MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING (VOLUME I) - Solutions Manual

CHAPTER 12

VARIABLE COSTING

I. Questions
1. The variable costing technique does not consider fixed costs as
unimportant or irrelevant, but it maintains that the distinction between
behaviors of different costs is crucial for certain decisions.
2. The central issue in variable costing is what is the proper timing for
release of fixed manufacturing overhead as expense: at the time of
incurrence, or at the time the finished units to which the fixed overhead
relates are sold.
3. Direct costing would be more accurately called variable or marginal
costing because in substance it is the inventory costing method which
applies only variable production costs to product; fixed factory overhead
is not assigned to product.
4. Marketing and administrative costs are treated as period costs under both
variable costing and absorption costing methods of product costing.
5. Under absorption costing, as a company manufactures units of product,
the fixed manufacturing overhead costs of the period are added to the
units, along with direct materials, direct labor, and variable
manufacturing overhead. If some of these units are not sold by the end
of the period, then they are carried into the next period as inventory.
The fixed manufacturing overhead cost attached to the units in ending
inventory follow the units into the next period as part of their inventory
cost. When the units carried over as inventory are finally sold, the fixed
manufacturing overhead cost that has been carried over with the units is
included as part of that periods cost of goods sold.
6. Many accountants and managers believe absorption costing does a better
job of matching costs with revenues than variable costing. They argue
that all manufacturing costs must be assigned to products to properly
match the costs of producing units of product with the revenues from the
units when they are sold. They believe that the fixed costs of
depreciation, taxes, insurance, supervisory salaries, and so on, are just as
essential to manufacturing products as are the variable costs.

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7. If fixed manufacturing overhead cost is released from inventory, then

inventory levels must have decreased and therefore production must
have been less than sales.
8. Under absorption costing it is possible to increase net operating income
without increasing sales by increasing the level of production. If
production exceeds sales, units of product are added to inventory. These
units carry a portion of the current periods fixed manufacturing
overhead costs into the inventory account, thereby reducing the current
periods reported expenses and causing net operating income to rise.
9. Generally speaking, variable costing cannot be used externally for
financial reporting purposes nor can it be used for tax purposes.
10. If production exceeds sales, absorption costing will show higher net
operating income than variable costing. The reason is that inventories
will increase and therefore part of the fixed manufacturing overhead cost
of the current period will be deferred in inventory to the next period
under absorption costing. By contrast, all of the fixed manufacturing
overhead cost of the current period will be charged immediately against
revenues as a period cost under variable costing.

II. Exercises

Exercise 1 (Variable and Absorption Costing Unit Product Costs and

Income Statements)

Requirement 1

a. The unit product cost under absorption costing would be:

Direct materials........................................................................ P18

Direct labor .............................................................................. 7
Variable manufacturing overhead ............................................. 2
Total variable manufacturing costs ........................................... 27
Fixed manufacturing overhead (P160,000 20,000 units) ........ 8
Unit product cost...................................................................... P35

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b. The absorption costing income statement:

Sales (16,000 units P50 per unit)...................... P800,000

Less cost of goods sold:
Beginning inventory ........................................ P 0
Add cost of goods manufactured
(20,000 units P35 per unit) ....................... 700,000
Goods available for sale .................................. 700,000
Less ending inventory
(4,000 units P35 per unit) ......................... 140,000 560,000
Gross margin....................................................... 240,000
Less selling and administrative expenses ............. 190,000*
Net operating income .......................................... P 50,000
*(16,000 units P5 per unit) + P110,000 = P190,000.

Requirement 2

a. The unit product cost under variable costing would be:

Direct materials............................................................................ P18

Direct labor .................................................................................. 7
Variable manufacturing overhead ................................................. 2
Unit product cost.......................................................................... P27

b. The variable costing income statement:

Sales (16,000 units P50 per unit)..................... P800,000

Less variable expenses:
Variable cost of goods sold:
Beginning inventory.................................... P 0
Add variable manufacturing costs
(20,000 units P27 per unit)................... 540,000
Goods available for sale.............................. 540,000
Less ending inventory
(4,000 units P27 per unit)..................... 108,000
Variable cost of goods sold ............................. 432,000 *
Variable selling expense
(16,000 units P5 per unit) ........................ 80,000 512,000

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Contribution margin ........................................... 288,000

Less fixed expenses:
Fixed manufacturing overhead........................ 160,000
Fixed selling and administrative ..................... 110,000 270,000
Net operating income ......................................... P 18,000
* The variable cost of goods sold could be computed more simply as:
16,000 units P27 per unit = P432,000.

