Question: What are conversion costs? In a job

> A cost object can be anything for which managers want a separate measurement of cost. List three different potential cost objects other than the product itself for the company you have selected.

> Net cash inflows and net cash outflows are used in the net present value method and in the internal rate of return method. Explain why accounting net income is not used instead of cash flows.

> Define capital investment. List at least three examples of capital investments other than the examples provided in the chapter.

> Describe the capital budgeting process in your own words.

> Research the cost of each model (include taxes and title costs). Also, obtain an estimate of the miles-per-gallon fuel efficiency of each model.

> What qualitative factors might affect your decision about which model to purchase?

> Now look at the payback period of the hybrid model. Use the difference between the cost of the hybrid model and the gasoline-engine model as the investment. Use the annual fuel savings as the expected annual net cash inflow. Ignoring the time value of mo

> Describe the six value chain business activities that this product would pass through from its inception to its ultimate delivery to the customer.

> Compare the NPV of the hybrid model with the cost of the gasoline-engine model. Which model has the lowest cost (the lowest NPV)? From a purely financial standpoint, does the hybrid model make sense?

> Given your previous estimates from 1 and 2, estimate the total fuel cost of driving the hybrid model for one year. Also estimate the total fuel cost of driving the nonhybrid model for one year. Calculate the fuel cost savings offered by the hybrid model

> Estimate the number of miles you drive each year. Also estimate the cost of a gallon of fuel.

> Calculate the NPV of the hybrid model, using the annual fuel savings as the annual cash inflow for the 10 years you would own the car. Assume a required rate of return of 10%.

> Classify each cost you identified in the value chain as being either a product cost or a period cost. Explain your justification.

> Describe at least four ways a company could use standard costing and variance analysis.

> What are the two variable manufacturing overhead variances? What does each measure? Who within the organization would be responsible for each of these variances?

> What does the direct labor efficiency variance measure? Who is generally responsible for the direct labor efficiency variance? Describe two situations that could result in a favor-able direct labor efficiency variance. Describe two situations that could

> What does the direct labor rate variance measure? Who is generally responsible for the direct labor rate variance? Describe two situations that could result in a favorable labor rate variance. Describe two situations that could result in an unfavorable d

> What does the direct materials quantity variance measure? Who is generally responsible for the direct materials quantity variance? Describe two situations that could result in a favorable direct materials quantity variance. Describe two situations that c

> Use the data you collected in Requirement 2 to calculate each segment’s sales margin. Interpret your results.

> What does the direct materials price variance measure? Who is generally responsible for the direct materials price variance? Describe two situations that could result in a favorable materials price variance. Describe two situations that could result in a

> What advantages might a company experience if it adopts ideal standards for its direct material standards and direct labor standards? What advantages are there to using practical standards? As an employee, which would you prefer and why? Does your answer

> Make a detailed list of all the materials needed to make your product. Include quantities needed of each material. Also include the cost of the material on a per-unit basis

> Describe your product. What market are you targeting this product for? What price will you sell your product for? Make projections of your sales in units over each of the upcoming five years

> How realistic is your potential venture? Do you think you would be able to break even in each of the projected five years? How risky is your venture (use the margin of safety to help answer this question). Do you think your target profits are achievable?

> Define the term “relevant range.” Why is it important to managers?

> What is a mixed cost? Give an example of a mixed cost. Sketch a graph of this example.

> A company has adopted a lean production philosophy and, as a result, has cut its inventory levels significantly. Describe the impact on the company’s external financial statements as a result of this inventory reduction. Also describe the impact of the i

> Over the past year, a company’s inventory has increased significantly. The company uses absorption costing for financial statements, but internally, the company uses variable costing for financial statements. Which set of financial statements will show t

> Describe the term “R-square.” If a regression analysis for predicting manufacturing over - head using direct labor hours as the dependent variable has an R-square of 0.40, why might this be a problem? Given the low R-square value, describe the options a

> Suppose a company is implementing lean accounting throughout the organization. Why might standard costing not be beneficial for that company?

