Question

Mercer Asbestos Removal Company removes potentially toxic asbestos insulation and related products from buildings. There has been a long simmering dispute between the company's estimator and the work supervisors. The on-site supervisors claim that the estimators do not adequately distinguish between routine work, such as removal of 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 that 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 $3.00 to determine the bid price. Since our average cost is only $2.675 per square foot, that leaves enough cushion to take care of the additional costs of nonroutine work that shows up. 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 initiated an activity-based costing study of all of its costs. Data from the activity-based costing system follow: Activity Cost Pool Activity Measure Total Activity Removing asbestos Thousands of square feet 300 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.

Answer 1

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Mercer Asbestos
Answer 1
Costs	Amount	Removing	Job Setup	Non Routine	Other	Total	Removing	Job Setup	Non Routine	Other	Total
Wages & Salaries	414,000.00	50%	10%	30%	10%	100%	207,000.00	41,400.00	124,200.00	41,400.00	414,000.00
Disposal fees	808,000.00	70%	0%	30%	0%	100%	565,600.00	-	242,400.00	-	808,000.00
Equipment Depreciation	94,000.00	50%	10%	15%	25%	100%	47,000.00	9,400.00	14,100.00	23,500.00	94,000.00
On-site supplies	61,000.00	70%	20%	10%	0%	100%	42,700.00	12,200.00	6,100.00	-	61,000.00
Office Expenses	310,000.00	10%	35%	25%	30%	100%	31,000.00	108,500.00	77,500.00	93,000.00	310,000.00
Licensing and Insurance	510,000.00	25%	0%	60%	15%	100%	127,500.00	-	306,000.00	76,500.00	510,000.00
Total	2,197,000.00						1,020,800.00	171,500.00	770,300.00	234,400.00	2,197,000.00
Answer 2
Activity cost pool	Activity Measure	Activity costs	Total Activity	Activity rates
Removing asbestos	Thousand of square feet	1,020,800.00	800.00	1,276.00
Estimating & Job Setup	Number of jobs	171,500.00	500.00	343.00
Non Routine jobs	Number of non routine jobs	770,300.00	100.00	7,703.00
Other	None	234,400.00
Total		2,197,000.00
Answer 3 a
Activity cost pool	Activity Measure	Total Activity	Activity rates	Allocated costs
Removing asbestos	Thousand of square feet	1.00	1,276.00	1,276.00
Estimating & Job Setup	Number of jobs	1.00	343.00	343.00
Total cost				1,619.00
Average cost				1,619.00
Average cost is same because job is done on one thousand square feet and activity costs are also calculated on 1000 square feet.
Answer 3 b
Activity cost pool	Activity Measure	Total Activity	Activity rates	Allocated costs
Removing asbestos	Thousand of square feet	2.00	1,276.00	2,552.00
Estimating & Job Setup	Number of jobs	1.00	343.00	343.00
Total cost				2,895.00
Average cost (Total cost/2)				1,447.50
Job is done on 2000 square feet. Activity Measure is Thousand of square feet. So Total Activity is 2000/1000= 2.
Answer 3 c
Activity cost pool	Activity Measure	Total Activity	Activity rates	Allocated costs
Removing asbestos	Thousand of square feet	2.00	1,276.00	2,552.00
Estimating & Job Setup	Number of jobs	1.00	343.00	343.00
Non Routine jobs	Number of non routine jobs	1.00	7,703.00	7,703.00
Total cost				10,598.00
Average cost (Total cost/2)				5,299.00
Job is done on 2000 square feet. Activity Measure is Thousand of square feet. So Total Activity is 2000/1000= 2.