Chapter 7 Incremental Analysis

Feature Story

Make It or Buy It? and gift wrap. Gibson’s stock price

shot up quickly because investors
When is a manufacturer not a
believed the strategy could save the
manufacturer? When it outsources. An
company $10 million a year, primarily
extension of the classic “make or buy”
by reducing manufacturing costs. But
decision, outsourcing involves hiring
later in the same year, Gibson got a
other companies to make all or part of
taste of the negative side of outsourcing:
a product or to perform services. Who
When one of its suppliers was unable
is outsourcing? Nike, General Motors,
to meet its production schedule, about
Sara Lee, and Hewlett-Packard, to
$20 million of Christmas cards went to
name a few. Even a recent trade
stores a month later than scheduled.
journal article for small cabinet-makers
outlined the pros and cons of building Outsourcing is often a point of dispute
cabinet doors and drawers internally, in labor negotiations. Although many
or outsourcing them to other shops. of the jobs lost to outsourcing go
overseas, that is not always the case.
Gibson Greetings, Inc., one of the
In fact, a recent trend is to hire out
country’s largest sellers of greeting
work to vendors located close to the
cards, has experienced both the pros
company. This reduces shipping costs
and cons of outsourcing. In April one
and can improve coordination of
year, it announced it would outsource
efforts.
the manufacturing of all of its cards

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Learning Objectives
Scan Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Read Feature Story
1 Identify the steps in management’s decision-making process.
Read Preview 2 Describe the concept of incremental analysis.
Read Text and answer DO IT! p. 297 3 Identify the relevant costs in accepting an order at a special price.
p. 299 p. 304 p. 307 4 Identify the relevant costs in a make-or-buy decision.
Work Using the Decision Toolkit p. 309 5 Identify the relevant costs in determining whether to sell or
process materials further.
Review Summary of Learning Objectives
6 Identify the relevant costs to be considered in repairing,
Work Comprehensive DO IT! p. 310
retaining, or replacing equipment.
Answer Self-Test Questions 7 Identify the relevant costs in deciding whether to eliminate
an unprofitable segment or product.
Complete Assignments

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292
One company that has benefited from local outsourcing operates on a very thin profit margin—that is, it makes a tiny
is Solectron Corporation in Silicon Valley. It makes things amount of money on each part—but it makes millions and
like cell phones, printers, and millions of parts. It has proved
computers for high-tech the logic of outsourcing as a
companies in the region. To management decision, both for
the surprise of many, it has the companies for which it
kept thousands of people makes parts and for its owners
employed in California rather and employees.
than watching those jobs go
Watch the Method video in
overseas. What is its secret?
WileyPLUS to learn more about
It produces high-quality
incremental analysis in the real
products efficiently. Solectron
world.
has to be efficient because it
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Preview of Chapter 7
An important purpose of management accounting is to provide managers with relevant information for
decision-making. Companies of all sorts must make product decisions. Philip Morris decided to cut prices
to raise market share. Oral-B Laboratories opted to produce a new, higher-priced ($5) toothbrush.
General Motors discontinued making the Buick Riviera and announced the closure of its Oldsmobile
Division. Quaker Oats decided to sell off a line of beverages, at a price more than $1 billion less than it
paid for that product line only a few years before. Ski manufacturers like Dynastar had to decide whether
to use their limited resources to make snowboards instead of downhill skis.
This chapter explains management’s decision-making process and a decision-making approach called
incremental analysis. The use of incremental analysis is demonstrated in a variety of situations.
The content and organization of this chapter are as follows.

INCREMENTAL ANALYSIS

Management’s Decision-Making
Process Types of Incremental Analysis Other Considerations
• Incremental analysis • Accept an order at a special • Qualitative factors
• How incremental analysis price • Incremental analysis and ABC
works • Make or buy
• Sell or process further
• Repair, retain, or replace
equipment
• Eliminate an unprofitable
segment or product

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293
294 7 Incremental Analysis

Management’s Decision-Making Process

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1 Making decisions is an important management function. Management’s decision-
making process does not always follow a set pattern because decisions vary
Identify the steps in significantly in their scope, urgency, and importance. It is possible, though, to
management’s decision- identify some steps that are frequently involved in the process. These steps are
making process. shown in Illustration 7-1 below.
Accounting’s contribution to the decision-making process occurs primarily
in Steps 2 and 4—evaluating possible courses of action, and reviewing results. In
Step 2, for each possible course of action, relevant revenue and cost data are pro-
Illustration 7-1 vided. These show the expected overall effect on net income. In Step 4, internal
Management’s decision- reports are prepared that review the actual impact of the decision.
making process

Choice B Choice B
Choice A Choice A

Choice C Choice C

1. Identify the 2. Determine and evaluate 3. Make a decision 4. Review results

problem and assign possible courses of action of the decision
responsibility

In making business decisions, management ordinarily considers both finan-

cial and nonfinancial information. Financial information is related to revenues
and costs and their effect on the company’s overall profitability. Nonfinancial
information relates to such factors as the effect of the decision on employee turn-
over, the environment, or the overall image of the company in the community.
(These are considerations that we touched on in our Chapter 1 discussion of
corporate social responsibility.) Although nonfinancial information can be as
important as financial information, we will focus primarily on financial informa-
tion that is relevant to the decision.

Incremental Analysis Approach

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2
Decisions involve a choice among alternative courses of action. Suppose you
face the personal financial decision of whether to purchase or lease a car. The
Describe the concept of financial data relate to the cost of leasing versus the cost of purchasing. For ex-
incremental analysis. ample, leasing would involve periodic lease payments; purchasing would require
“up-front” payment of the purchase price. In other words, the financial data rele-
vant to the decision are the data that would vary in the future among the possible
alternatives. The process used to identify the financial data that change under
alternative courses of action is called incremental analysis. In some cases, you
will find that when you use incremental analysis, both costs and revenues will
vary. In other cases, only costs or revenues will vary.
Just as your decision to buy or lease a car will affect your future financial
situation, similar decisions, on a larger scale, will affect a company’s future.
Alternative Terminology Incremental analysis identifies the probable effects of those decisions on future
Incremental analysis is also earnings. Such analysis inevitably involves estimates and uncertainty. Gather-
called differential analysis ing data for incremental analyses may involve market analysts, engineers, and
because the analysis focuses accountants. In quantifying the data, the accountant is expected to produce the
on differences. most reliable information available at the time the decision must be made.
 Management’s Decision-Making Process 295

How Incremental Analysis Works

Illustration 7-2
The basic approach in incremental analysis is illustrated in the following example. Basic approach in incremental
analysis
Incremental Analysis.xls
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A B C D
Net Income
1 Alternave A Alternave B Increase (Decrease)
2 Revenues $125,000 $110,000 $ (15,000)
3 Costs 100,000 80,000 20,000
4 Net income $ 25,000 $ 30,000 $ 5,000
5

This example compares alternative B with alternative A. The net income col-
umn shows the differences between the alternatives. In this case, incremental
revenue will be $15,000 less under alternative B than under alternative A. But a
$20,000 incremental cost saving will be realized.1 Thus, alternative B will pro-
duce $5,000 more net income than alternative A.
In the following pages, you will encounter three important cost concepts used Illustration 7-3
in incremental analysis, as defined and discussed in Illustration 7-3. Key cost concepts in incremental
analysis

• Relevant cost In incremental analysis, the only factors to be

#1
considered are those costs and revenues that differ across
#2
ALT ALT alternatives. Those factors are called relevant costs. Costs and
revenues that do not differ across alternatives can be ignored
when trying to choose between alternatives.

, • Opportunity cost Often in choosing one course of action, the

ock
Kn ck
Kn
o company must give up the opportunity to benefit from some
other course of action. For example, if a machine is used to make
one type of product, the benefit of making another type of
product with that machine is lost. This lost benefit is referred to
as opportunity cost.

Too bad • Sunk cost Costs that have already been incurred and will not
be changed or avoided by any present or future decisions are
referred to as sunk costs. For example, the amount you spent
in the past to purchase or repair a machine should have no bearing
on your decision whether to buy a new machine. Sunk costs are
not relevant costs.

1
Although income taxes are sometimes important in incremental analysis, they are ignored in the
chapter for simplicity’s sake.
296 7 Incremental Analysis

Incremental analysis sometimes involves changes that at first glance might

seem contrary to your intuition. For example, sometimes variable costs do not
change under the alternative courses of action. Also, sometimes fixed costs do
change. For example, direct labor, normally a variable cost, is not an incremen-
tal cost in deciding between two new factory machines if each asset requires the
same amount of direct labor. In contrast, rent expense, normally a fixed cost, is
an incremental cost in a decision whether to continue occupancy of a building or
to purchase or lease a new building.
It is also important to understand that the approaches to incremental
analysis discussed in this chapter do not take into consideration the time
value of money. That is, amounts to be paid or received in future years are not
discounted for the cost of interest. Time value of money is addressed in Chapter 12
and Appendix A.

SERVICE COMPANY INSIGHT

That Letter from AmEx Might Not Be a Bill
No doubt every one of you has received an invitation from a credit card company to open a new
account—some of you have probably received three in one day. But how many of you have
received an offer of $300 to close out your credit card account? American Express decided to offer
some of its customers $300 if they would give back their credit card. You could receive the $300
even if you hadn’t paid off your balance yet, as long as you agreed to give up your credit card.

Source: Aparajita Saha-Bubna and Lauren Pollock, “AmEx Offers Some Holders $300 to Pay and Leave,”
Wall Street Journal Online (February 23, 2009).

What are the relevant costs that American Express would need to know in order to
? determine to whom to make this offer? (See page 331.)

Types of Incremental Analysis

A number of different types of decisions involve incremental analysis. The more
common types of decisions are whether to:
1. Accept an order at a special price.
2. Make or buy component parts or finished products.
3. Sell products or process them further.
4. Repair, retain, or replace equipment.
5. Eliminate an unprofitable business segment or product.
We will consider each of these types of decisions in the following pages.

Accept an Order at a Special Price

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3
Sometimes a company may have an opportunity to obtain additional business if
it is willing to make a major price concession to a specific customer. To illustrate,
Identify the relevant assume that Sunbelt Company produces 100,000 Smoothie blenders per month,
costs in accepting an which is 80% of plant capacity. Variable manufacturing costs are $8 per unit.
order at a special price. Fixed manufacturing costs are $400,000, or $4 per unit. The Smoothie blenders
are normally sold directly to retailers at $20 each. Sunbelt has an offer from
Kensington Co. (a foreign wholesaler) to purchase an additional 2,000 blenders at
 Types of Incremental Analysis 297

$11 per unit. Acceptance of the offer would not affect normal sales of the product,
and the additional units can be manufactured without increasing plant capacity.
What should management do?
If management makes its decision on the basis of the total cost per unit of $12 Helpful Hint
($8 variable 1 $4 fixed), the order would be rejected because costs per unit ($12) This is a good example of
would exceed revenues per unit ($11) by $1 per unit. However, since the units can different costs for different
be produced within existing plant capacity, the special order will not increase purposes. In the long run
fixed costs. Let’s identify the relevant data for the decision. First, the variable all costs are relevant, but
manufacturing costs will increase $16,000 ($8 3 2,000). Second, the expected for this decision only costs
that change are relevant.
revenue will increase $22,000 ($11 3 2,000). Thus, as shown in Illustration 7-4,
Sunbelt will increase its net income by $6,000 by accepting this special order.

Incremental Analysis - Accepting an order at a special price.xls

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A B C D
Net Income
1 Reject Order Accept Order Increase (Decrease)
2 Revenues $0 $22,000 $ 22,000
3 Costs 0 16,000 (16,000)
4 Net income $0 $ 6,000 $ 6,000
5

Illustration 7-4
Two points should be emphasized: First, we assume that sales of the product Incremental analysis—
in other markets would not be affected by this special order. If other sales were accepting an order at a
affected, then Sunbelt would have to consider the lost sales in making the deci- special price
sion. Second, if Sunbelt is operating at full capacity, it is likely that the special
order would be rejected. Under such circumstances, the company would have to
expand plant capacity. In that case, the special order would have to absorb these
additional fixed manufacturing costs, as well as the variable manufacturing costs.

> DO IT!

Special Orders Cobb Company incurs costs of $28 per unit ($18 variable and $10 fixed) to make a prod-
uct that normally sells for $42. A foreign wholesaler offers to buy 5,000 units at $25 each.
Cobb will incur additional shipping costs of $1 per unit. Compute the increase or decrease
in net income Cobb will realize by accepting the special order, assuming Cobb has excess
operating capacity. Should Cobb Company accept the special order?

Solution
Action Plan
Net Income
✔ Identify all revenues
that will change as a Reject Accept Increase (Decrease)
result of accepting the Revenue $–0– $125,000* $125,000
order. Costs –0– 95,000** (95,000)
✔ Identify all costs that Net income $–0– $ 30,000 $ 30,000
will change as a result
of accepting the order, *5,000 3 $25
and net this amount **(5,000 3 $18 ) 1 (5,000 3 $1)
against the change in
revenues. The analysis indicates net income will increase by $30,000; therefore, Cobb Company
should accept the special order.

Related exercise material: BE7-3, E7-2, E7-3, E7-4, and DO IT! 7-1.

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298 7 Incremental Analysis

Make or Buy
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4
When a manufacturer assembles component parts in producing a finished
product, management must decide whether to make or buy the components. The
Identify the relevant decision to buy parts or services is often referred to as outsourcing. For example,
costs in a make-or-buy as discussed in the Feature Story, a company such as General Motors Corporation
decision. may either make or buy the batteries, tires, and radios used in its cars. Similarly,
Hewlett-Packard Corporation may make or buy the electronic circuitry, cases,
and printer heads for its printers. Boeing recently sold some of its commercial
aircraft factories in an effort to cut production costs and focus instead on engi-
neering and final assembly rather than manufacturing. The decision to make or
buy components should be made on the basis of incremental analysis.
Baron Company makes motorcycles and scooters. It incurs the following annual
costs in producing 25,000 ignition switches for scooters.

