Cost Accounting, Chapter 5 11ch05

Activity-Based Costing and
Activity-Based Management
Chapter 5

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-1

Learning Objective 1
Explain undercosting
and overcosting of
products and services.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-2

Undercosting and
Overcosting Example
Jose, Roberta, and Nancy order
separate items for lunch.

Jose’s order amounts to
$14
Roberta consumed
30
Nancy’s order is
16
Total
$60
What is the average cost per lunch?
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-3

Undercosting and
Overcosting Example
$60 ÷ 3 = $20

Jose and Nancy
are overcosted.


Roberta is
undercosted.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-4

Learning Objective 2
Present three guidelines for
refining a costing system.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-5

Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
Kole Corporation manufactures a normal lens
(NL) and a complex lens (CL).
Kole currently uses a single indirect-cost rate
job costing system.

Cost objects: 80,000 (NL) and 20,000 (CL).

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-6

Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
Normal Lenses (NL)
Direct materials
$1,520,000
Direct mfg. labor
800,000
Total direct costs
$2,320,000
Direct cost per unit: $2,320,000 ÷ 80,000 = $29

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-7


Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
Complex Lenses (CL)
Direct materials
$ 920,000
Direct mfg. labor
260,000
Total direct costs
$1,180,000
Direct cost per unit: $1,180,000 ÷ 20,000 = $59

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-8

Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
INDIRECT-COST
POLL

INDIRECT
COST-ALLOCATION

BASE

All
AllIndirect
IndirectCosts
Costs
$2,900,000
$2,900,000

50,000
50,000Direct
Direct
Manufacturing
Manufacturing
Labor-Hours
Labor-Hours
$58 per Direct
Manufacturing
Labor-Hour


©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5-9

Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
COST OBJECT:
NL AND CL
LENSES

Indirect
IndirectCosts
Costs
Direct
DirectCosts
Costs

DIRECT
COSTS
Direct
Direct

Materials
Materials

Direct
Direct
Manufacturing
Manufacturing
Labor
Labor

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 10

Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
Kole uses 36,000 direct manufacturing
labor-hours to make NL and 14,000 direct
manufacturing labor-hours to make CL.
How much indirect costs are allocated
to each product?


©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 11

Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
NL: 36,000 × $58 = $2,088,000
CL: 14,000 × $58 = $812,000
What is the total cost of normal lenses?
Direct costs $2,320,000 +
Allocated costs $2,088,000 = $4,408,000
What is the cost per unit?
$4,408,000 ÷ 80,000 = $55.10
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 12

Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
What is the total cost of complex lenses?
Direct costs $1,180,000 + Allocated costs

$812,000 = $1,992,000
What is the cost per unit?
$1,992,000 ÷ 20,000 = $99.60

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 13

Existing Single IndirectCost Pool System Example
Normal lenses sell for $60 each and
complex lenses for $142 each.
Normal Complex
Revenue
$60.00
$142.00
Cost
55.10
99.60
Income
$ 4.90

$ 42.40
Margin
8.2%
29.9%
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 14

Refining a Costing System
Direct-cost tracing
Indirect-cost pools
Cost-allocation basis
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 15

Refining a Costing System
1. Design of Products and Process
The Design Department designs the molds
and defines processes needed (details of

the manufacturing operations).

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 16

Refining a Costing System
2. Manufacturing Operations
Lenses are molded, finished,
cleaned, and inspected.
3. Shipping and Distribution
Finished lenses are packed and
sent to the various customers.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 17

Learning Objective 3
Distinguish between the
traditional and the
activity-based costing
approaches to designing
a costing system.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 18

Activity-Based Costing System
Fundamental
Cost Objects
Activities
Costs of Activities

Assignment to Other
Cost Objects
Cost of:
• Product
• Service
• Customer

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 19

Activity-Based Costing System
A cross-functional team at Kole
Corporation identified key activities:
Design products and processes.
Set up molding machine.
Operate machines to manufacture lenses.
Maintain and clean the molds.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 20