> Define the terms “independent variable” and “dependent variable,” as used in regression analysis. Illustrate the concepts of independent variables and dependent variables by selecting a cost a company would want to predict and what activity it might use

> Compare discretionary fixed costs to committed fixed costs. Think of an organization with which you are familiar. Give two examples of discretionary fixed costs and two examples of committed fixed costs which that organization may have. Explain why the c

> What are the four ethical standards in the Institute of Management Accountants’ Statement of Ethical Professional Practice? Describe the meaning of each of the four standards. How does each of these standards impact planning, directing, and controlling?

> Describe a specific situation when a scatter plot could be useful to a manager.

> How are fixed costs similar to step fixed costs? How are fixed costs different from step fixed costs? Give an example of a step fixed cost and describe why that cost is not considered to be a fixed cost.

> Briefly describe an organization with which you are familiar. Describe a situation when a manager in that organization could use cost behavior information and how the manager could use the information.

> How might the principles of sustainability (such as increased efficiency) affect cost behavior overall? Think of an example of a sustainable change in process or material that could impact the cost equation for that cost (i.e., the total fixed cost versu

> What costs might a business incur by not adopting paperless services? Is paperless only profitable to large businesses or is it applicable to small businesses? Explain what factors might be involved in changing over to paperless billing.

> List ten costs that this company would incur. Include costs from a variety of departments within the company, including human resources, sales, accounting, production (if a manufacturer), service (if a service company), and others. Make sure that you hav

> Describe the company you selected and the products or services it provides.

> Suppose a company that makes and sells spaghetti sauce in plastic jars makes a change to its bottle that allows it to use significantly less plastic in each bottle. Describe at least four ways this change could help the company and its sustainability eff

> Describe a potential cost driver for each of the variable and mixed costs you listed. Explain why each cost driver would be appropriate for its associated cost.

> Classify each of the costs you listed as either fixed, variable, or mixed. Justify why you classified each cost as you did.

> Discuss how easy or difficult it was for you to decide whether each cost was fixed, variable, or mixed. Describe techniques a company could use to determine whether a cost is fixed, variable, or mixed.

> How might a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification benefit a person in his or her career? What skills are assessed on the CMA exam?

> “Process costing is easier to use than job costing.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your reasoning.

> How does process costing differ between a first processing department and a second or later processing department?

> Why are the equivalent units for direct materials often different from the equivalent units for conversion costs in the same period?

> What information generated by a process costing system can be used by management? How can management use this process costing information?

> Think of a business or an organization that would use process costing. What types of Waste are likely to be generated during the manufacturing process? Are there ways to avoid this waste or minimize it? How might managerial accounting support the efforts

> Describe at least two specific actions that a company could take to improve its ROI.

> If a company has very little or no inventory, what effect does that lack of inventory have on its process costing system? What other benefits result from having very little to no inventory?

> Describe the flow of costs in a process costing system. List each type of journal entry that would be made and describe the purpose of that journal entry.

> Why not assign all costs of production during a period to only the completed units? What happens if a company does this? Why are the costs of production in any period allocated between completed units and units in work in process? Is there any situatio

> How are process costing and job costing similar? How are they different?

> What is the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)? What is the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants? How could being a member of a professional organization help a person’s career?

> What characteristics of the product or manufacturing process would lead a company to use a process costing system? Give two examples of companies that are likely to be using process costing. What characteristics of the product or manufacturing process wo

> Provide an example of how a company may change its processes to make its manufacturing more efficient or environmentally sustainable. How will the company benefit?

> Describe the product selected.

> Describe at least one department that would have ending work in process. What do the units look like as they are “in process”?

> Justify why you think this production process would dictate the use of a process costing system.

> List at least three costs that would be incurred in each of the six business activities in the value chain.

> List at least two separate processes that are performed in creating this product. What departments would house these processes?

> Summarize the production process.

> A hospital can use activity-based costing (ABC) for costing its services. In a hospital, what activities might be considered to be value-added activities? What activities at that hospital might be considered to be non-value-added?

> Using activity-based costing, why are indirect costs allocated while direct costs are not allocated?

