Professional Documents
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Activity-Based Costing
ASSIGNMENT CLASSIFICATION TABLE
Brief A B
Study Objectives Questions Exercises Exercises Problems Problems
*4. Know how companies 6, 10, 11, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 3, 4, 5, 1A, 2A, 3A, 1B, 2B, 3B,
identify and use cost 12 7, 12 6, 8, 9, 10, 4A, 5A 4B, 5B
drivers in activity-based 11, 12, 13
costing.
*Note: All asterisked Questions, Exercises, and Problems relate to material contained in the appendix
to the chapter.
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ASSIGNMENT CHARACTERISTICS TABLE
Problem Difficulty Time
Number Description Level Allotted (min.)
3A Assign overhead costs using traditional costing and ABC; Moderate 35–45
compare results.
4A Assign overhead costs using traditional costing and ABC; Moderate 40–50
compare results.
3B Assign overhead costs using traditional costing and ABC; Moderate 35–45
compare results.
4B Assign overhead costs using traditional costing and ABC; Moderate 40–50
compare results.
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Correlation Chart between Bloom’s Taxonomy, Study Objectives and End-of-Chapter Exercises and Problems
*4. Know how companies identify Q4-6 BE4-3 E4-4 E4-13 P4-2B E4-1 E4-10 P4-1A P4-4B P4-2A
and use cost drivers in Q4-10 BE4-4 E4-5 P4-1A P4-3B E4-3 E4-11 P4-2A P4-3A
activity-based costing. Q4-11 BE4-5 E4-8 P4-2A P4-4B E4-4 E4-12 P4-3A P4-4A
Q4-12 BE4-6 E4-9 P4-3A P4-5B E4-5 E4-13 P4-4A P4-2B
BE4-7 E4-10 P4-4A E4-6 P4-3A P4-1B P4-3B
BE4-12 E4-11 P4-5A E4-8 P4-3B P4-2B P4-4B
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E4-1 E4-12 P4-1B E4-9 P4-3B
*5. Understand the benefits and Q4-13 E4-11 E4-11
limitations of activity-based Q4-14
costing. Q4-15
*6. Differentiate between value- Q4-8 BE4-8 E4-13 E4-16 BE4-8 E4-15
added and non-value-added Q4-16 BE4-9 E4-14 P4-1A BE4-9 P4-5A
activities. Q4-17 E4-12 E4-15 P4-1B E4-14 P4-5B
*7. Understand the value of Q4-19 BE4-10 BE4-10
using activity levels in BE4-11 E4-17
activity-based costing. BE4-12 E4-18
*8. Apply activity-based costing Q4-18 BE4-9 P4-5A E4-16 P4-5B P4-5A P4-5A
to service industries. BE4-10 P4-5B P4-5A P4-5B P4-5B
*9. Explain just-in-time (JIT) Q4-20
processing.
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STUDY OBJECTIVES
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CHAPTER REVIEW
1. (S.O. 1) Often the most difficult part of computing accurate unit costs is determining the proper
amount of overhead cost to assign each product, service or job. For job order costing we
assumed the direct labor cost was the relevant activity base for assigning overhead costs to a job
and for process costing we assumed that machine hours was the relevant activity base.
2. Activity-based costing (ABC) allocates overhead to multiple activity cost pools and assigns the
activity cost pools to products and services by means of cost drivers. In ABC, an activity is any
event, action, transaction, or work sequence that causes the incurrence of cost in producing a
product or providing a service. A cost driver is any factor or activity that has a direct cause-effect
relationship with the resources consumed.
3. ABC allocates overhead in a two-stage process: In the first stage, overhead costs are allocated to
activity cost pools, rather than to departments. Each is a distinct type of activity. In the second
stage, the overhead allocated to the activity cost pools is assigned to products using cost drivers
which represent and measure the number of individual activities undertaken or performed to
produce products or provide services.
5. (S.O. 3) A well designed activity-based costing system starts with an analysis of the activities
performed to manufacture a product or provide a service. This analysis should identify all
resource-consuming activities. It requires a detailed, step-by-step walk through of each operation,
documenting every activity undertaken to accomplish a task.