Illustration 7-5
Direct materials $ 50,000
Annual product cost data
Direct labor 75,000
Variable manufacturing overhead 40,000
Fixed manufacturing overhead 60,000
Total manufacturing costs $225,000
Total cost per unit ($225,000 4 25,000) $9.00

Instead of making its own switches, Baron Company might purchase the
ignition switches from Ignition, Inc. at a price of $8 per unit. What should man-
agement do?
At first glance, it appears that management should purchase the ignition
switches for $8 rather than make them at a cost of $9. However, a review of op-
erations indicates that if the ignition switches are purchased from Ignition, Inc.,
all of Baron’s variable costs but only $10,000 of its fixed manufacturing costs
will be eliminated (avoided). Thus, $50,000 of the fixed manufacturing costs will
remain if the ignition switches are purchased. The relevant costs for incremental
Illustration 7-6 analysis, therefore, are as shown below.
Incremental analysis—make
or buy
Incremental Analysis - Make or buy.xls
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A B C D
Net Income
1 Make Buy Increase (Decrease)
2 Direct materials $ 50,000 $ 0 $ 50,000
3 Direct labor 75,000 0 75,000
4 Variable manufacturing costs 40,000 0 40,000
5 Fixed manufacturing costs 60,000 50,000 10,000
6 Purchase price (25,000 3 $8) 0 200,000 (200,000)
7 Total annual cost $225,000 $250,000 $ (25,000)
8

This analysis indicates that Baron Company would incur $25,000 of additional
costs by buying the ignition switches rather than making them. Therefore, Baron
should continue to make the ignition switches even though the total manufacturing
 Types of Incremental Analysis 299

cost is $1 higher per unit than the purchase price. The primary cause of
this result is that, even if the company purchases the ignition switches, it Ethics Note
will still have fixed costs of $50,000 to absorb. In the make-or-buy decision,
it is important for management
OPPORTUNITY COST to take into account the social
The foregoing make-or-buy analysis is complete only if it is assumed that impact of its choice. For in-
the productive capacity used to make the ignition switches cannot be stance, buying may be the most
converted to another purpose. If there is an opportunity to use this pro- economically feasible solution,
ductive capacity in some other manner, then this opportunity cost must but such action could result in
the closure of a manufacturing
be considered. As indicated earlier, opportunity cost is the potential
plant that employs many good
benefit that may be obtained by following an alternative course of action. workers.
To illustrate, assume that through buying the switches, Baron Com-
pany can use the released productive capacity to generate additional income of
$38,000 from producing a different product. This lost income is an additional cost
of continuing to make the switches in the make-or-buy decision. This opportunity
cost is therefore added to the “Make” column for comparison. As shown in Illus-
tration 7-7, it is now advantageous to buy the ignition switches. The company’s
income would increase by $13,000. Illustration 7-7
Incremental analysis—make or
buy, with opportunity cost
Incremental Analysis - Make or buy with opportunity cost.xls
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A B C D
Net Income
1 Make Buy Increase (Decrease)
2 Total annual cost $225,000 $250,000 $(25,000)
3 Opportunity cost 38,000 0 38,000
4 Total cost $263,000 $250,000 $ 13,000
5

The qualitative factors in this decision include the possible loss of jobs for
employees who produce the ignition switches. In addition, management must
assess how well the supplier will be able to satisfy the company’s quality control
standards at the quoted price per unit.

> DO IT!

Make or Buy Juanita Company must decide whether to make or buy some of its components for the
appliances it produces. The costs of producing 166,000 electrical cords for its appliances
are as follows.
Direct materials $90,000 Variable overhead $32,000
Direct labor $20,000 Fixed overhead $24,000
Instead of making the electrical cords at an average cost per unit of $1.00 ($166,000 4
166,000), the company has an opportunity to buy the cords at $0.90 per unit. If the
company purchases the cords, all variable costs and one-fourth of the fixed costs will be
eliminated.
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis showing whether the company should make or buy
the electrical cords. (b) Will your answer be different if the released productive capacity
will generate additional income of $5,000?
300 7 Incremental Analysis

Solution
Action Plan
(a)
✔ Look for the costs that
change. Net Income
Make Buy Increase (Decrease)
✔ Ignore the costs that
do not change. Direct materials $ 90,000 $ –0– $ 90,000
✔ Use the format in Direct labor 20,000 –0– 20,000
the chapter for your Variable manufacturing costs 32,000 –0– 32,000
answer. Fixed manufacturing costs 24,000 18,000* 6,000
✔ Recognize that oppor- Purchase price –0– 149,400** (149,400)
tunity cost can make a Total cost $166,000 $167,400 $ (1,400)
difference.
*.75 3 $24,000
**$166,000 3 .90

This analysis indicates that Juanita Company will incur $1,400 of additional costs
if it buys the electrical cords rather than making them.
(b)
Net Income
Make Buy Increase (Decrease)
Total cost $166,000 $167,400 $(1,400)
Opportunity cost 5,000 –0– 5,000
Total cost $171,000 $167,400 $ 3,600

Yes, the answer is different: The analysis shows that net income will be increased
by $3,600 if Juanita Company purchases the electrical cords rather than making them.

Related exercise material: BE7-4, E7-5, E7-6, E7-7, E7-8, and DO IT! 7-2.

✔ The Navigator

SERVICE COMPANY INSIGHT

Giving Away the Store?
In an earlier chapter, we discussed Amazon.com’s incredible growth. However, some analysts
have questioned whether some of the methods that Amazon uses to increase its sales make
good business sense. For example, a few years ago, Amazon initiated a “Prime” free-shipping
subscription program. For a $79 fee per year, Amazon’s customers get free shipping on as
many goods as they want to buy. At the time, CEO Jeff Bezos promised that the program
would be costly in the short-term but benefit the company in the long-term. Six years later,
it was true that Amazon’s sales had grown considerably. It was also estimated that its Prime
customers buy two to three times as much as non-Prime customers. But, its shipping costs rose
from 2.8% of sales to 4% of sales, which is remarkably similar to the drop in its gross margin
from 24% to 22.3%. Perhaps even less easy to justify is a proposal by Mr. Bezos to start pro-
viding a free Internet movie-streaming service to Amazon’s Prime customers. Perhaps some
incremental analysis is in order?

Source: Martin Peers, “Amazon’s Prime Numbers,” Wall Street Journal Online (February 3, 2011).

What are the relevant revenues and costs that Amazon should consider relative to the
? decision whether to offer the Prime free-shipping subscription? (See page 331.)
 Types of Incremental Analysis 301

Sell or Process Further

Many manufacturers have the option of selling products at a given point in the LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5
production cycle or continuing to process with the expectation of selling them at
a later point at a higher price. For example, a bicycle manufacturer such as Trek Identify the relevant costs
could sell its bicycles to retailers either unassembled or assembled. A furniture in determining whether
manufacturer such as Ethan Allen could sell its dining room sets to furniture to sell or process materials
stores either unfinished or finished. The sell-or-process-further decision should further.
be made on the basis of incremental analysis. The basic decision rule is: Process
further as long as the incremental revenue from such processing exceeds
the incremental processing costs.

SINGLE-PRODUCT CASE
Assume, for example, that Woodmasters Inc. makes tables. It sells unfinished
tables for $50. The cost to manufacture an unfinished table is $35, computed as
follows.

Illustration 7-8
Direct materials $15
Per unit cost of unfinished
Direct labor 10
table
Variable manufacturing overhead 6
Fixed manufacturing overhead 4
Manufacturing cost per unit $35

Woodmasters currently has unused productive capacity that is expected to con-

Helpful Hint
tinue indefinitely. Some of this capacity could be used to finish the tables and sell
Current net income is
them at $60 per unit. For a finished table, direct materials will increase $2 and known. Net income from
direct labor costs will increase $4. Variable manufacturing overhead costs will processing further is an
increase by $2.40 (60% of direct labor). No increase is anticipated in fixed manu- estimate. In making its
facturing overhead. decision, management
Should the company sell the unfinished tables, or should it process them fur- could add a “risk” factor
ther? The incremental analysis on a per unit basis is as follows. for the estimate.

Incremental Analysis - Sell or process further.xls

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A B C D
Net Income
1 Sell Unfinished Process Further Increase (Decrease)
2 Sales price per unit $50.00 $60.00 $10.00
3 Cost per unit
4 Direct materials 15.00 17.00 (2.00)
5 Direct labor 10.00 14.00 (4.00)
6 Variable manufacturing overhead 6.00 8.40 (2.40)
7 Fixed manufacturing overhead 4.00 4.00 0.00
8 Total 35.00 43.40 (8.40)
9 Net income per unit $ 15.00 $ 16.60 $ 1.60
10

Illustration 7-9
Incremental analysis—sell
It would be advantageous for Woodmasters to process the tables further. The in- or process further
cremental revenue of $10.00 from the additional processing is $1.60 higher than
the incremental processing costs of $8.40.
302 7 Incremental Analysis

MULTIPLE-PRODUCT CASE
Sell-or-process-further decisions are particularly applicable to production pro-
cesses that produce multiple products simultaneously. In many industries, a
number of end-products are produced from a single raw material and a common
production process. These multiple end-products are commonly referred to as
joint products. For example, in the meat-packing industry, Armour processes a
cow or pig to produce meat, internal organs, hides, bones, and fat. In the petroleum
industry, ExxonMobil refines crude oil to produce gasoline, lubricating oil, kero-
sene, paraffin, and ethylene.
Illustration 7-10 presents a joint product situation for Marais Creamery in-
Illustration 7-10
volving a decision to sell or process further cream and skim milk. Cream and
Joint production process— skim milk are joint products that result from the processing of raw milk.
Creamery

Cream Further Cottage Sell

Processing Cheese

Raw Common
Milk Process
Skim Further Condensed Sell
Milk Processing Milk
Split-Off
Point

Joint Joint
Costs Products

Marais incurs many costs prior to the manufacture of the cream and skim
milk. All costs incurred prior to the point at which the two products are sepa-
rately identifiable (the split-off point) are called joint costs. For purposes of de-
termining the cost of each product, joint product costs must be allocated to the
individual products. This is frequently done based on the relative sales value of
the joint products. While this allocation is important for determination of product
cost, it is irrelevant for any sell-or-process-further decisions. The reason is that
these joint product costs are sunk costs. That is, they have already been incurred,
and they cannot be changed or avoided by any subsequent decision.
Illustration 7-11 provides the daily cost and revenue data for Marais Creamery
related to cream and cottage cheese.

Illustration 7-11
Costs (per day)
Cost and revenue data per day
for cream Joint cost allocated to cream $ 9,000
Cost to process cream into cottage cheese 10,000
Revenues from Products (per day)
Cream $19,000
Cottage cheese 27,000

From this information, we can determine whether the company should sim-
ply sell the cream or process it further into cottage cheese. Illustration 7-12 shows
the necessary analysis. Note that the joint cost that is allocated to the cream is
not included in this decision. It is not relevant to the decision because it is a sunk
cost. It has been incurred in the past and will remain the same no matter whether
the cream is subsequently processed into cottage cheese or not.
 Types of Incremental Analysis 303

Incremental Analysis - Sell or process further - Cottage cheese.xls

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A B C D
Net Income
1 Sell Process Further Increase (Decrease)
2 Sales per day $19,000 $27,000 $ 8,000
Cost per day to process cream
3
into coage cheese 0 10,000 (10,000)
4 $19,000 $ 17,000 $ (2,000)
5

Illustration 7-12
Analysis of whether to sell
From this analysis, we can see that Marais should not process the cream further cream or process into cottage
cheese
because it will sustain an incremental loss of $2,000.
Illustration 7-13 provides the daily cost and revenue data for the company
related to skim milk and condensed milk.

Illustration 7-13
Costs (per day)
Cost and revenue data per day
Joint cost allocated to skim milk $ 5,000 for skim milk
Cost to process skim milk into condensed milk 8,000
Revenues from Products (per day)
Skim milk $11,000
Condensed milk 26,000

Illustration 7-14 shows that Marais Company should process the skim milk into
condensed milk, as it will increase net income by $7,000.

Incremental Analysis - Sell or process further - Skim milk or process condensed milk.xls
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A B C D
Net Income
1 Sell Process Further Increase (Decrease)
2 Sales per day $11,000 $26,000 $15,000
Cost per day to process skim milk
3
into condensed milk 0 8,000 (8,000)
4 $11,000 $ 18,000 $ 7,000
5

Illustration 7-14
Analysis of whether to sell
Again, note that the $5,000 of joint cost allocated to the skim milk is irrel- skim milk or process into
evant in deciding whether to sell or process further. Why? The joint cost remains condensed milk
the same, whether or not further processing is performed.
It is important to understand that these decisions need to be reevaluated as
market conditions change. For example, if the price of skim milk increases rela-
tive to the price of condensed milk, it may become more profitable to sell the
skim milk rather than process it into condensed milk. Consider also oil refineries.
As market conditions change, they must constantly re-assess which products to
produce from the oil they receive at their plants.
304 7 Incremental Analysis

> DO IT!

Sell or Process Easy Does It manufactures unpainted furniture for the do-it-yourself (DIY) market. It cur-
rently sells a child’s rocking chair for $25. Production costs are $12 variable and $8 fixed.
Further Easy Does It is considering painting the rocking chair and selling it for $35. Variable costs
to paint each chair are expected to be $9, and fixed costs are expected to be $2.
Prepare an analysis showing whether Easy Does It should sell unpainted or painted chairs.

Solution
Action Plan
Process Net Income
✔ Identify the revenues
that will change as a
Sell Further Increase (Decrease)
result of painting the Revenues $25 $35 $10
rocking chair. Variable costs 12 21 (9)
✔ Identify all costs that Fixed costs 8 10 (2)
will change as a result
Net income $ 5 $ 4 $ (1)
of painting the rock-
ing chair, and net the
amount against the The analysis indicates that the rocking chair should be sold unpainted because net
revenues. income per chair will be $1 greater.