Activity-Based Costing System
Set up batches of finished lenses for shipment.
Distribute lenses to customers.
Administer and manage all processes.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 21

Activity-Based Costing System
Activity
Indirect Cost
Pool

Design

Setup

Shipping

Cost
Allocation
Base

PartsSquare
feet

No. of
Setup
Hours

No. of
Shipments

Product
Cost
Objects

Lenses
NL

Lenses
CL

Lenses
Other

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 22

Activity-Based Costing System
NL
CL
Quantity produced
80,000
20,000
No. produced/batch
250
50
Number of batches
320
400
Setup time per batch
2 hours
5 hours
Total setup-hours
640
2,000
Total setup costs are $409,200.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 23

Activity-Based Costing System
What is the setup cost per setup-hour?
$409,200 ÷ 2,640 hours = $155
What is the setup cost per
direct manufacturing labor-hour?
$409,200 ÷ 50,000 = $8.184

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 24

Activity-Based Costing System
Allocation using direct labor-hours:
NL: $8.184 × 36,000 = $294,624
CL: $8.184 × 14,000 = $114,576
Total
$409,200
Allocation using setup-hours:
NL: $155 × 640
= $ 99,200
CL: $155 × 2,000
= $310,000
Total
$409,200
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 25

Learning Objective 4
Describe a four-part
cost hierarchy.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 26

Cost Hierarchies
A cost hierarchy is a categorization
of costs into different cost pools.
Cost drivers bases (cost-allocation bases)
Degrees of difficulty in determining
cause-and-effect relationships

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 27

Cost Hierarchies
ABC systems commonly use a
four-part cost hierarchy to
identify cost-allocation bases:
1. Output unit-level costs
2.

Batch-level costs

3.

Product-sustaining costs

4.

Facility-sustaining costs

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 28

Output Unit-Level Costs
These are resources sacrificed
on activities performed on each
individual unit of product or service.
Energy
Machine depreciation
Repairs
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 29

Batch-Level Costs
These are resources sacrificed on
activities that are related to a group
of units of product(s) or service(s)
rather than to each individual unit
of product or service.
Setup-hours
Procurement costs
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 30

Product-Sustaining Costs
These are often called service-sustaining
costs and are resources sacrificed on
activities undertaken to support
individual products or services.
Design costs
Engineering costs
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 31

Facility-Sustaining Costs
These are resources sacrificed on
activities that cannot be traced to
individual products or services but
support the organization as a whole.
General administration
– rent

– building security

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 32

Learning Objective 5
Cost products or services using
activity-based costing.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 33

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Step 1

Step 2

Identify cost objects.

Identify the direct costs
of the products.

NL
CL

Direct material
Direct labor
Mold cleaning and
maintenance

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 34

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Cleaning and maintenance costs of
$360,000 are direct batch-level costs.
Why?
Because these costs consist of workers’
wages for cleaning molds after each
batch of lenses is run.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 35

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Normal Lenses (NL)
Cost Hierarchy
Description Category
Direct materials Unit-level $1,520,000
Direct mfg. labor Unit-level
800,000
Cleaning and maint. Batch-level
160,000
Total direct costs $2,480,000
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 36

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Complex Lenses (CL)
Cost Hierarchy
Description Category
Direct materials Unit-level $ 920,000
Direct mfg. labor Unit-level
260,000
Cleaning and maint. Batch-level
200,000
Total direct costs $1,380,000
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 37

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Step 3
Select the cost-allocation bases to use for
allocating indirect costs to the products.
(1)
(2)
(3)
Activity
Cost Hierarchy
Total Costs
Design
Product-sustaining
$450,000
Setups
Batch-level
$409,200
Operations Unit-level
$637,500
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 38

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Step 4
Identify the indirect costs associated
with each cost-allocation base.
Overhead costs incurred are assigned
to activities, to the extent possible, on
the basis of a cause-and-effect relationship.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 39

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Step 5
Compute the rate per unit.
(1)
(5)
NL
CL
Total
Setup-hours: 640
2,000
2,640
$409,200 ÷ 2,640 = $155

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 40

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Step 6
Compute the indirect costs allocated
to the products.
NL: $155 × 640 =
$ 99,200
CL: $155 × 2,000 =
310,000
Total
$409,200

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 41

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
Step 7
Compute the costs of the products.
NL and CL would show three
direct cost categories.
1.
Direct materials
2.