6. (S.O. 4) After costs are allocated to the activity cost pools, the cost drivers for each cost pool
must be identified. The cost driver must accurately measure the actual consumption of the activity
by the various products. To achieve accurate costing, a high degree of correlation must exist
between the cost driver and the actual consumption of the overhead costs in the cost pool.
7. An activity-based overhead rate per cost driver is computed by dividing the total estimated
overhead per activity by the number of cost drivers expected to be used per activity. The formula
for this computation is as follows:
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8. In assigning overhead costs, it is necessary to know the expected use of cost drivers for each
product. To assign overhead costs to each product, the activity-based overhead rates are
multiplied by the number of cost drivers expected to be used per product.
Benefits of ABC
9. (S.O. 5) The primary benefit of ABC is more accurate product costing because:
a. ABC leads to more cost pools.
b. ABC leads to enhanced control over overhead costs.
c. ABC leads to better management decisions.
Limits of ABC
10. Although ABC systems often provide better product cost data than traditional volume-based
systems, there are the following limitations:
a. ABC can be expensive.
b. Some arbitrary allocations continue.
11. The presence of one or more of the following factors would point to possibly using ABC:
a. Product lines differ greatly in volume and manufacturing complexity.
b. Product lines are numerous, diverse, and require differing degrees of support services.
c. Overhead costs constitute a significant portion of total costs.
d. The manufacturing process or the number of products has changed significantly.
e. Production or marketing managers are ignoring data provided by the existing system and are
instead using “bootleg” costing data or other alternative data when pricing or making other
product decisions.
12. (S.O. 6) Activity-based management (ABM) is an extension of ABC from a product costing
system to a management function that focuses on reducing costs and improving processes and
decision making.
a. Value-added activities increase the worth of a product or service to customers. Examples
include engineering design, machining, assembly, painting, and packaging.
b. Non-value-added activities are product- or service-related activities that simply add cost to,
or increase the time spent on, a product or service without increasing its market value.
Examples include repair of machines, the storage of inventory, the moving of raw materials,
assemblies, and finished product; building maintenance; inspections; and inventory control.
Examples for service enterprises might include taking appointments, reception, bookkeeping,
billing, traveling, ordering supplies, advertising, cleaning, and computer repair.
13. The purpose of ABM is to reduce or eliminate the time and cost devoted to non-value-added
activities.
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Classification of Activity Levels
14. (S.O. 7) The recognition that some activity costs are not driven by output units has led to the
development of a classification of ABC activities, consisting of four levels. The four levels are
classified and defined as follows:
a. Unit-level activities. Activities performed for each unit of production.
b. Batch-level activities. Activities performed for each batch of products rather than each unit.
c. Product-level activities. Activities performed in support of an entire product line, but are not
always performed every time a new unit or batch of products is produced.
d. Facility-level activities. Activities required to support or sustain an entire production
process.
15. (S.O. 8) The general approach to identifying activities, activity cost pools, and cost drivers is the
same for service companies and for manufacturers. Also, the labeling of activities as value-added
and non-value-added, and the attempt to reduce or eliminate non-value-added activities as much
as possible is just as valid in service industries as in manufacturing operations.
16. Implementation of activity-based costing in service industries is sometimes more difficult because
there is a larger proportion of overhead costs which are company-wide costs that cannot be
directly traced to specific services provided by the company.
Just-In-Time Processing
*17. (S.O. 9) Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing is dedicated to having the right amount of materials,
products, or parts at the time they are needed. Under JIT processing, raw materials are received
just in time for use in production, subassembly parts are completed just in time for use in finished
goods, and finished goods are completed just in time to be sold.
*18. A primary objective of JIT is to eliminate all manufacturing inventories. Inventories are considered
to have an adverse effect on net income because they tie up funds and storage space that could
be made available for more productive purposes.
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LECTURE OUTLINE
B. Activity-Based Costing.
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TEACHING TIP
ILLUSTRATION 4-1 provides examples of activities and related cost drivers that
measure each activity’s contribution to the finished product.
b. Identify the cost driver that has a strong correlation to the costs
accumulated in the cost pool.
TEACHING TIP
4. Next, the system assigns overhead costs directly to the appropriate activity
cost pool.