Related exercise material: BE7-5, BE7-6, E7-9, E7-10, E7-11, E7-12, and DO IT! 7-3.

✔ The Navigator

Repair, Retain, or Replace Equipment

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6 Management often has to decide whether to continue using an asset, repair, or
replace it. For example, Delta Airlines must decide whether to replace old jets
Identify the relevant with new, more fuel-efficient ones. To illustrate, assume that Jeffcoat Company
costs to be considered has a factory machine that originally cost $110,000. It has a balance in Accumu-
in repairing, retaining, lated Depreciation of $70,000, so its book value is $40,000. It has a remaining
or replacing equipment. useful life of four years. The company is considering replacing this machine with
a new machine. A new machine is available that costs $120,000. It is expected to
have zero salvage value at the end of its four-year useful life. If the new machine
is acquired, variable manufacturing costs are expected to decrease from $160,000
Illustration 7-15 to $125,000 annually, and the old unit could be sold for $5,000. The incremental
Incremental analysis—retain analysis for the four-year period is as follows.
or replace equipment
Incremental Analysis - Retain or replace equipment.xls
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A B C D E F
Retain Replace Net Income
1 Equipment Equipment Increase (Decrease)
2 Variable manufacturing costs $640,000 a $500,000 b $140,000
3 New machine cost 120,000 (120,000)
4 Sale of old machine (5,000) 5,000
5 Total $640,000 $ 615,000 $ 25,000
6
7 a(4 years 3 $160,000)
8 b(4 years 3 $125,000)
9

In this case, it would be to the company’s advantage to replace the equipment. The
lower variable manufacturing costs due to replacement more than offset the cost of
the new equipment. Note that the $5,000 received from the sale of the old machine
 Types of Incremental Analysis 305

is relevant to the decision because it will only be received if the company chooses
to replace its equipment. In general, any trade-in allowance or cash disposal value
of existing assets is relevant to the decision to retain or replace equipment.
One other point should be mentioned regarding Jeffcoat’s decision: The book
value of the old machine does not affect the decision. Book value is a sunk
cost, which is a cost that cannot be changed by any present or future decision.
Sunk costs are not relevant in incremental analysis. In this example, if the
asset is retained, book value will be depreciated over its remaining useful life. Or,
if the new unit is acquired, book value will be recognized as a loss of the current
period. Thus, the effect of book value on current and future earnings is the same
regardless of the replacement decision.
Sometimes, decisions regarding whether to replace equipment are clouded by
behavioral decision-making errors. For example, suppose a manager spent $90,000
repairing a machine two months ago. Now, suppose that the machine breaks
down again today. The manager might be inclined to think that, because the com-
pany recently spent a large amount of money to repair the machine, the machine
should now be repaired rather than replaced. However, the amount spent in the
past to repair the machine is irrelevant to the current decision. It is a sunk cost.
Similarly, suppose a manager spent $5,000,000 to purchase a new machine.
Six months later, a new machine comes on the market that is significantly more
efficient than the one recently purchased. The manager might be inclined to think
that he or she should not buy the new machine because of the recent purchase. In
fact, the manager might fear that buying a different machine so quickly might call
into question the merit of the previous decision. Again, the fact that the company
recently bought a new machine is not relevant. Instead, the manager should use
incremental analysis to determine whether the savings generated by the efficiencies
of the new machine would justify its purchase.

Eliminate an Unprofitable Segment or Product

Management sometimes must decide whether to eliminate an unprofitable business LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7
segment or product. For example, in recent years, many airlines quit servicing cer-
tain cities or cut back on the number of flights. Goodyear quit producing several Identify the relevant costs
brands in the low-end tire market. Again, the key is to focus on the relevant costs— in deciding whether to
the data that change under the alternative courses of action. To illustrate, as- eliminate an unprofitable
sume that Venus Company manufactures tennis racquets in three models: Pro, Mas- segment or product.
ter, and Champ. Pro and Master are profitable lines. Champ (highlighted in red in
the table below) operates at a loss. Condensed income statement data are as follows.
Illustration 7-16
Pro Master Champ Total
Segment income data
Sales $800,000 $300,000 $100,000 $1,200,000
Variable costs 520,000 210,000 90,000 820,000
Helpful Hint
Contribution margin 280,000 90,000 10,000 380,000 A decision to discontinue
Fixed costs 80,000 50,000 30,000 160,000 a segment based solely
Net income $200,000 $ 40,000 $ (20,000) $ 220,000 on the bottom line—net
loss—is inappropriate.

You might think that total net income will increase by $20,000 to $240,000 if
the unprofitable Champ line of racquets is eliminated. However, net income may
actually decrease if the Champ line is discontinued. The reason is that the
fixed costs allocated to the Champ racquets will have to be absorbed by the other
products. To illustrate, assume that the $30,000 of fixed costs applicable to the
unprofitable segment are allocated 2⁄3 to the Pro model and 1⁄3 to the Master model
if the Champ model is eliminated. Fixed costs will increase to $100,000 ($80,000 1
$20,000) in the Pro line and to $60,000 ($50,000 1 $10,000) in the Master line.
The revised income statement is:
306 7 Incremental Analysis

Illustration 7-17
Pro Master Total
Income data after eliminating
unprofitable product line Sales $800,000 $300,000 $1,100,000
Variable costs 520,000 210,000 730,000
Contribution margin 280,000 90,000 370,000
Fixed costs 100,000 60,000 160,000
Net income $180,000 $ 30,000 $ 210,000
Illustration 7-18
Incremental analysis—
eliminating unprofitable Total net income has decreased $10,000 ($220,000 2 $210,000). This result is
segment with no reduction also obtained in the following incremental analysis of the Champ racquets.
in fixed costs
Incremental Analysis - Eliminating an unprofitable segment.xls
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A B C D
Net Income
1 Connue Eliminate Increase (Decrease)
2 Sales $100,000 $ 0 $(100,000)
3 Variable costs 90,000 0 90,000
4 Contribuon margin 10,000 0 (10,000)
5 Fixed costs 30,000 30,000 0
6 Net income $(20,000) $(30,000) $ (10,000)
7

The loss in net income is attributable to the Champ line’s contribution margin
Illustration 7-19 ($10,000) that will not be realized if the segment is discontinued.
Incremental analysis— Assume the same facts as above, except now assume that $22,000 of the fixed
eliminating unprofitable costs attributed to the Champ line can be eliminated if the line is discontinued.
segment with reduction in Illustration 7-19 presents the incremental analysis based on this revised assumption.
fixed costs
Incremental Analysis - Eliminating an unprofitable segment.xls
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A B C D
Net Income
1 Connue Eliminate Increase (Decrease)
2 Sales $100,000 $ 0 $(100,000)
3 Variable costs 90,000 0 90,000
4 Contribuon margin 10,000 0 (10,000)
5 Fixed costs 30,000 8,000 22,000
6 Net income $(20,000) $(8,000) $ 12,000
7

In this case, because the company is able to eliminate some of its fixed costs by
eliminating the division, it can increase its net income by $12,000. This occurs
because the $22,000 savings that results from the eliminated fixed costs
exceeds the $10,000 in lost contribution margin by $12,000 ($22,000 2 $10,000).
In deciding on the future status of an unprofitable segment, management
should consider the effect of elimination on related product lines. It may be
possible for continuing product lines to obtain some or all of the sales lost by
the discontinued product line. In some businesses, services or products may be
linked—for example, free checking accounts at a bank, or coffee at a donut shop.
In addition, management should consider the effect of eliminating the product
line on employees who may have to be discharged or retrained.
 Types of Incremental Analysis 307

> DO IT!

Unprofitable Lambert, Inc. manufactures several types of accessories. For the year, the knit hats and
scarves line had sales of $400,000, variable expenses of $310,000, and fixed expenses of
Segments $120,000. Therefore, the knit hats and scarves line had a net loss of $30,000. If Lambert
eliminates the knit hats and scarves line, $20,000 of fixed costs will remain. Prepare an
analysis showing whether the company should eliminate the knit hats and scarves line.

Solution
Action Plan
Net Income
✔ Identify the revenues
that will change as a Continue Eliminate Increase (Decrease)
result of eliminating a Sales $400,000 $ 0 $(400,000)
product line. Variable costs 310,000 0 310,000
✔ Identify all costs Contribution margin 90,000 0 (90,000)
that will change as a
Fixed costs 120,000 20,000 100,000
result of eliminating a
product line, and net Net income $(30,000) $(20,000) $ 10,000
the amount against the
revenues. The analysis indicates that Lambert should eliminate the knit hats and scarves line
because net income will increase $10,000.

Related exercise material: BE7-8, E7-15, E7-16, E7-17, and DO IT! 7-4.

✔ The Navigator

MANAGEMENT INSIGHT
Time to Move to a New Neighborhood?
If you have ever moved, then you know how complicated and costly it can be. Now consider
what it would be like for a manufacturing company with 260 employees and a 170,000-square-
foot facility to move from southern California to Idaho. That is what Buck Knives did in order
to save its company from financial ruin. Electricity rates in Idaho were half those in California,
workers’ compensation was one-third the cost, and factory wages were 20% lower. Combined,
this would reduce manufacturing costs by $600,000 per year. Moving the factory would cost
about $8.5 million, plus $4 million to move key employees. Offsetting these costs was the esti-
mated $11 million selling price of the California property. Based on these estimates, the move
would pay for itself in three years.
Ultimately, the company received only $7.5 million for its California property, only 58 of 75
key employees were willing to move, construction was delayed by a year which caused the new
plant to increase in price by $1.5 million, and wages surged in Idaho due to low unemployment.
Despite all of these complications, though, the company considers the move a great success.

Source: Chris Lydgate, “The Buck Stopped,” Inc. Magazine (May 2006), pp. 87–95.

What were some of the factors that complicated the company’s decision to move?
? How should the company have incorporated such factors into its incremental analysis?
(See page 331.)

DECISION TOOLKIT
DECISION CHECKPOINTS INFO NEEDED FOR DECISION TOOL TO USE FOR DECISION HOW TO EVALUATE RESULTS

Which alternative should the All relevant costs including Compare relevant cost of each Choose the alternative that
company choose? opportunity cost alternative maximizes net income.
308 7 Incremental Analysis

Other Considerations in Decision-Making

Qualitative Factors
In this chapter, we have focused primarily on the quantitative factors that affect a
decision—those attributes that can be easily expressed in terms of numbers or dol-
lars. However, many of the decisions involving incremental analysis have important
qualitative features. Though not easily measured, they should not be ignored.
Consider, for example, the potential effects of the make-or-buy decision or of
the decision to eliminate a line of business on existing employees and the com-
munity in which the plant is located. The cost savings that may be obtained from
outsourcing or from eliminating a plant should be weighed against these qualita-
tive attributes. One example would be the cost of lost morale that might result.
Al “Chainsaw” Dunlap was a so-called “turnaround” artist who went into many
companies, identified inefficiencies (using incremental analysis techniques), and
tried to correct these problems to improve corporate profitability. Along the way, he
laid off thousands of employees at numerous companies. As head of Sunbeam, it
was Al Dunlap who lost his job because his Draconian approach failed to improve
Sunbeam’s profitability. It was widely reported that Sunbeam’s employees openly
rejoiced for days after his departure. Clearly, qualitative factors can matter.

Relationship of Incremental Analysis and Activity-Based Costing

In Chapter 4, we noted that many companies have shifted to activity-based cost-
ing to allocate overhead costs to products. The primary reason for using activity-
based costing is that it results in a more accurate allocation of overhead. The
concepts presented in this chapter are completely consistent with the use of
activity-based costing. In fact, activity-based costing will result in better identifi-
cation of relevant costs and, therefore, better incremental analysis.

MANAGEMENT INSIGHT
What Is the Real Cost of Packaging Options?
The existence of excess plant capacity is frequently the incentive for management to add new
products. Adding one new product may not add much incremental cost. But continuing to add
products will at some point create new constraints, perhaps requiring additional investments
in people, equipment, and facilities.
The effects of product and product line proliferation are generally understood. But the
effect on incremental overhead costs of changes in servicing customers is less understood. For
example, if a company newly offers its customers the option of product delivery by case or by
pallet, the new service may appear to be simple and low in cost. But, if the manufacturing
process must be realigned to package in two different forms; if two sets of inventory records
must be maintained; and if warehousing, handling, and shipping require two different
arrangements or sets of equipment, the additional costs of this new option could be as high as
a whole new product. If the customer service option were adopted for all products, the product
line could effectively be doubled—but so might many overhead costs.

Source: Elizabeth Haas Edersheim and Joan Wilson, “Complexity at Consumer Goods Companies: Naming
and Taming the Beast,” Journal of Cost Management (Fall 1992), pp. 26–36.

If your marketing director suggests that, in addition to selling your cereal in a standard-
? size box, you should sell a jumbo size and an individual size, what issues must you
consider? (See page 331.)
 Summary of Learning Objectives 309

USING THE DECISION TOOLKIT

Suppose Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) must decide whether to make or buy some of its components from Solectron Corp. The
cost of producing 50,000 electrical connectors for its printers is $110,000, broken down as follows.
Direct materials $60,000 Variable manufacturing overhead $12,000
Direct labor $30,000 Fixed manufacturing overhead $ 8,000
Instead of making the electrical connectors at an average cost per unit of $2.20 ($110,000 4 50,000), HP has an opportunity
to buy the connectors at $2.15 per unit. If the connectors are purchased, all variable costs and one-half of the fixed costs will be
eliminated.
Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis showing whether HP should make or buy the electrical connectors.
(b) Will your answer be different if the released productive capacity resulting from the purchase of the connectors will generate
additional income of $25,000?
Solution
(a)
Net Income
Make Buy Increase (Decrease)
Direct materials $ 60,000 $ –0– $ 60,000
Direct labor 30,000 –0– 30,000
Variable manufacturing costs 12,000 –0– 12,000
Fixed manufacturing costs 8,000 4,000* 4,000
Purchase price –0– 107,500** (107,500)
Total cost $110,000 $111,500 $ (1,500)

*$8,000 3 .50; **$2.15 3 50,000

This analysis indicates that HP will incur $1,500 of additional costs if it buys the electrical connectors. HP therefore would
choose to make the connectors.
(b)
Net Income
Make Buy Increase (Decrease)
Total cost $110,000 $111,500 $ (1,500)
Opportunity cost 25,000 –0– 25,000
Total cost $135,000 $111,500 $23,500

Yes, the answer is different. The analysis shows that if additional capacity is released, net income will be increased by $23,500
if the electrical connectors are purchased. In this case, HP would choose to purchase the connectors.

