Mercer Asbestos Removal Company removes potentially toxic asbestos insulation from buildings. There has been a long-simmering dispute between the company’s estimator and the work supervisors. The on-site supervisors claim the estimators do not adequately distinguish between routine work, such as removing asbestos insulation around heating pipes in older homes, and nonroutine work, such as removing asbestos-contaminated ceiling plaster in industrial buildings. The on-site supervisors believe nonroutine work is far more expensive than routine work and should bear higher customer charges. The estimator sums up his position in this way: “My job is to measure the area to be cleared of asbestos. As directed by top management, I simply multiply the square footage by $2.50 to determine the bid price. Because our average cost is only $2.235 per square foot, that leaves enough cushion to take care of the additional costs of nonroutine work. Besides, it is difficult to know what is routine or not routine until you actually start tearing things apart.” To shed light on this controversy, the company gathered the following activity-based costing data: Activity Cost Pool Activity Measure Total Activity Removing asbestos Thousands of square feet 800 thousand square feet Estimating and job setup Number of jobs 500 jobs Working on nonroutine jobs Number of nonroutine jobs 100 nonroutine jobs Other (organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs) None   Note: The 100 nonroutine jobs are included in the total of 500 jobs. Both nonroutine jobs and routine jobs require estimating and setup. Costs for the Year   Wages and salaries $ 317,000 Disposal fees 712,000 Equipment depreciation 97,000 On-site supplies 55,000 Office expenses 220,000 Licensing and insurance 420,000 Total cost $ 1,821,000 Distribution of Resource Consumption Across Activities   Removing Asbestos Estimating and Job Setup Working on Nonroutine Jobs Other Total Wages and salaries 50% 15% 20% 15% 100% Disposal fees 60% 0% 40% 0% 100% Equipment depreciation 50% 10% 15% 25% 100% On-site supplies 60% 25% 15% 0% 100% Office expenses 10% 40% 15% 35% 100% Licensing and insurance 30% 0% 60% 10% 100% Required: Perform the first-stage allocation of costs to the activity cost pools.

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
10th Edition
ISBN:9781259964947
Author:Libby
Publisher:Libby
Chapter1: Financial Statements And Business Decisions
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1Q
icon
Related questions
Question

Mercer Asbestos Removal Company removes potentially toxic asbestos insulation from buildings. There has been a long-simmering dispute between the company’s estimator and the work supervisors. The on-site supervisors claim the estimators do not adequately distinguish between routine work, such as removing asbestos insulation around heating pipes in older homes, and nonroutine work, such as removing asbestos-contaminated ceiling plaster in industrial buildings. The on-site supervisors believe nonroutine work is far more expensive than routine work and should bear higher customer charges. The estimator sums up his position in this way: “My job is to measure the area to be cleared of asbestos. As directed by top management, I simply multiply the square footage by $2.50 to determine the bid price. Because our average cost is only $2.235 per square foot, that leaves enough cushion to take care of the additional costs of nonroutine work. Besides, it is difficult to know what is routine or not routine until you actually start tearing things apart.”

To shed light on this controversy, the company gathered the following activity-based costing data:

Activity Cost Pool Activity Measure Total Activity
Removing asbestos Thousands of square feet 800 thousand square feet
Estimating and job setup Number of jobs 500 jobs
Working on nonroutine jobs Number of nonroutine jobs 100 nonroutine jobs
Other (organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs) None  

Note: The 100 nonroutine jobs are included in the total of 500 jobs. Both nonroutine jobs and routine jobs require estimating and setup.

Costs for the Year  
Wages and salaries $ 317,000
Disposal fees 712,000
Equipment depreciation 97,000
On-site supplies 55,000
Office expenses 220,000
Licensing and insurance 420,000
Total cost $ 1,821,000
Distribution of Resource Consumption Across Activities
  Removing Asbestos Estimating and Job Setup Working on Nonroutine Jobs Other Total
Wages and salaries 50% 15% 20% 15% 100%
Disposal fees 60% 0% 40% 0% 100%
Equipment depreciation 50% 10% 15% 25% 100%
On-site supplies 60% 25% 15% 0% 100%
Office expenses 10% 40% 15% 35% 100%
Licensing and insurance 30% 0% 60% 10% 100%

Required:

  1. Perform the first-stage allocation of costs to the activity cost pools.
AI-Generated Solution
AI-generated content may present inaccurate or offensive content that does not represent bartleby’s views.
steps

Unlock instant AI solutions

Tap the button
to generate a solution

Similar questions
Recommended textbooks for you
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
Accounting
ISBN:
9781259964947
Author:
Libby
Publisher:
MCG
Accounting
Accounting
Accounting
ISBN:
9781337272094
Author:
WARREN, Carl S., Reeve, James M., Duchac, Jonathan E.
Publisher:
Cengage Learning,
Accounting Information Systems
Accounting Information Systems
Accounting
ISBN:
9781337619202
Author:
Hall, James A.
Publisher:
Cengage Learning,
Horngren's Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis…
Horngren's Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis…
Accounting
ISBN:
9780134475585
Author:
Srikant M. Datar, Madhav V. Rajan
Publisher:
PEARSON
Intermediate Accounting
Intermediate Accounting
Accounting
ISBN:
9781259722660
Author:
J. David Spiceland, Mark W. Nelson, Wayne M Thomas
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education
Financial and Managerial Accounting
Financial and Managerial Accounting
Accounting
ISBN:
9781259726705
Author:
John J Wild, Ken W. Shaw, Barbara Chiappetta Fundamental Accounting Principles
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education