whole year?arrow_forward
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