Exercise 2 (Variable and Absorption Costing Unit Product Costs)

Requirement 1

Sales (40,000 units P33.75 per unit)................................ P1,350,000

Less variable expenses:
Variable cost of goods sold
(40,000 units P16 per unit*) ................................ P640,000
Variable selling and administrative expenses
(40,000 units P3 per unit) ................................ 120,000 760,000
Contribution margin.............................................................. 590,000
Less fixed expenses:
Fixed manufacturing overhead ................................ 250,000
Fixed selling and administrative expenses ......................... 300,000 550,000
Net operating income............................................................ P 40,000

*Direct materials ................................................................ P10

Direct labor................................................................ 4
Variable manufacturing overhead ................................ 2
Total variable manufacturing cost ................................ P16

Requirement 2

The difference in net operating income can be explained by the P50,000 in

fixed manufacturing overhead deferred in inventory under the absorption
costing method:

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Variable costing net operating income ....................................... P40,000

Add: Fixed manufacturing overhead cost
deferred in inventory under absorption
costing: 10,000 units P5 per unit in
fixed manufacturing overhead cost ......................................... 50,000
Absorption costing net operating income .................................. P90,000

Exercise 3 (Variable Costing Unit Product Cost and Income Statement;

Break-even)

Requirement 1

Under variable costing, only the variable manufacturing costs are included
in product costs.

Direct materials......................................................................... P 60
Direct labor ............................................................................... 30
Variable manufacturing overhead .............................................. 10
Unit product cost....................................................................... P100

Note that selling and administrative expenses are not treated as product
costs; that is, they are not included in the costs that are inventoried. These
expenses are always treated as period costs and are charged against the
current periods revenue.

Requirement 2

The variable costing income statement appears below:

Sales ..................................................................... P1,800,000

Less variable expenses:
Variable cost of goods sold:
Beginning inventory..................................... P 0
Add variable manufacturing costs
(10,000 units P100 per unit) .................. 1,000,000
Goods available for sale............................... 1,000,000
Less ending inventory (1,000 units P100
per unit) ................................................. 100,000

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Variable cost of goods sold* .............................. 900,000

Variable selling and administrative (9,000 units
P20 per unit).................................................. 180,000 1,080,000
Contribution margin .............................................. 720,000
Less fixed expenses:
Fixed manufacturing overhead .............................. 300,000
Fixed selling and administrative ............................ 450,000 750,000
Net operating loss ................................................. P (30,000)

* The variable cost of goods sold could be computed more simply as: 9,000 units
sold $100 per unit = $900,000.

Requirement 3

The break-even point in units sold can be computed using the contribution
margin per unit as follows:
Selling price per unit ............................................................................................
P200
Variable cost per unit............................................................................................
120
Contribution margin per unit ................................................................ P 80
Fixed expenses
Break-even unit sales =
Unit contribution margin
P750,000
=
P80 per unit

= 9,375 units

III. Problems

Problem 1

Requirement 1: Variable Costing Method

Romero Parts, Inc.

Income Statement - Manufacturing
For the Year Ended December 31, 2005

Sales P20,700,000
Less: Variable Cost of Sales

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Inventory, Jan. 1 P1,155,000

Current Production 7,700,000
Total Available for Sale P8,855,000
Inventory, Dec. 31 805,000 8,050,000
Contribution Margin P12,650,000
Less Fixed Costs and Expenses 6,000,000
Net Income P 6,650,000

Requirement 2: Absorption Costing Method

Romero Parts, Inc.

