Comparison of two costing systems, original activity-based costs, implementing change The Redwood City plant of Crimson Components Company makes two types of rotators for automobile engines: R361 and R572. The old cost accounting system at the plant traced support costs to four cost pools:
Pool S1 included service activity costs related to setups, production scheduling, plant administration, janitorial services, materials handling, and shipping. Pool S2 included activity costs related to machine maintenance and repair, rent, insurance, power, and utilities. Pools P1 and P2 included supervisors' wages, idle time, and indirect materials for the two production departments, casting and machining, respectively.
The old accounting system allocated support costs in pools S1 and S2 to the two production departments using direct labor cost and machine hours, respectively, as the cost drivers. Then the accumulated support costs in pools P1 and P2 were applied to the products on the basis of direct labor hours. A separate rate was determined for each of the two production departments. The direct labor wage rate is $15 per hour in casting and $18 per hour in machining.
Now the plant has implemented an activity-based costing system. The following table presents the amounts from the old cost pools that are traced to each of the new activity cost pools:
Setups for R572 are 50% more complex than those for R361; that is, each R572 setup takes 1.5 times as long as one R361 setup.
Required
(a) Determine the product costs per unit using the old system. Show all intermediate steps for allocations, including departmental cost driver rates and a breakdown of product costs into each of their components.
(b) Determine the product costs per unit using the new system.
(c) Explain the intuitive reason that the product costs differ under the two accounting systems.
(d) What should Crimson Components do to improve the profitability of its Redwood City plant? Include marketing and product-related changes among your recommendations.
(e) Describe how experienced production and sales managers are likely to react to the new product costs.