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D. Identify Cost Drivers, Compute Overhead Rates, and Assign Overhead
Costs to Products.
1. After costs are allocated to the activity cost pools, the company must
identify the cost drivers for each cost pool.
2. A high degree of correlation must exist between the cost driver and the
actual consumption of the overhead costs in the cost pool to achieve
accurate costing.
TEACHING TIP
ILLUSTRATION 4-3 provides formulas for the activity-based overhead rate, the
overhead costs assigned to products, and the overhead cost per unit.
Also available as teaching transparency.
b. Assigning overhead using ABC will usually increase the cost per
unit for low-volume products (and decrease the cost per unit for
high-volume products).
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E. Benefits of ABC.
a. ABC leads to more cost pools being used to assign overhead costs
to products.
TEACHING TIP
b. Product lines are numerous and diverse, and they require differing
degrees of support services.
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d. The manufacturing process or the number of products has changed
significantly.
TEACHING TIP
5. Companies often use activity flowcharts to help identify the ABC activities.
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6. Not all non-value-added activities are totally wasteful, nor can they be
totally eliminated, but managers are motivated to minimize them as
much as possible.
TEACHING TIP
ILLUSTRATION 4-7 provides the types of activities and examples of cost drivers
for each of the four different levels of ABC activities.
Also available as teaching transparency.
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5. Companies can control batch-, product-, and facility-level costs only by
modifying batch-, product-, and facility-level activities, respectively.
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4. JIT processing consists of three important elements:
c. The company must establish total quality control throughout the manu-
facturing operations, which tolerates no defects. Continuous monitoring
by both employees and supervisors at each work station is required.
TEACHING TIP
ILLUSTRATION 4-6 presents the elements in JIT processing. Point out that JIT’s
primary objective is to eliminate all manufacturing inventories.
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20 MINUTE QUIZ
1. In today’s automated environment, direct labor is sometimes the appropriate basis for
assigning overhead cost to products.
True False
2. In the first stage of activity-based costing, overhead is assigned to products using cost
drivers.
True False
3. The first step in activity-based costing is to identify and classify the major activities
involved in the manufacture of specific products, and allocate manufacturing overhead to
the appropriate cost pools.
True False
4. Before costs are allocated to the cost pools, the cost drivers for each cost pool must be
identified.
True False
5. Under ABC, overhead costs are shifted from the high-volume product to the low-volume
product.
True False
6. Activity-based costing does not change the amount of overhead costs, but it does
allocate those costs in a more accurate manner.
True False
7. Overhead costs are not allocated by means of arbitrary volume-based cost drivers under
ABC.
True False
4. The level of ABC activities performed in support of an entire product line are classified as
a. batch-level activities.
b. facility-level activities.
c. product-level activities.
d. unit-level activities.
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ANSWERS TO QUIZ
True/False
1. True 6. True
2. False 7. False
3. True 8. True
4. False 9. False
5. True *10. True
Multiple Choice
1. d.
2. c.
3. a.
4. c.
*5. b.
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ILLUSTRATION 4-1
ACTIVITIES AND COST DRIVERS
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ILLUSTRATION 4-2
STEPS IN ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING SYSTEM
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ILLUSTRATION 4-3
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Assigned
= Overhead Rate
× Expected to Be Used
Benefits:
1. ABC leads to more cost pools being
used to assign overhead costs.
2. ABC leads to enhanced control over
overhead costs.
3. ABC leads to better management
decisions.
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ILLUSTRATION 4-5
VALUE-ADDED AND NON-VALUE-ADDED ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITIES
Value-added Non-value-added
Assembly Building maintenance
Engineering design Inspections
Machining Moving of materials
Packaging Repair of machines
Painting Storage of inventory
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ILLUSTRATION 4-6
CLASSIFICATION OF ACTIVITY LEVELS
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ILLUSTRATION 4-7
ELEMENTS OF JIT PROCESSING
Elements:
1. Suppliers must be willing to deliver
on short notice exact quantities of
materials according to precise quality
specifications.
2. A multiskilled work force to operate
and maintain different types of machines.
3. The company must establish total
quality control throughout the
manufacturing process.
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