Assignment Paper

Chapter 10

Review the ABC cost allocation graphic provided by the instructor and respond to the questions / requirements below.

1. What cost drivers might be appropriate for the depreciation (DEP), interest (INT), operation and maintenance of plant (IPA), and general administration (IGA) cost pools?

2. What does the curved arrow from the general administration (IGA) cost pool to the operation and maintenance of plant (IPA) cost pool suggest? How would such a cost allocation work, logistically?

3. What are the “products” in this activity-based costing approach?

4. How might the burdened costs associated with the library (ILA) be allocated?

 

Chapter 11

Review the 2018 Annual Report for Thor Industries (in particular the segment reporting that begins on page 40 of the PDF) and respond to the questions / requirements below.

 

1. What types of product costs does this company describe? Alternatively, what types of period costs does this company describe? Do these classifications seem appropriate?

2. What types of costs does this company include in manufacturing overhead, and are those costs appropriate? Which of the overhead costs are classified as fixed costs and which are classified as variable costs?

3. For the Towables segment of this company, what are the estimated fixed costs and variable costs per unit using the scattergraph method, the high-low method, and/or the regression method? (Data for the past six years, taken from the current and former Annual Reports, is noted below.)

2018: 240,865 units, with total costs of $5,431,022 thousand

2017: 213,562 units, with total costs of $4,617,289 thousand

2016: 128,932 units, with total costs of $2,987,182 thousand

2015: 115,685 units, with total costs of $2,822,275 thousand

2014: 100,685 units, with total costs of $2,488,808 thousand

2013: 99,202 units, with total costs of $2,432,562 thousand

2012: 87,872 units, with total costs of $2,116,904 thousand

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 12

 

Review the 2015 Annual Report for Nortek, Inc. (in particular the segment reporting, Note 9, which begins on page 125 of the PDF) and respond to the questions / requirements below.

 

(Nortek was acquired by Melrose Industries PLC, a UK company, in early 2016. The recent Annual Reports of Melrose Industries do not provide comparably useful segment reporting for our analysis.)

 

1. Which segments of this company would appear to be potential candidates for segment elimination decisions?

2. What differential revenues and incremental costs might be relevant to any such segment elimination considerations?

3. Although two of the segments for this company reported net operating losses in the most recent fiscal year, what quantitative factors and qualitative factors might discourage elimination of the segments?

4. Based on the discussion of risk factors for this company (on page 16 of the PDF), what pricing strategy appears to be in use?