✔ The Navigator

SUMMARY OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES ✔ The Navigator

1 Identify the steps in management’s decision-making 3 Identify the relevant costs in accepting an order at a
process. Management’s decision-making process consists special price. The relevant costs are those that change
of (a) identifying the problem and assigning responsi- if the order is accepted. The relevant information in
bility for the decision, (b) determining and evaluating accepting an order at a special price is the difference
possible courses of action, (c) making the decision, and between the variable manufacturing costs to produce
(d) reviewing the results of the decision. the special order and expected revenues. Any changes
in fixed costs, opportunity cost, or other incremental
2 Describe the concept of incremental analysis. Incre-
costs or savings (such as additional shipping) should be
mental analysis identifies financial data that change
considered.
under alternative courses of action. These data are rele-
vant to the decision because they will vary in the future 4 Identify the relevant costs in a make-or-buy decision.
among the possible alternatives. In a make-or-buy decision, the relevant costs are (a) the
310 7 Incremental Analysis

variable manufacturing costs that will be saved as well should be repaired, retained, or replaced are the effects
as changes to fixed manufacturing costs, (b) the pur- on variable costs and the cost of the new equipment.
chase price, and (c) opportunity cost. Also, any disposal value of the existing asset must be
considered.
5 Identify the relevant costs in determining whether to
sell or process materials further. The decision rule for 7 Identify the relevant costs in deciding whether to elim-
whether to sell or process materials further is: Process inate an unprofitable segment or product. In deciding
further as long as the incremental revenue from process- whether to eliminate an unprofitable segment or prod-
ing exceeds the incremental processing costs. uct, the relevant costs are the variable costs that drive
the contribution margin, if any, produced by the seg-
6 Identify the relevant costs to be considered in repairing, ment or product. Disposition of the segment’s or the
retaining, or replacing equipment. The relevant costs product’s fixed expenses and opportunity cost must also
to be considered in determining whether equipment be considered.

DECISION TOOLKIT A SUMMARY

DECISION CHECKPOINTS INFO NEEDED FOR DECISION TOOL TO USE FOR DECISION HOW TO EVALUATE RESULTS

Which alternative should the All relevant costs including Compare the relevant cost of Choose the alternative that
company choose? opportunity cost each alternative maximizes net income.

GLOSSARY

Incremental analysis The process of identifying the Opportunity cost The potential benefit that is lost when
financial data that change under alternative courses of one course of action is chosen rather than an alterna-
action. (p. 294). tive course of action. (p. 295).
Joint costs For joint products, all costs incurred prior Relevant costs Those costs and revenues that differ
to the point at which the two products are separately across alternatives. (p. 295).
identifiable (known as the split-off point). (p. 302). Sunk cost A cost that cannot be changed or avoided by
Joint products Multiple end-products produced from a any present or future decision. (p. 295).
single raw material and a common production process.
(p. 302).

> Comprehensive DO IT!

Walston Company produces kitchen cabinets for homebuilders across the western United
States. The cost of producing 5,000 cabinets is as follows.
Materials $ 500,000
Labor 250,000
Variable overhead 100,000
Fixed overhead 400,000
Total $1,250,000

Walston also incurs selling expenses of $20 per cabinet. Wellington Corp. has offered
Walston $165 per cabinet for a special order of 1,000 cabinets. The cabinets would be sold
to homebuilders in the eastern United States and thus would not conflict with Walston’s
current sales. Selling expenses per cabinet would be only $5 per cabinet. Walston has
available capacity to do the work.

Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis for the special order.
(b) Should Walston accept the special order? Why or why not?
 Self-Test Questions 311

Solution to Comprehensive DO IT!

Action Plan
(a) Relevant costs per unit would be:
✔ Determine the relevant
cost per unit of the
Materials $500,000/5,000 5 $100
special order. Labor 250,000/5,000 5 50
✔ Identify the relevant Variable overhead 100,000/5,000 5 20
costs and revenues Selling expenses 5
for the units to be Total relevant cost per unit $175
produced.
✔ Compare the results Net Income
related to accepting Reject Order Accept Order Increase (Decrease)
the special order Revenues $0 $165,000 $165,000
versus rejecting the Costs 0 175,000 (175,000)
special order.
Net income $0 $ (10,000) $ (10,000)

(b) Walston should reject the offer. The incremental benefit of $165 per cabinet is less
than the incremental cost of $175. By accepting the order, Walston’s net income
would actually decline by $10,000.

✔ The Navigator

Self-Test, Brief Exercises, Exercises, Problem Set A, and many more resources are available
for practice in WileyPLUS.

SELF-TEST QUESTIONS

Answers are at the end of the chapter. (a) Revenues, variable costs, and fixed costs.
(LO 1) 1. Three of the steps in management’s decision-making (b) Variable costs and fixed costs.
process are (1) review results of decision, (2) deter- (c) Variable costs only.
mine and evaluate possible courses of action, and (d) Fixed costs only.
(3) make the decision. The steps are prepared in the 5. It costs a company $14 of variable costs and $6 of (LO 3)
following order: fixed costs to produce product Z200 that sells for $30.
(a) (1), (2), (3). (c) (2), (1), (3). A foreign buyer offers to purchase 3,000 units at $18
(b) (3), (2), (1). (d) (2), (3), (1). each. If the special offer is accepted and produced
(LO 2) 2. Incremental analysis is the process of identifying the with unused capacity, net income will:
financial data that: (a) decrease $6,000. (c) increase $12,000.
(a) do not change under alternative courses of action. (b) increase $6,000. (d) increase $9,000.
(b) change under alternative courses of action. 6. It costs a company $14 of variable costs and $6 of (LO 3)
(c) are mixed under alternative courses of action. fixed costs to produce product Z200. Product Z200
(d) No correct answer is given. sells for $30. A buyer offers to purchase 3,000 units at
(LO1, 3. In making business decisions, management ordinarily $18 each. The seller will incur special shipping costs
2) considers: of $5 per unit. If the special offer is accepted and pro-
(a) quantitative factors but not qualitative factors. duced with unused capacity, net income will:
(b) financial information only. (a) increase $3,000. (c) decrease $12,000.
(c) both financial and nonfinancial information. (b) increase $12,000. (d) decrease $3,000.
(d) relevant costs, opportunity cost, and sunk costs. 7. Jobart Company is currently operating at full capacity. (LO 3)
(LO 2) 4. A company is considering the following alternatives: It is considering buying a part from an outside supplier
rather than making it in-house. If Jobart purchases the
Alternative A Alternative B
part, it can use the released productive capacity to gen-
Revenues $50,000 $50,000 erate additional income of $30,000 from producing a
Variable costs 24,000 24,000 different product. When conducting incremental anal-
Fixed costs 12,000 15,000 ysis in this make-or-buy decision, the company should:
Which of the following are relevant in choosing (a) ignore the $30,000.
between these alternatives? (b) add $30,000 to other costs in the “Make” column.
 312 7 Incremental Analysis

(c) add $30,000 to other costs in the “Buy” column. (a) Sell before assembly; net income per unit will be
(d) subtract $30,000 from the other costs in the $12 greater.
“Make” column. (b) Sell before assembly; net income per unit will be
(LO 4) 8. In a make-or-buy decision, relevant costs are: $1 greater.
(a) manufacturing costs that will be saved. (c) Process further; net income per unit will be $13
(b) the purchase price of the units. greater.
(c) the opportunity cost. (d) Process further; net income per unit will be $1
(d) All of the above. greater.
(LO 4) 9. Derek is performing incremental analysis in a 12. In a decision to retain or replace equipment, the book (LO 6)
make-or-buy decision for Item X. If Derek buys value of the old equipment is a (an):
Item X, he can use its released productive capacity (a) opportunity cost. (c) incremental cost.
to produce Item Z. Derek will sell Item Z for $12,000 (b) sunk cost. (d) marginal cost.
and incur production costs of $8,000. Derek’s in- 13. If an unprofitable segment is eliminated: (LO 7)
cremental analysis should include an opportunity (a) net income will always increase.
cost of: (b) variable expenses of the eliminated segment will
(a) $12,000. (c) $4,000. have to be absorbed by other segments.
(b) $8,000. (d) $0. (c) fixed expenses allocated to the eliminated seg-
(LO 5) 10. The decision rule in a sell-or-process-further decision ment will have to be absorbed by other segments.
is: process further as long as the incremental revenue (d) net income will always decrease.
from processing exceeds: 14. A segment of Hazard Inc. has the following data. (LO 7)
(a) incremental processing costs. Sales $200,000
(b) variable processing costs. Variable expenses 140,000
(c) fixed processing costs. Fixed expenses 100,000
(d) No correct answer is given.
If this segment is eliminated, what will be the effect
(LO 5) 11. Walton, Inc. makes an unassembled product that
on the remaining company? Assume that 50% of the
it currently sells for $55. Production costs are $20.
fixed expenses will be eliminated and the rest will be
Walton is considering assembling the product and
allocated to the segments of the remaining company.
selling it for $68. The cost to assemble the product
(a) $120,000 increase. (c) $50,000 increase.
is estimated at $12. What decision should Walton
(b) $10,000 decrease. (d) $10,000 increase.
make?
Go to the book’s companion website, www.wiley.com/college/weygandt, for additional Self-Test Questions.
✔ The Navigator

QUESTIONS

1. What steps are frequently involved in management’s 7. Define the term “opportunity cost.” How may this
decision-making process? cost be relevant in a make-or-buy decision?
2. Your roommate, Anna Polis, contends that account- 8. What is the decision rule in deciding whether to sell a
ing contributes to most of the steps in management’s product or process it further?
decision-making process. Is your roommate correct? 9. What are joint products? What accounting issue
Explain. results from the production process that creates joint
3. “Incremental analysis involves the accumulation of products?
information concerning a single course of action.” Do 10. How are allocated joint costs treated when making a
you agree? Why? sell-or-process-further decision?
4. Sydney Greene asks for your help concerning the 11. Your roommate, Gale Dunham, is confused about
relevance of variable and fixed costs in incremental sunk costs. Explain to your roommate the meaning of
analysis. Help Sydney with her problem. sunk costs and their relevance to a decision to retain
5. What data are relevant in deciding whether to accept or replace equipment.
an order at a special price? 12. Huang Inc. has one product line that is unprofitable.
6. Emil Corporation has an opportunity to buy parts at $9 What circumstances may cause overall company net
each that currently cost $12 to make. What manufac- income to be lower if the unprofitable product line is
turing costs are relevant to this make-or-buy decision? eliminated?
 DO IT! Review 313

BRIEF EXERCISES

BE7-1 The steps in management’s decision-making process are listed in random order Identify the steps in
below. Indicate the order in which the steps should be executed. management’s decision-
making process.
________ Make a decision ________ Review results of the decision
(LO 1), AP
________ Identify the problem and assign ________ Determine and evaluate possible
responsibility courses of action
BE7-2 Bogart Company is considering two alternatives. Alternative A will have revenues Determine incremental
of $160,000 and costs of $100,000. Alternative B will have revenues of $180,000 and costs changes.
of $125,000. Compare Alternative A to Alternative B showing incremental revenues, costs, (LO 2), AP
and net income.
BE7-3 At Jaymes Company, it costs $30 per unit ($20 variable and $10 fixed) to make Determine whether to accept
a product at full capacity that normally sells for $45. A foreign wholesaler offers to buy a special order.
3,000 units at $25 each. Jaymes will incur special shipping costs of $2 per unit. Assuming (LO 3), AP
that Jaymes has excess operating capacity, indicate the net income (loss) Jaymes would
realize by accepting the special order.
BE7-4 Manson Industries incurs unit costs of $8 ($5 variable and $3 fixed) in making a Determine whether to make
subassembly part for its finished product. A supplier offers to make 10,000 of the assem- or buy a part.
bly part at $6 per unit. If the offer is accepted, Manson will save all variable costs but no (LO 4), AP
fixed costs. Prepare an analysis showing the total cost saving, if any, Manson will realize
by buying the part.
BE7-5 Chudrick Inc. makes unfinished bookcases that it sells for $62. Production costs Determine whether to sell
are $36 variable and $10 fixed. Because it has unused capacity, Chudrick is considering or process further.
finishing the bookcases and selling them for $70. Variable finishing costs are expected to (LO 5), AP
be $7 per unit with no increase in fixed costs. Prepare an analysis on a per unit basis show-
ing whether Chudrick should sell unfinished or finished bookcases.
BE7-6 Each day, Adama Corporation processes 1 ton of a secret raw material into two re- Determine whether to sell
sulting products, AB1 and XY1. When it processes 1 ton of the raw material, the company or process further, joint
incurs joint processing costs of $60,000. It allocates $25,000 of these costs to AB1 and products.
$35,000 of these costs to XY1. The resulting AB1 can be sold for $100,000. Alternatively, (LO 5), AP
it can be processed further to make AB2 at an additional processing cost of $45,000, and
sold for $150,000. Each day’s batch of XY1 can be sold for $95,000. Alternatively, it can be
processed further to create XY2, at an additional processing cost of $50,000, and sold for
$130,000. Discuss what products Adama Corporation should make.
BE7-7 Kobe Company has a factory machine with a book value of $90,000 and a remain- Determine whether to retain
ing useful life of 5 years. It can be sold for $30,000. A new machine is available at a cost of or replace equipment.
$300,000. This machine will have a 5-year useful life with no salvage value. The new ma- (LO 6), AP
chine will lower annual variable manufacturing costs from $600,000 to $500,000. Prepare
an analysis showing whether the old machine should be retained or replaced.
BE7-8 Lisah, Inc., manufactures golf clubs in three models. For the year, the Big Bart Determine whether to
line has a net loss of $10,000 from sales $200,000, variable costs $180,000, and fixed costs eliminate an unprofitable
$30,000. If the Big Bart line is eliminated, $20,000 of fixed costs will remain. Prepare an segment.
analysis showing whether the Big Bart line should be eliminated. (LO 7), AP