Income Statement - Manufacturing
For the Year Ending December 31, 2006

Sales P26,100,000
Less Cost of goods sold:
Inventory, Jan. 1 P 1,380,000
Current Production 16,100,000
Total Available for Sale P17,480,000
Inventory, Dec. 31 747,500
Cost of Sales - Standard P16,732,500
Favorable Capacity Variance 900,000 15,832,500
Income from Manufacturing P10,267,500

Requirement 3: Variable Costing Method

Romero Parts, Inc.

Income Statement - Manufacturing
For the Year Ending December 31, 2006

Sales P26,100,000
Less Variable Cost of Sales:
Inventory, Jan. 1 P 805,000
Production 9,800,000
Total Available for Sale P10,605,000
Inventory, Dec. 31 455,000 10,150,000
Contribution Margin - Manufacturing P15,950,000
Less Fixed Cost 5,400,000
Income from Manufacturing P10,550,000

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Reconciliation

Net Income, absorption costing P10,267,500

Add Fixed Factory Overhead Inventory, 1/1 575,000
Total P10,842,500
Less Fixed Factory Overhead Inventory, 12/31 292,500
Net Income, direct costing P10,550,000

Problem 2

Requirement 1

Honey Company
Income Statement - Direct Costing
For the Year Ended December 31, 2005

Sales P280,000
Less Variable Cost of Sales:
Finished Goods Inventory, 1/1 P 4,000
Current Production 120,000
Total Available for Sale P124,000
Finished Goods Inventory, 12/31 12,000
Variable Cost of Sale - Standard P112,000
Unfavorable Variance 5,000 117,000

Contribution Margin - Manufacturing P163,000

Less Variable Marketing Expenses 28,000
Contribution Margin - Final P135,000
Less Fixed Costs and Expenses:
Fixed Factory Overhead P 54,000
Fixed Marketing and
Administrative Expenses 20,000 74,000
Net Income P 61,000

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Requirement 2

Honey Company
Income Statement - Absorption Costing
For the Year Ended December 31, 2005

Sales P280,000
Less: Cost of Sales
Finished goods inventory, Jan. 1 (1,000 x P5.50) P 5,500
Current production costs
Variable (30,000 x P4.00) P120,000
Fixed (30,000 x P1.50) 45,000 165,000
P170,500
Less: Finished goods inventory, Dec. 31
(3,000 x P5.50) 16,500
Cost of Sales - at Standard P154,000
Add (Deduct) Variance
Unfavorable variable manufacturing
costs variances 5,000
Underapplied fixed factory overhead
(6,000 x P1.50) 9,000
Cost of Sales - Actual P168,000
Gross Profit P112,000
Less: Selling and administrative expenses
Variable 28,000
Fixed 20,000
P 48,000
Net Income P 64,000

Problem 3 (Variable Costing Income Statement; Reconciliation)

Requirement 1

The unit product cost under the variable costing approach would be
computed as follows:
Direct materials ................................................................................................
P 8
Direct labor................................................................................................
10
Variable manufacturing overhead ................................................................
2

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Unit product cost ................................................................ P20

With this figure, the variable costing income statements can be prepared:

Year 1 Year 2
Sales ................................................................................................
P1,000,000 P1,500,000
Less variable expenses:
Variable cost of goods sold @ P20 per unit ................................ 400,000 600,000
Variable selling and administrative
@ P3 per unit ................................................................60,000 90,000
Total variable expenses ................................................................
460,000 690,000
Contribution margin ................................................................
540,000 810,000
Less fixed expenses:
Fixed manufacturing overhead................................ 350,000 350,000
Fixed selling and administrative ................................ 250,000 250,000
Total fixed expenses................................................................
600,000 600,000
Net operating income (loss) ................................................................
P (60,000) P 210,000

Requirement 2

Variable costing net operating income (loss) .............P (60,000) P 210,000

Add: Fixed manufacturing overhead cost
deferred in inventory under absorption costing
(5,000 units P14 per unit) ................................ 70,000
Deduct: Fixed manufacturing overhead cost
released from inventory under absorption
costing (5,000 units P14 per unit) ...................... (70,000)
Absorption costing net operating income ..................P 10,000 P 140,000

Problem 4 (Prepare and Interpret Statements; Changes in Both Sales

and Production; JIT)

Requirement 1

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Sales P1,000,000 P 800,000 P1,000,000
Less variable expenses:
Variable cost of goods sold
@ P4 per unit ................................................................
200,000 160,000 200,000
Variable selling and administrative 100,000 80,000 100,000

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@ P2 per unit ................................................................

