Plant-wide, department, and activity-cost rates. Acclaim Inc. makes two styles of trophies, basic and deluxe, and operates at capacity. Acclaim does large custom orders. Acclaim budgets to produce 10,000 basic trophies and 5,000 deluxe trophies. Manufacturing takes place in two production departments: forming and assembly. In the forming department, indirect manufacturing costs are accumulated in two cost pools, setup and general overhead. In the assembly department, all indirect manufacturing costs are accumulated in one general overhead cost pool. The basic trophies are formed in batches of 200 but be-cause of the more intricate detail of the deluxe trophies, they are formed in batches of 50. The controller has asked you to compare plant-wide, department, and activity-based cost allocation.

Forming Department Basic Delux Total
$60,000 $35,000 $95,000
Direct manufacturing labor $30,000 $20,000 $50,000
Overhead costs Setup $48,000
General overhead $32,000

Assembly Department Basic Delux Total
Direct materials $50,000 $10,000 $15,000
Direct manufacturing labor 15,000 25,000 40,000
Overhead costs Setup
General overhead 40,000

Required:
a. Calculate the budgeted unit cost of basic and deluxe trophies based on a single plant-wide overhead rate, if total overhead is allocated based on total direct (Don't forget to include direct material and direct manufacturing labor cost in your unit cost calculation.)
b. Calculate the budgeted unit cost of basic and deluxe trophies based on departmental overhead rates, where forming department overhead costs are allocated based on direct manufacturing labor costs of the forming department and assembly department overhead costs are allocated based on total direct manufacturing labor costs of the assembly department
c. Calculate the budgeted unit cost of basic and deluxe trophies if Acclaim allocates overhead costs in each department using activity-based costing, where setup costs are allocated based on number of batches and general overhead costs for each department are allocated based on direct manufacturing labor costs of each department.
d. Explain briefly why plant-wide, department, and activity-based costing systems show different costs for the basic and deluxe trophies. Which system would you recommend and why?

Acclaim Inc.

                                         Basic Trophies     Deluxe Trophies

Budgeted unit cost:

a. using single-plant o/h rate   $17.60                  $28.80

b. using departmental rates    $17.42                  $29.16

c. using ABC                            $18.26                  $27.48

d. They show different costs because the overhead rates are based on different parameters.

I recommend ABC system.  It is more fair because the overhead rates are based on product line's activity usage instead of an arbitrary figure.

Explanation:

a) Data and Calculations:

                                         Basic Trophies     Deluxe Trophies        Total

Budgeted production               10,000                   5,000              15,000

Batches                                         200                        50                   250

                                         Basic Trophies     Deluxe Trophies        Total

Forming Department            $60,000              $35,000           $95,000

Direct manufacturing labor $30,000              $20,000           $50,000

Assembly

Direct materials                    $5,000                $10,000            $15,000

Direct manufacturing labor  15,000                  25,000             40,000

Total direct costs              $110,000                $90,000        $200,000

Overhead costs                  66,000                   54,000           120,000

Total production costs    $176,000               $144,000        $320,000

Budgeted production          10,000                    5,000

Budget unit costs               $17.60                  $28.80

Overhead rate

Total overhead/total direct costs = $120,000/$200,000 = $0.60

                                                             Basic        Deluxe        Total

                                                         Trophies    Trophies

Forming department:

Overhead costs Setup $48,000

General overhead        $32,000

Total overhead costs   $80,000

Overhead rate = $80,000/$145,000 = $552

 Assembly department

General overhead         $40,000/$55,000 = $0.727

                                         Basic Trophies     Deluxe Trophies        Total

Forming Department            $60,000              $35,000           $95,000

Direct manufacturing labor $30,000              $20,000           $50,000

Total direct costs                 $90,000              $55,000          $145,000

Overhead costs                     49,680                 30,360              80,040

Total departmental costs  $139,680               $85,360         $225,040

Assembly

Direct materials                    $5,000                $10,000            $15,000

Direct manufacturing labor  15,000                  25,000             40,000

Total direct costs               $20,000                $35,000          $55,000

Overhead costs                    14,540                   25,445            39,985

Total departmental costs  $34,540                $60,445          $94,985

Total production costs     $174,220               $145,805       $320,025

Budgeted production          10,000                    5,000

Budget unit costs               $17.42                  $29.16

                                         Basic Trophies     Deluxe Trophies        Total

Forming Department            $60,000              $35,000           $95,000

Direct manufacturing labor $30,000              $20,000           $50,000

Assembly

Direct materials                    $5,000                $10,000            $15,000

Direct manufacturing labor  15,000                  25,000             40,000

Total overhead allocated  $72,600                 $47,400        $120,000

Total production costs    $182,600                $137,400       $320,000

Budgeted production          10,000                    5,000

Budget unit costs                $18.26                  $27.48

Overhead costs allocation:

                                                            Basic        Deluxe        Total

                                                         Trophies    Trophies

Forming department:

Overhead costs Setup $48,000/250  $38,400  $9,600     $48,000

General overhead  $32,000/$50,000   19,200   12,800       32,000

Assembly department

General overhead $40,000/$40,000   15,000   25,000      40,000

Total overhead allocated                    $72,600 $47,400   $120,000