> DO IT! REVIEW

DO IT! 7-1 Maize Company incurs a cost of $35 per unit, of which $20 is variable, to Evaluate special order.
make a product that normally sells for $58. A foreign wholesaler offers to buy 6,000 (LO 3), AN
units at $30 each. Maize will incur additional costs of $3 per unit to imprint a logo and
to pay for shipping. Compute the increase or decrease in net income Maize will realize
by accepting the special order, assuming Maize has sufficient excess operating capacity.
Should Maize Company accept the special order?
314 7 Incremental Analysis

Evaluate make-or-buy DO IT! 7-2 Rubble Company must decide whether to make or buy some of its compo-
opportunity. nents. The costs of producing 60,000 switches for its generators are as follows.
(LO 4), AN Direct materials $30,000 Variable overhead $45,000
Direct labor $42,000 Fixed overhead $60,000
Instead of making the switches at an average cost of $2.95 ($177,000 4 60,000), the com-
pany has an opportunity to buy the switches at $2.70 per unit. If the company purchases
the switches, all the variable costs and one-fourth of the fixed costs will be eliminated.
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis showing whether the company should make or buy
the switches. (b) Would your answer be different if the released productive capacity will
generate additional income of $34,000?
Sell or process further. DO IT! 7-3 Mesa Verde manufactures unpainted furniture for the do-it-yourself (DIY)
(LO 5), AP market. It currently sells a table for $75. Production costs are $40 variable and $10 fixed.
Mesa Verde is considering staining and sealing the table to sell it for $100. Variable costs
to finish each table are expected to be $17, and fixed costs are expected to be $3.
Prepare an analysis showing whether Mesa Verde should sell unpainted or finished tables.
Analyze whether to DO IT! 7-4 Gator Corporation manufactures several types of accessories. For the year, the
eliminate unprofitable gloves and mittens line had sales of $500,000, variable expenses of $370,000, and fixed
segment. expenses of $150,000. Therefore, the gloves and mittens line had a net loss of $20,000. If
(LO 7), AP Gator eliminates the line, $38,000 of fixed costs will remain.
Prepare an analysis showing whether the company should eliminate the gloves and mittens
line.

✔ The Navigator

EXERCISES

Analyze statements about E7-1 Ortega has prepared the following list of statements about decision-making and
decision-making and incremental analysis.
incremental analysis.
1. The first step in management’s decision-making process is, “Determine and evaluate
(LO 1, 2), C possible courses of action.”
2. The final step in management’s decision-making process is to actually make the decision.
3. Accounting’s contribution to management’s decision-making process occurs primarily
in evaluating possible courses of action and in reviewing the results.
4. In making business decisions, management ordinarily considers only financial infor-
mation because it is objectively determined.
5. Decisions involve a choice among alternative courses of action.
6. The process used to identify the financial data that change under alternative courses of
action is called incremental analysis.
7. Costs that are the same under all alternative courses of action sometimes affect the decision.
8. When using incremental analysis, some costs will always change under alternative
courses of action, but revenues will not.
9. Variable costs will change under alternative courses of action, but fixed costs will not.

Instructions
Identify each statement as true or false. If false, indicate how to correct the statement.
Use incremental analysis for E7-2 Gruden Company produces golf discs which it normally sells to retailers for $7 each.
special-order decision. The cost of manufacturing 20,000 golf discs is:
(LO 3), AN Materials $ 10,000
Labor 30,000
Variable overhead 20,000
Fixed overhead 40,000
Total $100,000

Gruden also incurs 5% sales commission ($0.35) on each disc sold.

 Exercises 315

McGee Corporation offers Gruden $4.80 per disc for 5,000 discs. McGee would sell the
discs under its own brand name in foreign markets not yet served by Gruden. If Gruden
accepts the offer, its fixed overhead will increase from $40,000 to $46,000 due to the purchase
of a new imprinting machine. No sales commission will result from the special order.
Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis for the special order.
(b) Should Gruden accept the special order? Why or why not?
(c) What assumptions underlie the decision made in part (b)?
E7-3 Leno Company manufactures toasters. For the first 8 months of 2014, the company Use incremental analysis for
reported the following operating results while operating at 75% of plant capacity: special order.
(LO 3), AN
Sales (350,000 units) $4,375,000
Cost of goods sold 2,600,000
Gross profit 1,775,000
Operating expenses 840,000
Net income $ 935,000

Cost of goods sold was 70% variable and 30% fixed; operating expenses were 75% variable
and 25% fixed.
In September, Leno Company receives a special order for 15,000 toasters at $7.60 each
from Centro Company of Ciudad Juarez. Acceptance of the order would result in an addi-
tional $3,000 of shipping costs but no increase in fixed operating expenses.
Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis for the special order.
(b) Should Leno Company accept the special order? Why or why not?
E7-4 Klean Fiber Company is the creator of Y-Go, a technology that weaves silver into its Use incremental analysis for
fabrics to kill bacteria and odor on clothing while managing heat. Y-Go has become very special order.
popular as an undergarment for sports activities. Operating at capacity, the company can (LO 3), AN
produce 1,000,000 undergarments of Y-Go a year. The per unit and the total costs for an
individual garment when the company operates at full capacity are as follows.

Per Undergarment Total

Direct materials $2.00 $2,000,000
Direct labor 0.75 750,000
Variable manufacturing overhead 1.00 1,000,000
Fixed manufacturing overhead 1.50 1,500,000
Variable selling expenses 0.25 250,000
Totals $5.50 $5,500,000

The U.S. Army has approached Klean Fiber and expressed an interest in purchasing
250,000 Y-Go undergarments for soldiers in extremely warm climates. The Army would pay
the unit cost for direct materials, direct labor, and variable manufacturing overhead costs.
In addition, the Army has agreed to pay an additional $1 per undergarment to cover all
other costs and provide a profit. Presently, Klean Fiber is operating at 70% capacity and
does not have any other potential buyers for Y-Go. If Klean Fiber accepts the Army’s offer,
it will not incur any variable selling expenses related to this order.
Instructions
Using incremental analysis, determine whether Klean Fiber should accept the Army’s offer.
E7-5 Schopp Inc. has been manufacturing its own shades for its table lamps. The com- Use incremental analysis for
pany is currently operating at 100% of capacity, and variable manufacturing overhead is make-or-buy decision.
charged to production at the rate of 70% of direct labor cost. The direct materials and (LO 4), AN
direct labor cost per unit to make the lamp shades are $4 and $5, respectively. Normal
production is 30,000 table lamps per year.
A supplier offers to make the lamp shades at a price of $12.75 per unit. If Schopp Inc.
accepts the supplier’s offer, all variable manufacturing costs will be eliminated, but the
$45,000 of fixed manufacturing overhead currently being charged to the lamp shades will
have to be absorbed by other products.
316 7 Incremental Analysis

Instructions
(a) Prepare the incremental analysis for the decision to make or buy the lamp shades.
(b) Should Schopp Inc. buy the lamp shades?
(c) Would your answer be different in (b) if the productive capacity released by
not making the lamp shades could be used to produce income of $25,000?
Use incremental analysis for E7-6 Jobs, Inc. has recently started the manufacture of Tri-Robo, a three-wheeled robot
make-or-buy decision. that can scan a home for fires and gas leaks and then transmit this information to a mobile
(LO 4), E phone. The cost structure to manufacture 20,000 Tri-Robos is as follows.
Cost
Direct materials ($50 per robot) $1,000,000
Direct labor ($40 per robot) 800,000
Variable overhead ($6 per robot) 120,000
Allocated fixed overhead ($30 per robot) 600,000
Total $2,520,000

Jobs is approached by Tienh Inc., which offers to make Tri-Robo for $115 per unit or
$2,300,000.
Instructions
(a) Using incremental analysis, determine whether Jobs should accept this offer under
each of the following independent assumptions.
(1) Assume that $405,000 of the fixed overhead cost can be reduced (avoided).
(2) Assume that none of the fixed overhead can be reduced (avoided). However, if
the robots are purchased from Tienh Inc., Jobs can use the released productive
resources to generate additional income of $405,000.
(b) Describe the qualitative factors that might affect the decision to purchase the robots
from an outside supplier.
Prepare incremental analysis E7-7 Gibbs Company purchases sails and produces sailboats. It currently produces 1,200
for make-or-buy decision. sailboats per year, operating at normal capacity, which is about 80% of full capacity. Gibbs
(LO 4), E purchases sails at $250 each, but the company is considering using the excess capacity to
manufacture the sails instead. The manufacturing cost per sail would be $100 for direct
materials, $80 for direct labor, and $100 for overhead. The $100 overhead is based on
$78,000 of annual fixed overhead that is allocated using normal capacity.
The president of Gibbs has come to you for advice. “It would cost me $280 to make
the sails,” she says, “but only $250 to buy them. Should I continue buying them, or have I
missed something?”
Instructions
(a) Prepare a per unit analysis of the differential costs. Briefly explain whether Gibbs
should make or buy the sails.
(b) If Gibbs suddenly finds an opportunity to rent out the unused capacity of its factory
for $77,000 per year, would your answer to part (a) change? Briefly explain.
(c) Identify three qualitative factors that should be considered by Gibbs in this make-or-
buy decision.
(CGA adapted)
Prepare incremental analysis E7-8 Innova uses 1,000 units of the component IMC2 every month to manufacture one of
concerning make-or-buy its products. The unit costs incurred to manufacture the component are as follows.
decision.
Direct materials $ 65.00
(LO 4), E
Direct labor 45.00
Overhead 126.50
Total $236.50

Overhead costs include variable material handling costs of $6.50, which are applied to
products on the basis of direct material costs. The remainder of the overhead costs are
applied on the basis of direct labor dollars and consist of 60% variable costs and 40%
fixed costs.
A vendor has offered to supply the IMC2 component at a price of $200 per unit.
 Exercises 317

Instructions
(a) Should Innova purchase the component from the outside vendor if Innova’s capacity
remains idle?
(b) Should Innova purchase the component from the outside vendor if it can use its facilities
to manufacture another product? What information will Innova need to make an
accurate decision? Show your calculations.
(c) What are the qualitative factors that Innova will have to consider when making this
decision?
(CGA adapted)
E7-9 Rachel Rey recently opened her own basketweaving studio. She sells finished bas- Use incremental analysis for
kets in addition to the raw materials needed by customers to weave baskets of their own. further processing of materials
Rachel has put together a variety of raw material kits, each including materials at various decision.
stages of completion. Unfortunately, owing to space limitations, Rachel is unable to carry (LO 5), AN
all varieties of kits originally assembled and must choose between two basic packages.
The basic introductory kit includes undyed, uncut reeds (with dye included) for weav-
ing one basket. This basic package costs Rachel $14 and sells for $30. The second kit,
called Stage 2, includes cut reeds that have already been dyed. With this kit the customer
need only soak the reeds and weave the basket. Rachel is able to produce the second kit
by using the basic materials included in the first kit and adding one hour of her own time,
which she values at $18 per hour. Because she is more efficient at cutting and dying reeds
than her average customer, Rachel is able to make two kits of the dyed reeds, in one hour,
from one kit of undyed reeds. The Stage 2 kit sells for $35.
Instructions
Determine whether Rachel’s basketweaving shop should carry the basic introductory kit
with undyed and uncut reeds or the Stage 2 kit with reeds already dyed and cut. Prepare
an incremental analysis to support your answer.
E7-10 Stahl Inc. produces three separate products from a common process costing Determine whether to sell
$100,000. Each of the products can be sold at the split-off point or can be processed fur- or process further, joint
ther and then sold for a higher price. Shown below are cost and selling price data for a products.
recent period. (LO 5), AN
Sales Value Cost to Sales Value
at Split-Off Process after Further
Point Further Processing
Product 10 $60,000 $100,000 $190,000
Product 12 15,000 30,000 35,000
Product 14 55,000 150,000 215,000
Instructions
(a) Determine total net income if all products are sold at the split-off point.
(b) Determine total net income if all products are sold after further processing.
(c) Using incremental analysis, determine which products should be sold at the split-off
point and which should be processed further.
(d) Determine total net income using the results from (c) and explain why the net income
is different from that determined in (b).
E7-11 Chen Minerals processes materials extracted from mines. The most common raw Determine whether to sell
material that it processes results in three joint products: Larco, Marco, and Narco. Each or process further, joint
of these products can be sold as is, or each can be processed further and sold for a higher products.
price. The company incurs joint costs of $180,000 to process one batch of the raw material (LO 5), AN
that produces the three joint products. The following cost and sales information is available
for one batch of each product.
Sales Value at Allocated Cost to Process Sales Value of
Split-Off Point Joint Costs Further Processed Product
Larco $200,000 $40,000 $110,000 $300,000
Marco 300,000 60,000 85,000 400,000
Narco 405,000 80,000 250,000 800,000
Instructions
Determine whether each of the three joint products should be sold as is, or processed further.
318 7 Incremental Analysis

Prepare incremental analysis E7-12 A company manufactures three products using the same production process. The
for whether to sell or process costs incurred up to the split-off point are $200,000. These costs are allocated to the prod-
materials further. ucts on the basis of their sales value at the split-off point. The number of units produced,
(LO 5), E the selling prices per unit of the three products at the split-off point and after further pro-
cessing, and the additional processing costs are as follows.