Total variable expenses................................ 300,000 240,000 300,000
Contribution margin ................................................................
700,000 560,000 700,000
Less fixed expenses:
Fixed manufacturing overhead ................................
600,000 600,000 600,000
Fixed selling and administrative ................................
70,000 70,000 70,000
Total fixed expenses ................................................................
670,000 670,000 670,000
Net operating income (loss)................................ P 30,000 P(110,000) P 30,000

Requirement 2

a.
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Variable manufacturing cost................................
P 4 P 4 P 4
Fixed manufacturing cost:
P600,000 50,000 units................................ 12
P600,000 60,000 units................................ 10
P600,000 40,000 units................................ 15
Unit product cost ................................................................
P16 P14 P19

b.
Variable costing net operating income
(loss) ................................................................
P30,000 P(110,000) P 30,000
Add (Deduct): Fixed manufacturing
overhead cost deferred in inventory
from Year 2 to Year 3 under
absorption costing (20,000 units
P10 per unit)................................................................
200,000 (200,000)
Add: Fixed manufacturing overhead
cost deferred in inventory from Year
3 to the future under absorption
costing (10,000 units P15 per
unit)................................................................ 150,000
Absorption costing net operating
income (loss) ................................................................
P30,000 P 90,000 P(20,000)

Requirement 3

Production went up sharply in Year 2 thereby reducing the unit product cost,

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as shown in (2a). This reduction in cost, combined with the large amount of
fixed manufacturing overhead cost deferred in inventory for the year, more
than offset the loss of revenue. The net result is that the companys net
operating income rose even though sales were down.

Requirement 4

The fixed manufacturing overhead cost deferred in inventory from Year 2

was charged against Year 3 operations, as shown in the reconciliation in
(2b). This added charge against Year 3 operations was offset somewhat by
the fact that part of Year 3s fixed manufacturing overhead costs was
deferred in inventory to future years [again see (2b)]. Overall, the added
costs charged against Year 3 were greater than the costs deferred to future
years, so the company reported less income for the year even though the
same number of units was sold as in Year 1.

Requirement 5

a. Several things would have been different if the company had been using
JIT inventory methods. First, in each year production would have been
geared to sales so that little or no inventory of finished goods would
have been built up in either Year 2 or Year 3. Second, unit product costs
probably would have been the same in all three years, since these costs
would have been established on the basis of expected sales (50,000
units) for each year. Third, since only 40,000 units were sold in Year 2,
the company would have produced only that number of units and
therefore would have had some underapplied overhead cost for the year.
(See the discussion on underapplied overhead in the following
paragraph.)

b. If JIT had been in use, the net operating income under absorption
costing would have been the same as under variable costing in all three
years. The reason is that with production geared to sales, there would
have been no ending inventory on hand, and therefore there would have
been no fixed manufacturing overhead costs deferred in inventory to
other years. Assuming that the company expected to sell 50,000 units in
each year and that unit product costs were set on the basis of that level
of expected activity, the income statements under absorption costing
would have appeared as follows:

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Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Sales ................................................................................................
P1,000,000 P 800,000 P1,000,000
Less cost of goods sold:
Cost of goods manufactured @ P16 per unit ................................ 800,000 640,000 * 800,000
Add underapplied overhead ................................ 120,000 **
Cost of goods sold ................................................................800,000 760,000 800,000
Gross margin................................................................200,000 40,000 200,000
Selling and administrative expenses ................................ 170,000 150,000 170,000
Net operating income (loss)................................ P 30,000 P(110,000) P 30,000

* 40,000 units P16 per unit = P640,000.

** 10,000 units not produced P12 per unit fixed manufacturing overhead cost =
P120,000 fixed manufacturing overhead cost not applied to products.

IV. Multiple Choice Questions

1. D 11. B
2. B 12. A
3. B 13. C
4. B 14. D
5. B 15. B
6. C 16. A
7. A 17. C
8. B 18. C
9. A 19. B
10. A 20. C

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