> What are the four categories of quality-related costs? Name a cost in each of the four cat- egories for each of the following types of organizations: a. Restaurant b. Hospital c. Law firm d. Bank e. Tire manufacturer f. University

> What skills are required of a management accountant? In what college courses are these skills taught or developed? What skills would be further developed in the workplace?

> What are the similarities between sustainability and lean thinking? What are the differences between sustainability and lean thinking?

> It has been said that external failure costs can be catastrophic and much higher than the other categories. What are some examples of external failure costs? Why is it often difficult to arrive at the cost of external failures?

> Compare a traditional production system with a lean production system. Discuss the similarities and the differences.

> A company makes shatterproof, waterproof cases for the S-series of Samsung smart- phones. The company makes only one model and has been very successful in marketing its cases; no other company in the market has a similar product. The only customization a

> Explain the potential problem that could arise from using ROI as the incentive measure for managers. What are some specific actions a company might take to resolve this potential problem?

> Assume a company uses a plantwide predetermined manufacturing overhead rate that is calculated using direct labor hours as the cost driver. The use of this plantwide predetermined manufacturing overhead rate has resulted in cost distortion. The company’s

> How can using a single predetermined manufacturing overhead rate based on a unit-level cost driver cause a high-volume product to be overcosted?

> Explain why departmental overhead rates might be used instead of a single plantwide overhead rate.

> Why might a company want to take lean thinking a step further by including operations and methods associated with sustainability?

> For each of the key activities, list a potential cost driver for that activity and describe why this cost driver would be appropriate for the associated activity.

> List eight key activities performed at this company. Choose at least one activity in the areas of production, sales, human resources, and accounting.

> A company currently has all of its managerial accountants reporting to the controller. What might be inefficient about this organizational structure? How might the company restructure? What benefits would the restructuring offer?

> Describe the company selected, including its products or services

> Why would it be inappropriate for a custom-home builder to use process costing?

> What product costs must be allocated to jobs? Why must these costs be allocated rather than assigned?

> Compare and contrast a cost center, a revenue center, a profit center, and an investment center. List a specific example of each type of responsibility center. How is the performance of managers evaluated in each type of responsibility center?

> How can job cost records help to promote sustainability efforts within a company?

> What account is credited when manufacturing overhead is allocated to jobs during the period? What account is debited when manufacturing overhead costs are incurred during the period? Would you expect these two amounts (allocated and incurred manufacturin

> Explain why the cost of goods sold should be lower if manufacturing overhead is over- allocated. Should operating income be higher or lower if manufacturing overhead is over - allocated? Why?

> Describe a situation that may cause manufacturing overhead to be overallocated in a given year. Also, describe a situation that may cause manufacturing overhead to be un- derallocated in a given year.

> Why is it acceptable to close overallocated or underallocated manufacturing overhead to Cost of Goods Sold rather than allocating it proportionately to Work in Process Inventory, Finished Goods Inventory, and Cost of Goods Sold? Under what circumstances

> Why does management need to know the cost of a job? Discuss at least five reasons.

> Why should manufacturing overhead be allocated to a job even though the costs cannot be directly traced to a job? Give at least two reasons.

> Make a list of all other expenses that would be needed to create your product. Examples of other expenses would be rent, utilities, and insurance. Estimate the cost of each of these expenses per year.

> When the predetermined manufacturing overhead rate is calculated, why are estimated costs and cost driver levels used instead of actual dollars and amounts?

> For what types of products is job costing appropriate? Why? For what types of products is process costing appropriate? Why?

> Describe at least four advantages of decentralization. Also describe at least two disadvantages of decentralization.

> Why should companies estimate the environmental costs of a given job? Why have EPR (extended producer responsibility) laws come into existence?

> Would a job-order costing system or a process costing system be used for this production process? Give specific reasons for your choice of which costing system would be most appropriate for this manufacturer.

> Describe the jobs of the workers who would be considered “indirect labor” in the making of this product.

> Describe the jobs of the workers who would be considered “direct labor” in the making of this product

> What indirect materials are used to make this product?