Number of Selling Price Selling Price Additional

Product Units Produced at Split-Off after Processing Processing Costs
D 4,000 $10.00 $15.00 $14,000
E 6,000 11.60 16.20 20,000
F 2,000 19.40 22.60 9,000

Instructions
(a) Which information is relevant to the decision on whether or not to process the prod-
ucts further? Explain why this information is relevant.
(b) Which product(s) should be processed further and which should be sold at the split-
off point?
(c) Would your decision be different if the company was using the quantity of output to
allocate joint costs? Explain.
(CGA adapted)
Use incremental analysis E7-13 On January 2, 2013, Benson Hospital purchased a $100,000 special radiology scan-
for retaining or replacing ner from Picard Inc. The scanner had a useful life of 4 years and was estimated to have no
equipment decision. disposal value at the end of its useful life. The straight-line method of depreciation is used
(LO 6), E on this scanner. Annual operating costs with this scanner are $105,000.
Approximately one year later, the hospital is approached by Dyno Technology salesper-
son, Meg Ryan, who indicated that purchasing the scanner in 2013 from Picard Inc. was a
mistake. She points out that Dyno has a scanner that will save Benson Hospital $30,000 a
year in operating expenses over its 3-year useful life. She notes that the new scanner will
cost $110,000 and has the same capabilities as the scanner purchased last year. The hos-
pital agrees that both scanners are of equal quality. The new scanner will have no disposal
value. Ryan agrees to buy the old scanner from Benson Hospital for $40,000.
Instructions
(a) If Benson Hospital sells its old scanner on January 2, 2014, compute the gain or loss
on the sale.
(b) Using incremental analysis, determine if Benson Hospital should purchase the new
scanner on January 2, 2014.
(c) Explain why Benson Hospital might be reluctant to purchase the new scanner, regard-
less of the results indicated by the incremental analysis in (b).
Use incremental analysis E7-14 Johnson Enterprises uses a computer to handle its sales invoices. Lately, business
for retaining or replacing has been so good that it takes an extra 3 hours per night, plus every third Saturday, to keep
equipment decision. up with the volume of sales invoices. Management is considering updating its computer
(LO 6), AN with a faster model that would eliminate all of the overtime processing.

Current Machine New Machine

Original purchase cost $15,000 $25,000
Accumulated depreciation $ 6,000 —
Estimated annual operating costs $25,000 $20,000
Useful life 5 years 5 years

If sold now, the current machine would have a salvage value of $6,000. If operated for the
remainder of its useful life, the current machine would have zero salvage value. The new
machine is expected to have zero salvage value after 5 years.
Use incremental analysis Instructions
concerning elimination of Should the current machine be replaced?
division.
E7-15 Judy Jean, a recent graduate of Rolling’s accounting program, evaluated the oper-
(LO 7), AN ating performance of Artie Company’s six divisions. Judy made the following presentation
to Artie’s board of directors and suggested the Huron Division be eliminated. “If the Huron
Division is eliminated,” she said, “our total profits would increase by $26,000.”
 Exercises 319

The Other Huron

Five Divisions Division Total
Sales $1,664,200 $100,000 $1,764,200
Cost of goods sold 978,520 76,000 1,054,520
Gross profit 685,680 24,000 709,680
Operating expenses 527,940 50,000 577,940
Net income $ 157,740 $ (26,000) $ 131,740

In the Huron Division, cost of goods sold is $61,000 variable and $15,000 fixed, and oper-
ating expenses are $26,000 variable and $24,000 fixed. None of the Huron Division’s fixed
costs will be eliminated if the division is discontinued.
Instructions
Is Judy right about eliminating the Huron Division? Prepare a schedule to support
your answer.
E7-16 Cawley Company makes three models of tasers. Information on the three products Use incremental analysis for
is given below. elimination of a product line.
(LO 7), AN
Tingler Shocker Stunner
Sales $300,000 $500,000 $200,000
Variable expenses 150,000 200,000 145,000
Contribution margin 150,000 300,000 55,000
Fixed expenses 120,000 230,000 95,000
Net income $ 30,000 $ 70,000 $ (40,000)

Fixed expenses consist of $300,000 of common costs allocated to the three products based
on relative sales, and additional fixed expenses of $30,000 (Tingler), $80,000 (Shocker),
and $35,000 (Stunner). The common costs will be incurred regardless of how many mod-
els are produced. The other fixed expenses would be eliminated if a model is phased out.
James Watt, an executive with the company, feels the Stunner line should be discon-
tinued to increase the company’s net income.
Instructions
(a) Compute current net income for Cawley Company.
(b) Compute net income by product line and in total for Cawley Company if the company
discontinues the Stunner product line. (Hint: Allocate the $300,000 common costs to
the two remaining product lines based on their relative sales.)
(c) Should Cawley eliminate the Stunner product line? Why or why not?
E7-17 Twyla Company operates a small factory in which it manufactures two products: C Prepare incremental analysis
and D. Production and sales results for last year were as follows. concerning keeping or
dropping a product to
C D maximize operating income.
Units sold 9,000 20,000 (LO 2, 7), AN
Selling price per unit $95 $75
Variable cost per unit 50 40
Fixed cost per unit 22 22

For purposes of simplicity, the firm averages total fixed costs over the total number of
units of C and D produced and sold.
The research department has developed a new product (E) as a replacement for product
D. Market studies show that Twyla Company could sell 10,000 units of E next year at a price
of $115; the variable cost per unit of E is $40. The introduction of product E will lead to a
10% increase in demand for product C and discontinuation of product D. If the company
does not introduce the new product, it expects next year’s results to be the same as last year’s.
Instructions
Should Twyla Company introduce product E next year? Explain why or why not. Show
calculations to support your decision.
(CMA-Canada adapted)
320 7 Incremental Analysis

Identify relevant costs for E7-18 The costs listed below relate to a variety of different decision situations.
different decisions.
(LO 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), C Cost Decision
1. Unavoidable fixed overhead Eliminate an unprofitable segment
2. Direct labor Make or buy
3. Original cost of old equipment Equipment replacement
4. Joint production costs Sell or process further
5. Opportunity cost Accepting a special order
6. Segment manager’s salary Eliminate an unprofitable segment
(manager will be terminated)
7. Cost of new equipment Equipment replacement
8. Incremental production costs Sell or process further
9. Direct materials Equipment replacement (the amount of
materials required does not change)
10. Rent expense Purchase or lease a building
Instructions
For each cost listed above, indicate if it is relevant or not to the related decision. For those
costs determined to be irrelevant, briefly explain why.

EXERCISES: SET B AND

CHALLENGE EXERCISES

Visit the book’s companion website, at www.wiley.com/college/weygandt, and choose

the Student Companion site to access Exercise Set B and Challenge Exercises.

PROBLEMS: SET A

Use incremental analysis P7-1A ShurShot Sports Inc. manufactures basketballs for the National Basketball Asso-
for special order and identify ciation (NBA). For the first 6 months of 2014, the company reported the following operat-
nonfinancial factors in the ing results while operating at 80% of plant capacity and producing 120,000 units.
decision.
Amount
(LO 3), E
Sales $4,800,000
Cost of goods sold 3,600,000
Selling and administrative expenses 405,000
Net income $ 795,000

Fixed costs for the period were cost of goods sold $960,000, and selling and administrative
expenses $225,000.
In July, normally a slack manufacturing month, ShurShot Sports receives a special
order for 10,000 basketballs at $27 each from the Greek Basketball Association (GBA).
Acceptance of the order would increase variable selling and administrative expenses $0.50
per unit because of shipping costs but would not increase fixed costs and expenses.
Instructions
(a) NI increase $30,000 (a) Prepare an incremental analysis for the special order.
(b) Should ShurShot Sports Inc. accept the special order? Explain your answer.
(c) What is the minimum selling price on the special order to produce net income of $4.00
per ball?
(d) What nonfinancial factors should management consider in making its decision?
Use incremental analysis P7-2A The management of Shatner Manufacturing Company is trying to decide whether
related to make or buy, to continue manufacturing a part or to buy it from an outside supplier. The part, called
consider opportunity cost, CISCO, is a component of the company’s finished product.
and identify nonfinancial The following information was collected from the accounting records and production
factors. data for the year ending December 31, 2014.
(LO 4), E
 Problems: Set A 321

1. 8,000 units of CISCO were produced in the Machining Department.

2. Variable manufacturing costs applicable to the production of each CISCO unit were:
direct materials $4.80, direct labor $4.30, indirect labor $0.43, utilities $0.40.
3. Fixed manufacturing costs applicable to the production of CISCO were:

Cost Item Direct Allocated

Depreciation $2,100 $ 900
Property taxes 500 200
Insurance 900 600
$3,500 $1,700

All variable manufacturing and direct fixed costs will be eliminated if CISCO is pur-
chased. Allocated costs will have to be absorbed by other production departments.
4. The lowest quotation for 8,000 CISCO units from a supplier is $80,000.
5. If CISCO units are purchased, freight and inspection costs would be $0.35 per unit, and
receiving costs totaling $1,300 per year would be incurred by the Machining Department.
Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis for CISCO. Your analysis should have columns for (a) NI (decrease) $(1,160)
(1) Make CISCO, (2) Buy CISCO, and (3) Net Income Increase/(Decrease).
(b) Based on your analysis, what decision should management make?
(c) Would the decision be different if Shatner Company has the opportunity to produce (c) NI increase $1,840
$3,000 of net income with the facilities currently being used to manufacture CISCO?
Show computations.
(d) What nonfinancial factors should management consider in making its decision?
P7-3A Sutton Industrial Products Inc. (SIPI) is a diversified industrial-cleaner process- Determine if product should
ing company. The company’s Verde plant produces two products: a table cleaner and a be sold or processed further.
floor cleaner from a common set of chemical inputs (CDG). Each week 900,000 ounces (LO 5), AN
of chemical input are processed at a cost of $210,000 into 600,000 ounces of floor cleaner
and 300,000 ounces of table cleaner. The floor cleaner has no market value until it is con-
verted into a polish with the trade name FloorShine. The additional processing costs for
this conversion amount to $240,000.
FloorShine sells at $20 per 30-ounce bottle. The table cleaner can be sold for $18 per
25-ounce bottle. However, the table cleaner can be converted into two other products by
adding 300,000 ounces of another compound (TCP) to the 300,000 ounces of table cleaner.
This joint process will yield 300,000 ounces each of table stain remover (TSR) and table
polish (TP). The additional processing costs for this process amount to $100,000. Both
table products can be sold for $14 per 25-ounce bottle.
The company decided not to process the table cleaner into TSR and TP based on the
following analysis.

Process Further
Table Stain
Table Remover Table Polish
Cleaner (TSR) (TP) Total
Production in ounces 300,000 300,000 300,000
Revenue $216,000 $168,000 $168,000 $336,000
Costs:
CDG costs 70,000* 52,500 52,500 105,000**
TCP costs 0 50,000 50,000 100,000
Total costs 70,000 102,500 102,500 205,000
Weekly gross profit $146,000 $ 65,500 $ 65,500 $131,000

*If table cleaner is not processed further, it is allocated 1/3 of the $210,000 of CDG cost, which is equal
to 1/3 of the total physical output.
**If table cleaner is processed further, total physical output is 1,200,000 ounces. TSR and TP com-
bined account for 50% of the total physical output and are each allocated 25% of the CDG cost.
322 7 Incremental Analysis

Instructions
(a) Determine if management made the correct decision to not process the table cleaner
further by doing the following.
(1) Calculate the company’s total weekly gross profit assuming the table cleaner is not
processed further.
(2) Gross profit $186,000 (2) Calculate the company’s total weekly gross profit assuming the table cleaner is
processed further.
(3) Compare the resulting net incomes and comment on management’s decision.
(b) Using incremental analysis, determine if the table cleaner should be processed further.
(CMA adapted)
Compute gain or loss, and P7-4A Last year (2013), Richter Condos installed a mechanized elevator for its tenants.
determine if equipment The owner of the company, Ron Richter, recently returned from an industry equipment
should be replaced. exhibition where he watched a computerized elevator demonstrated. He was impressed
(LO 6), S with the elevator’s speed, comfort of ride, and cost efficiency. Upon returning from the ex-
hibition, he asked his purchasing agent to collect price and operating cost data on the new
elevator. In addition, he asked the company’s accountant to provide him with cost data on
the company’s elevator. This information is presented below.
Old Elevator New Elevator
Purchase price $120,000 $160,000
Estimated salvage value 0 0
Estimated useful life 5 years 4 years
Depreciation method Straight-line Straight-line
Annual operating costs
other than depreciation:
Variable $ 35,000 $ 10,000
Fixed 23,000 8,500
Annual revenues are $240,000, and selling and administrative expenses are $29,000,
regardless of which elevator is used. If the old elevator is replaced now, at the beginning of
2014, Richter Condos will be able to sell it for $25,000.
Instructions
(a) Determine any gain or loss if the old elevator is replaced.
(b) Prepare a 4-year summarized income statement for each of the following assumptions:
(1) The old elevator is retained.
(b) (2) NI $539,000 (2) The old elevator is replaced.
(c) NI increase $23,000 (c) Using incremental analysis, determine if the old elevator should be replaced.
(d) Write a memo to Ron Richter explaining why any gain or loss should be
ignored in the decision to replace the old elevator.
Prepare incremental analysis P7-5A Gutierrez Company has four operating divisions. During the first quarter of 2014,
concerning elimination of the company reported aggregate income from operations of $213,000 and the following
divisions. divisional results.
(LO 7), AN
Division
I II III IV
Sales $250,000 $200,000 $500,000 $450,000
Cost of goods sold 200,000 192,000 300,000 250,000
Selling and administrative expenses 75,000 60,000 60,000 50,000
Income (loss) from operations $ (25,000) $ (52,000) $140,000 $150,000

Analysis reveals the following percentages of variable costs in each division.