Direct manufacturing labor

3.

Cleaning and maintenance

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 42

Implementing
Activity-Based Costing
NL and CL would show six indirect cost pools.
1.

Design

2.

Molding machine setups

3.

Manufacturing operations

4.

Shipment setup

5.

Distribution

6.

Administration

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 43

Learning Objective 6
Use activity-based
costing systems for
activity-based management.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 44

Activity-Based Management
ABM describes management decisions that use
activity-based costing information to satisfy
customers and improve profits.
Product pricing and mix decisions
Cost reduction and process improvement decisions
Design decisions
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 45

Product Pricing and
Mix Decisions
ABC gives management insight into the cost
structures for making and selling diverse products.
It provides more accurate product cost
information and more detailed information
on costs of activities and the drivers of those costs.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 46

Cost Reduction and Process
Improvement Decisions
Manufacturing and distribution personnel use
ABC systems to focus on cost-reduction efforts.
Managers set cost-reduction targets in terms of
reducing the cost per unit of the cost-allocation base.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 47

Design Decisions
Management can identify and evaluate new designs
to improve performance by evaluating how product
and process designs affect activities and costs.
Companies can work with their customers to
evaluate the costs and prices of alternative designs.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 48

Learning Objective 7
Compare activity-based costing
systems and departmentcosting systems.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 49

ABC and Department
Indirect-Cost Rates
Many companies have evolved their
costing system from using a single
cost pool to using separate indirect-cost
rates for each department:
Design
Manufacturing
Distribution
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 50

ABC and Department
Indirect-Cost Rates
Why?
Because the cost drivers of resources in each
department or subdepartment differ from the
single, company-wide, cost-allocation base.
ABC systems are a further refinement of
department costing systems.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 51

Learning Objective 8
Evaluate the costs and benefits
of implementing activity-based
costing systems.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 52

Benefits of ABC Systems
Significant amounts of indirect costs are
allocated using only one or two cost pools.
All or most costs are identified
as output unit-level costs.
Products make diverse demands on
resources because of differences in
volume, process steps, batch size,
or complexity.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 53

Benefits of ABC Systems
Products that a company is well-suited to
make and sell show small profits while
products for which a company is less
suited show large profits.
Complex products appear to be very
profitable and simple products
appear to be losing money.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 54

Benefits of ABC Systems
Operations staff have significant
disagreements with the accounting
staff about the costs of manufacturing
and marketing products and services.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 55

Limitations of ABC Systems
The main limitations of ABC are the
measurements necessary to
implement the system.
ABC systems require management
to estimate costs of activity pools
and to identify and measure cost
drivers for these pools.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 56

Limitations of ABC Systems
Activity-cost rates also need to be
updated regularly.
Very detailed ABC systems are costly
to operate and difficult to understand.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 57

ABC In Service and
Merchandising Companies
The general approach to ABC in the
service and merchandising areas is very
similar to the approach in manufacturing.
Costs are divided into homogeneous cost
pools and classified as output unit-level,
batch-level, product- or service-sustaining,
and facility-sustaining costs.
©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 58

ABC In Service and
Merchandising Companies
The cost pools correspond to key activities.
Costs are allocated to products or customers
using activity drivers or cost-allocation
bases that have a cause-and-effect
relationship with the cost in the cost pool.

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 59

End of Chapter 5

©2003 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Cost Accounting 11/e, Horngren/Datar/Foster

5 - 60