I II III IV
Cost of goods sold 75% 90% 80% 75%
Selling and administrative expenses 40 70 50 60

Discontinuance of any division would save 50% of the fixed costs and expenses for that division.
Top management is very concerned about the unprofitable divisions (I and II). Con-
sensus is that one or both of the divisions should be discontinued.
 Problems: Set B 323

Instructions
(a) Compute the contribution margin for Divisions I and II. (a) I $70,000
(b) Prepare an incremental analysis concerning the possible discontinuance of (1) Divi-
sion I and (2) Division II. What course of action do you recommend for each division?
(c) Prepare a columnar condensed income statement for Gutierrez Company, assuming (c) Income III $133,800
Division II is eliminated. (Use the CVP format.) Division II’s unavoidable fixed costs
are allocated equally to the continuing divisions.
(d) Reconcile the total income from operations ($213,000) with the total income from
operations without Division II.

PROBLEMS: SET B

P7-1B Morello Inc. manufactures basketballs for the National Basketball Association Use incremental analysis
(NBA). For the first 6 months of 2014, the company reported the following operating for special order and
results while operating at 90% of plant capacity and producing 90,000 units. identify nonfinancial
factors in decision.
Amount Per Unit
(LO 3), E
Sales $4,500,000 $50
Cost of goods sold 3,060,000 34
Selling and administrative expenses 360,000 4
Net income $1,080,000 $12

Fixed costs for the period were cost of goods sold $900,000, and selling and administrative
expenses $180,000.
In July, normally a slack manufacturing month, Morello receives a special order for
10,000 basketballs at $30 each from the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Acceptance
of the order would increase variable selling and administrative expenses $0.50 per unit
because of shipping costs but would not increase fixed costs and expenses.
Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis for the special order. (a) NI increase $35,000
(b) Should Morello Inc. accept the special order?
(c) What is the minimum selling price on the special order to produce net income of $5.50
per ball?
(d) What nonfinancial factors should management consider in making its decision?
P7-2B The management of Gill Corporation is trying to decide whether to continue Use incremental analysis
manufacturing a part or to buy it from an outside supplier. The part, called FIZBE, is a related to make or buy;
component of the company’s finished product. consider opportunity cost and
The following information was collected from the accounting records and production identify nonfinancial factors.
data for the year ending December 31, 2014. (LO 4), E
1. 5,000 units of FIZBE were produced in the Machining Department.
2. Variable manufacturing costs applicable to the production of each FIZBE unit were:
direct materials $4.75, direct labor $4.60, indirect labor $0.45, utilities $0.35.
3. Fixed manufacturing costs applicable to the production of FIZBE were:
Cost Item Direct Allocated
Depreciation $1,100 $ 900
Property taxes 500 200
Insurance 900 600
$2,500 $1,700

All variable manufacturing and direct fixed costs will be eliminated if FIZBE is pur-
chased. Allocated costs will have to be absorbed by other production departments.
4. The lowest quotation for 5,000 FIZBE units from a supplier is $56,000.
5. If FIZBE units are purchased, freight and inspection costs would be $0.30 per unit, and
receiving costs totaling $500 per year would be incurred by the Machining Department.
324 7 Incremental Analysis

Instructions
(a) NI (decrease) ($4,750) (a) Prepare an incremental analysis for FIZBE. Your analysis should have columns for
(1) Make FIZBE, (2) Buy FIZBE, and (3) Net Income Increase/Decrease.
(b) Based on your analysis, what decision should management make?
(c) NI increase $1,250 (c) Would the decision be different if Gill Corporation has the opportunity to produce
$6,000 of net income with the facilities currently being used to manufacture FIZBE?
Show computations.
(d) What nonfinancial factors should management consider in making its decision?
Determine if product should P7-3B Ohio Household Products Co. (OHPC) is a diversified household-cleaner process-
be sold or processed further. ing company. The company’s Mishawaka plant produces two products: an appliance
(LO 5), AN cleaner and a general-purpose cleaner from a common set of chemical inputs (NPR).
Each week 1,000,000 ounces of chemical input are processed at a cost of $200,000 into
750,000 ounces of appliance cleaner and 250,000 ounces of general-purpose cleaner.
The appliance cleaner has no market value until it is converted into a polish with the
trade name Shine Brite. The additional processing costs for this conversion amount to
$300,000. Shine Brite sells at $15 per 25-ounce bottle. The general-purpose cleaner can be
sold for $20 per 20-ounce bottle. However, the general-purpose cleaner can be converted
into two other products by adding 250,000 ounces of another compound (PST) to the
250,000 ounces of general-purpose cleaner. This joint process will yield 250,000 ounces
each of premium cleaner (PC) and premium stain remover (PSR). The additional process-
ing costs for this process amount to $140,000. Both premium products can be sold for $16
per 20-ounce bottle.
The company decided not to process the general-purpose cleaner into PC and PSR
based on the following analysis.
Process Further
General- Premium Premium Stain
Purpose Cleaner Remover
Cleaner (PC) (PSR) Total
Production in ounces 250,000 250,000 250,000
Revenue $250,000 $200,000 $200,000 $400,000
Costs:
NPR costs 50,000* 40,000 40,000 80,000**
PST costs 0 70,000 70,000 140,000
Total costs 50,000 110,000 110,000 220,000
Weekly gross profit $200,000 $ 90,000 $ 90,000 $180,000

*If general-purpose cleaner is not processed further, it is allocated 1/4 of the $200,000 of NPR cost,
which is equal to 1/4 of the total physical output.
**If general-purpose cleaner is processed further, total physical output is 1,250,000 ounces. PC and
PSR combined account for 40% of the total output and are each allocated 20% of the NPR cost.

Instructions
(a) Determine if management made the correct decision to not process the general-purpose
cleaner further by doing the following.
(1) Calculate the company’s total weekly gross profit assuming the general-purpose
cleaner is not processed further.
(a) (2) Gross profit $210,000 (2) Calculate the company’s total weekly gross profit assuming the general-purpose
cleaner is processed further.
(3) Compare the resulting net incomes and comment on management’s decision.
(b) Using incremental analysis, determine if the general-purpose cleaner should be pro-
cessed further.
(CMA adapted)

Compute gain or loss, and P7-4B Last year (2013), Simmons Company installed new factory equipment. The owner
determine if equipment of the company, Gene Simmons, recently returned from an industry equipment exhibition
should be replaced. where he watched computerized equipment demonstrated. He was impressed with the equip-
(LO 6), S ment’s speed and cost efficiency. Upon returning from the exhibition, he asked his purchasing
 Problems: Set B 325

agent to collect price and operating cost data on the new equipment. In addition, he asked
the company’s accountant to provide him with cost data on the company’s equipment.
This information is presented below.

Old Equipment New Equipment

Purchase price $210,000 $250,000
Estimated salvage value 0 0
Estimated useful life 5 years 4 years
Depreciation method Straight-line Straight-line
Annual operating costs
other than depreciation:
Variable $50,000 $12,000
Fixed 30,000 5,000

Annual revenues are $360,000, and selling and administrative expenses are $45,000,
regardless of which equipment is used. If the old equipment is replaced now, at the begin-
ning of 2014, Simmons Company will be able to sell it for $58,000.
Instructions
(a) Determine any gain or loss if the old equipment is replaced.
(b) Prepare a 4-year summarized income statement for each of the following assumptions:
(1) The old equipment is retained.
(2) The old equipment is replaced. (b) (2) NI $832,000
(c) Using incremental analysis, determine if the old equipment should be replaced. (c) NI increase $60,000
(d) Write a memo to Gene Simmons explaining why any gain or loss should be
ignored in the decision to replace the old equipment.

P7-5B Panda Corporation has four operating divisions. During the first quarter of 2014, Prepare incremental analysis
the company reported aggregate income from operations of $129,000 and the divisional concerning elimination of
results shown below. divisions.
(LO 7), AN
Division
I II III IV
Sales $510,000 $400,000 $310,000 $170,000
Cost of goods sold 300,000 250,000 270,000 156,000
Selling and administrative expenses 60,000 80,000 75,000 70,000
Income (loss) from operations $150,000 $ 70,000 $ (35,000) $ (56,000)

Analysis reveals the following percentages of variable costs in each division.

I II III IV
Cost of goods sold 70% 80% 70% 90%
Selling and administrative expenses 40 50 60 70

Discontinuance of any division would save 50% of the fixed costs and expenses for that
division.
Top management is very concerned about the unprofitable divisions (III and IV). Con-
sensus is that one or both of the divisions should be discontinued.
Instructions
(a) Compute the contribution margin for Divisions III and IV. (a) III $76,000
(b) Prepare an incremental analysis concerning the possible discontinuance of (1) Divi-
sion III and (2) Division IV. What course of action do you recommend for each
division?
(c) Prepare a columnar condensed income statement for Panda Corporation, assuming (c) II $63,900
Division IV is eliminated. (Use the CVP format.) Division IV’s unavoidable fixed costs
are allocated equally to the continuing divisions.
(d) Reconcile the total income from operations ($129,000) with the total income from
operations without Division IV.
326 7 Incremental Analysis

PROBLEMS: SET C

Visit the book’s companion website, at www.wiley.com/college/weygandt, and choose

the Student Companion site to access Problem Set C.

WATERWAYS CONTINUING PROBLEM

(This is a continuation of the Waterways Problem from Chapters 1–6.)

WCP7 Waterways Corporation is considering various business opportunities. It wants to
make the best use of its production facilities to maximize income. This problem asks you
to help Waterways do incremental analysis on these various opportunities.
Go to the book’s companion website, www.wiley.com/college/weygandt, to find the
remainder of this problem.

Broadening Your PERSPECTIVE

Management Decision-Making

Decision-Making at Current Designs

BYP7-1 Current Designs faces a number of important decisions that require incremental analysis.
Consider each of the following situations independently.
Situation 1
Recently, Mike Cichanowski, owner and CEO of Current Designs, received a phone call from the
president of a brewing company. He was calling to inquire about the possibility of Current Designs
producing “floating coolers” for a promotion his company was planning. These coolers resemble
a kayak but are about one-third the size. They are used to float food and beverages while paddling
down the river on a weekend leisure trip. The company would be interested in purchasing 100 coolers
for the upcoming summer. It is willing to pay $250 per cooler. The brewing company would pick up
the coolers upon completion of the order.
Mike met with Diane Buswell, controller, to identify how much it would cost Current Designs
to produce the coolers. After careful analysis, the following costs were identified.
Direct materials $80/unit Variable overhead $20/unit
Direct labor $60/unit Fixed overhead $1,000
Current Designs would be able to modify an existing mold to produce the coolers. The cost of these
modifications would be approximately $2,000.
Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis to determine whether Current Designs should accept this
special order to produce the coolers.
(b) Discuss additional factors that Mike and Diane should consider if Current Designs is currently
operating at full capacity.
Situation 2
Current Designs is always working to identify ways to increase efficiency while becoming more
environmentally conscious. During a recent brainstorming session, one employee suggested to
Diane Buswell, controller, that the company should consider replacing the current rotomold oven
as a way to realize savings from reduced energy consumption. The oven operates on natural gas,
using 17,000 therms of natural gas for an entire year. A new, energy-efficient rotomold oven would
operate on 15,000 therms of natural gas for an entire year. After seeking out price quotes from a
few suppliers, Diane determined that it would cost approximately $250,000 to purchase a new,
 Broadening Your Perspective 327

energy-efficient rotomold oven. She determines that the expected useful life of the new oven would
be 10 years, and it would have no salvage value at the end of its useful life. Current Designs would
be able to sell the current oven for $10,000.
Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis to determine if Current Designs should purchase the new roto-
mold oven, assuming that the average price for natural gas over the next 10 years will be $0.65
per therm.
(b) Diane is concerned that natural gas prices might increase at a faster rate over the next 10 years.
If the company projects that the average natural gas price of the next 10 years could be as high
as $0.85 per therm, discuss how that might change your conclusion in (a).
Situation 3
One of Current Designs’ competitive advantages is found in the ingenuity of its owner and CEO,
Mike Cichanowski. His involvement in the design of kayak molds and production techniques has
led to Current Designs being recognized as an industry leader in the design and production of kay-
aks. This ingenuity was evident in an improved design of one of the most important components of
a kayak, the seat. The “Revolution Seating System” is a one-of-a-kind, rotating axis seat that gives
unmatched, full-contact, under-leg support. It is quickly adjustable with a lever-lock system that
allows for a customizable seat position that maximizes comfort for the rider.
Having just designed the “Revolution Seating System,” Current Designs must now decide
whether to produce the seats internally or buy them from an outside supplier. The costs for Current
Designs to produce the seats are as follows.
Direct materials $20/unit Direct labor $15/unit
Variable overhead $12/unit Fixed overhead $20,000
Current Designs will need to produce 3,000 seats this year; 25% of the fixed overhead will be avoided
if the seats are purchased from an outside vendor. After soliciting prices from outside suppliers, the
company determined that it will cost $50 to purchase a seat from an outside vendor.
Instructions
(a) Prepare an incremental analysis showing whether Current Designs should make or buy the
“Revolution Seating System.”
(b) Would your answer in (a) change if the productive capacity released by not making the seats
could be used to produce income of $20,000?

Decision-Making Across the Organization

BYP7-2 Aurora Company is considering the purchase of a new machine. The invoice price of the
machine is $140,000, freight charges are estimated to be $4,000, and installation costs are expected to
be $6,000. Salvage value of the new equipment is expected to be zero after a useful life of 5 years. Exist-
ing equipment could be retained and used for an additional 5 years if the new machine is not pur-
chased. At that time, the salvage value of the equipment would be zero. If the new machine is purchased
now, the existing machine would have to be scrapped. Aurora’s accountant, Lisah Huang, has accumu-
lated the following data regarding annual sales and expenses with and without the new machine.
1. Without the new machine, Aurora can sell 12,000 units of product annually at a per unit selling
price of $100. If the new machine is purchased, the number of units produced and sold would
increase by 10%, and the selling price would remain the same.
2. The new machine is faster than the old machine, and it is more efficient in its usage of materials.
With the old machine the gross profit rate will be 25% of sales, whereas the rate will be 30% of
sales with the new machine.
3. Annual selling expenses are $180,000 with the current equipment. Because the new equipment
would produce a greater number of units to be sold, annual selling expenses are expected to
increase by 10% if it is purchased.
4. Annual administrative expenses are expected to be $100,000 with the old machine, and $113,000
with the new machine.
5. The current book value of the existing machine is $36,000. Aurora uses straight-line depreciation.
Instructions
With the class divided into groups, prepare an incremental analysis for the 5 years showing whether
Aurora should keep the existing machine or buy the new machine. (Ignore income tax effects.)
328 7 Incremental Analysis

Managerial Analysis
BYP7-3 MiniTek manufactures private-label small electronic products, such as alarm clocks,
calculators, kitchen timers, stopwatches, and automatic pencil sharpeners. Some of the products
are sold as sets, and others are sold individually. Products are studied as to their sales potential, and
then cost estimates are made. The Engineering Department develops production plans, and then
production begins. The company has generally had very successful product introductions. Only
two products introduced by the company have been discontinued.
One of the products currently sold is a multi-alarm clock. The clock has four alarms that can
be programmed to sound at various times and for varying lengths of time. The company has expe-
rienced a great deal of difficulty in making the circuit boards for the clocks. The production process
has never operated smoothly. The product is unprofitable at the present time, primarily because of
warranty repairs and product recalls. Two models of the clocks were recalled, for example, because
they sometimes caused an electric shock when the alarms were being shut off. The Engineering
Department is attempting to revise the manufacturing process, but the revision will take another
6 months at least.
The clocks were very popular when they were introduced, and since they are private-label, the
company has not suffered much from the recalls. Presently, the company has a very large order for
several items from Kmart Stores. The order includes 5,000 of the multi-alarm clocks. When the
company suggested that Kmart purchase the clocks from another manufacturer, Kmart threatened
to rescind the entire order unless the clocks were included.
The company has therefore investigated the possibility of having another company make the
clocks for them. The clocks were bid for the Kmart order based on an estimated $6.90 cost to
manufacture:

Circuit board, 1 each @ $2.00 $2.00

Plastic case, 1 each @ $0.80 0.80
Alarms, 4 @ $0.15 each 0.60
Labor, 15 minutes @ $12/hour 3.00
Overhead, $2.00 per labor hour 0.50

MiniTek could purchase clocks to fill the Kmart order for $10 from Trans-Tech Asia, a Korean
manufacturer with a very good quality record. Trans-Tech has offered to reduce the price to $7.50
after MiniTek has been a customer for 6 months, placing an order of at least 1,000 units per month.
If MiniTek becomes a “preferred customer” by purchasing 15,000 units per year, the price would
be reduced still further to $4.50.
Omega Products, a local manufacturer, has also offered to make clocks for MiniTek. They have
offered to sell 5,000 clocks for $5 each. However, Omega Products has been in business for only
6 months. They have experienced significant turnover in their labor force, and the local press has
reported that the owners may face tax evasion charges soon. The owner of Omega Products is an
electronic engineer, however, and the quality of the clocks is likely to be good.
If MiniTek decides to purchase the clocks from either Trans-Tech or Omega, all the costs to
manufacture could be avoided, except a total of $5,000 in overhead costs for machine depreciation.
The machinery is fairly new, and has no alternate use.

Instructions
(a) What is the difference in profit under each of the alternatives if the clocks are to be sold for
$14.50 each to Kmart?
(b) What are the most important nonfinancial factors that MiniTek should consider when making
this decision?
(c) What do you think MiniTek should do in regard to the Kmart order? What should it do in re-
gard to continuing to manufacture the multi-alarm clocks? Be prepared to defend your answer.

Real-World Focus
BYP7-4 Founded in 1983, Beverly Hills Fan Company is located in Woodland Hills, California.
With 23 employees and sales of less than $10 million, the company is relatively small. Management
feels that there is potential for growth in the upscale market for ceiling fans and lighting. They are
particularly optimistic about growth in Mexican and Canadian markets.
 Broadening Your Perspective 329

Presented below is information from the president’s letter in the company’s annual report.

Beverly Hills Fan Company

President’s Letter

An aggressive product development program was initiated during the past year resulting in new
ceiling fan models planned for introduction this year. Award winning industrial designer Ron
Rezek created several new fan models for the Beverly Hills Fan and L.A. Fan lines, including
a new Showroom Collection, designed specifically for the architectural and designer markets.
Each of these models has received critical acclaim, and order commitments for this year have
been outstanding. Additionally, our Custom Color and special order fans continued to enjoy
increasing popularity and sales gains as more and more customers desire fans that match their
specific interior decors. Currently, Beverly Hills Fan Company offers a product line of over
100 models of contemporary, traditional, and transitional ceiling fans.

Instructions
(a) What points did the company management need to consider before deciding to offer the
special-order fans to customers?
(b) How would incremental analysis be employed to assist in this decision?
BYP7-5 Outsourcing by both manufacturers and service companies is becoming increasingly
common. There are now many firms that specialize in outsourcing consulting.

Address: www.alsbridge.com, or go to www.wiley.com/college/weygandt

Instructions
Go to the Web page of Alsbridge, Inc. at the address shown above, and answer the following
questions.
(a) What are some of the types of outsourcing for which the company provides assistance?
(b) What is insourcing?
(c) What are some of the potential benefits of insourcing?

Critical Thinking

Communication Activity
BYP7-6 Hank Jewell is a production manager at a metal fabricating plant. Last night, he read an
article about a new piece of equipment that would dramatically reduce his division’s costs. Hank
was very excited about the prospect, and the first thing he did this morning was to bring the article
to his supervisor, Preston Thiese, the plant manager. The following conversation occurred:
Hank: Preston, I thought you would like to see this article on the new PDD1130; they’ve made
some fantastic changes that could save us millions of dollars.
Preston: I appreciate your interest, Hank, but I actually have been aware of the new machine
for two months. The problem is that we just bought a new machine last year. We spent
$2 million on that machine, and it was supposed to last us 12 years. If we replace it now,
we would have to write its book value off of the books for a huge loss. If I go to top man-
agement now and say that I want a new machine, they will fire me. I think we should
use our existing machine for a couple of years, and then when it becomes obvious that
we have to have a new machine, I will make the proposal.
Instructions
Hank just completed a course in managerial accounting, and he believes that Preston is making a
big mistake. Write a memo from Hank to Preston explaining Preston’s decision-making error.
330 7 Incremental Analysis

Ethics Case
BYP7-7 Blake Romney became Chief Executive Officer of Peters Inc. two years ago. At the time,
the company was reporting lagging profits, and Blake was brought in to “stir things up.” The com-
pany has three divisions, electronics, fiber optics, and plumbing supplies. Blake has no interest
in plumbing supplies, and one of the first things he did was to put pressure on his accountants to
reallocate some of the company’s fixed costs away from the other two divisions to the plumbing
division. This had the effect of causing the plumbing division to report losses during the last two
years; in the past it had always reported low, but acceptable, net income. Blake felt that this real-
location would shine a favorable light on him in front of the board of directors because it meant
that the electronics and fiber optics divisions would look like they were improving. Given that these
are “businesses of the future,” he believed that the stock market would react favorably to these
increases, while not penalizing the poor results of the plumbing division. Without this shift in the
allocation of fixed costs, the profits of the electronics and fiber optics divisions would not have im-
proved. But now the board of directors has suggested that the plumbing division be closed because
it is reporting losses. This would mean that nearly 500 employees, many of whom have worked for
Peters their whole lives, would lose their jobs.

Instructions
(a) If a division is reporting losses, does that necessarily mean that it should be closed?
(b) Was the reallocation of fixed costs across divisions unethical?
(c) What should Blake do?

All About You

BYP7-8 Managerial accounting techniques can be used in a wide variety of settings. As we have
frequently pointed out, you can use them in many personal situations. They also can be useful in
trying to find solutions for societal issues that appear to be hard to solve.

Instructions
Read the Fortune article, “The Toughest Customers: How Hardheaded Business Metrics Can Help
the Hard-core Homeless,” by Cait Murphy, available at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/
fortune_archive/2006/04/03/8373067/index.htm. Answer the following questions.
(a) How does the article define “chronic” homelessness?
(b) In what ways does homelessness cost a city money? What are the estimated costs of a chronic
homeless person to various cities?
(c) What are the steps suggested to address the problem?
(d) What is the estimated cost of implementing this program in New York? What results have been
seen?
(e) In terms of incremental analysis, frame the relevant costs in this situation.

Considering Your Costs and Benefits

BYP7-9 School costs money. Is this an expenditure that you should have avoided? A year of tuition
at a public four-year college costs about $8,655, and a year of tuition at a public two-year college
costs about $1,359. If you did not go to college, you might avoid mountains of school-related debt.
In fact, each year, about 600,000 students decide to drop out of school. Many of them never return.
Suppose that you are working two jobs and going to college, and that you are not making ends
meet. Your grades are suffering due to your lack of available study time. You feel depressed. Should
you drop out of school?
YES: You can always go back to school. If your grades are bad and you are depressed, what
good is school doing you anyway?
NO: Once you drop out, it is very hard to get enough momentum to go back. Dropping out will
dramatically reduce your long-term opportunities. It is better to stay in school, even if you take
only one class per semester. While you cannot go back and redo your initial decision, you can
look at some facts to evaluate the wisdom of your decision.

Instructions
Write a response indicating your position regarding this situation. Provide support for your view.
 Broadening Your Perspective 331

Answers to Chapter Questions

Answers to Insight and Accounting Across the Organization Questions

p. 296 That Letter from AmEx Might Not Be a Bill Q: What are the relevant costs that American
Express would need to know in order to determine to whom to make this offer? A: Clearly, American
Express would make this offer to those customers that are most likely to default on their bills.
The most important relevant cost would be the “expected loss” that an at-risk customer posed. If a
customer has a high probability of defaulting and if the expected loss exceeds the $300 cost, then
American Express can probably save money by paying that customer to quit using its card so that
the customer doesn’t ring up an even bigger bill.
p. 300 Giving Away the Store? Q: What are the relevant revenues and costs that Amazon should
consider relative to the decision whether to offer the Prime free-shipping subscription? A: The
relevant revenues to consider would be the estimated change in revenue that would result from
offering free shipping and the $79 annual fee for a Prime subscription. The relevant costs would be
the estimated additional shipping costs that the company would incur.
p. 307 Time to Move to a New Neighborhood? Q: What were some of the factors that compli-
cated the company’s decision to move? How should the company have incorporated such factors
into its incremental analysis? A: The company received only $7.5 million for its California property,
only 58 of 75 key employees were willing to move, construction was delayed by a year which caused
the new plant to increase in price by $1.5 million, and wages surged in Idaho due to low unem-
ployment. In performing incremental analysis of the decision to move, a company should perform
sensitivity analysis. This would include evaluating the impact on the decision if all costs were, for
example, 10% higher than expected or if cost savings were 10% lower than expected.
p. 308 What Is the Real Cost of Packaging Options? Q: If your marketing director suggests that,
in addition to selling your cereal in a standard-size box, you should sell a jumbo size and an indi-
vidual size, what issues must you consider? A: In evaluating this decision, you should identify the
incremental revenues as well as incremental costs. The marketing manager is most likely focusing
on the fact that by offering alternative packaging options, the company can market the product to
a broader range of customers. However, alternative packaging options will also result in additional
costs. It will increase the number of setups, require different types of storage and handling, and
increase the need for additional storage space for the packages and the packaged products.

Answers to Self-Test Questions

1. d 2. b 3. c 4. d 5. c (3,000 3 $4) 6. d [$18 2 ($14 1 $5)] 3 3,000 7. b 8. d
9. c ($12,000 2 $8,000) 10. a 11. d [($68 2 $55) 2 $12] 12. b 13. c 14. b (.5 3 $100,000) 2
($200,000 2 $140,000)

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Chapter 8 Pricing
Feature Story

They’ve Got Your company is dedicated to providing the

best selection in shoes in terms of
Size—and Color brands, styles, colors, size, and most
Nick Swinmum was shopping for a pair importantly service.
of shoes. He found a store with the
To make sure that Zappos.com had a
right style, but not the right color. The
fighting chance of evolving from a
next store had the right color, but not
half-baked idea to a thriving business,
the right size. After visiting numerous
Nick brought in Tony Hsieh. At the age
stores, he went home, figuring he
of 24, Tony had developed and
would buy them on the Web. After
recently sold a business to Microsoft
all, it was 1999, so you could buy
for $265 million. Tony originally
everything on the Web, right? Well,
contributed to Zappos as an investor
apparently not shoes. After an exhaus-
and advisor, but soon he took over as
tive search, Nick still came up shoeless.
CEO. Tony then brought in Alfred Lin
Nick lived in San Francisco, where, in to manage the company’s finances.
1999, everybody with even half an Tony and Alfred had met when Tony
idea started an Internet company and was running a pizza business. (Alfred
became a millionaire. Or so it seemed. was Tony’s best pizza customer, but his
So Nick started Zappos.com. The competencies apparently extended

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Learning Objectives
Scan Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Read Feature Story
1 Compute a target cost when the market determines a
Read Preview product price.

Read Text and answer DO IT! p. 336 2 Compute a target selling price using cost-plus pricing.
p. 340 p. 344 p. 349 3 Use time-and-material pricing to determine the cost of
services provided.
Work Using the Decision Toolkit p. 353
4 Determine a transfer price using the negotiated, cost-based,
Review Summary of Learning Objectives
and market-based approaches.
Work Comprehensive DO IT! p. 360 5 Explain issues involved in transferring goods between

Answer Self-Test Questions divisions in different countries.

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332