Ethics in Action
TAC Industries Inc. sells heavy equipment to large corporations and federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to the government, however, are determined on a cost plus basis, where the selling price is determined by adding a fixed markup percentage to the total
Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve operating income. As Tandy reviewed the division’s job cost sheets, she realized that she could increase the division’s operating income by moving a portion of the direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order costs sheets of government customers. She believed that this would create a “win–win” for the division by (1) reducing the cost of corporate jobs, and (2) increasing the cost of government jobs whose profit is based on a percentage of job cost. Tandy submitted this idea to her division manager, who was impressed by her creative solution for improving the division’s profitability.
Is Tandy’s plan ethical?
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionChapter 2 Solutions
Managerial Accounting
- TAC Industries Inc. sells heavy equipment to large corporations and federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to the government, however, are determined on a cost plus basis, where the selling price is determined by adding a fixed markup percentage to the total job cost. Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve income from operations. As Tandy reviewed the division's job cost sheets, she realized that she could increase the division's income from operations by moving a portion of the direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job order cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order costs sheets of government customers. She believed that this would create a “win–win” for the division by (1) reducing the cost of corporate jobs, and (2)…arrow_forwardTAC Industries, Inc. sells heavy equipment to large corporations and federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to the government are determined on a cost plus basis, where the selling price is determined by adding a fixed markup percentage to the total job cost. Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve operating income. As Tandy reviewed the division's job cost sheets, she realized that she could increase the division's operating income by moving a portion of direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order cost sheets of government customers. She believed that this would create a "win-win" for the division by (1) reducing the cost of corporate jobs, and (2) increasing the cost of…arrow_forwardTAC Industries, Inc. sells heavy equipment to large corporations and federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to government, however, are determined on a cost plus basis, where the selling price is determined by adding a fixed markup percentage to the total job cost. Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries, Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve income from operations. As Tandy reviewed the division's job cost sheets, she realized that she could increase the division's income from operations by moving a portion of the direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job order cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order cost sheets of government customers. She believed this would create a "win-win" situation for the division by (1) reducing the cost of corporate jobs, and…arrow_forward
- TAC Industries sells heavy equipment to large corporations and to federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to the government, however, are determined on a cost plus basis, where the selling price is determined byadding a fixed markup percentage to the total job cost. Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve income from operations. As Tandy reviewed the division’s job cost sheets, she realized that she couldincrease the division’s income from operations by moving a portion of the direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job order cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order costs sheets of governmentcustomers. She believed that this would create a win–win for the division by (1) reducing the cost of corporate jobs and (2)…arrow_forwardAssume you are the department B manager for Marley's Manufacturing. Marley's operates under a cost-based transfer structure. Assume you receive the majority of your raw materials from department A, which sells only to department B (they have no outside sales). After calculating the operating income in dollars and operating income in percentage, analyze the following financial information to determine costs that may need further investigation. The cost that needs further investigation is cost allocated from corporate. In Department A the percentage of cost allocated based on sales is 10% where as in Department B this is 29.41% based on sales. This needs further investigation beacuse of this cost there is operating loss in Department B. Income Statement Month ending August 31, 2019 Dept. A % Dept. B % Sales $22,000 100 $51,000 100 Cost of Goods Sold 10,560 48 26,520 52 Gross profit $11,440 52 $24,480 48 Utility expenses 1,000 4.55…arrow_forwardAssigning Direct Labor Costs to Jobs TAC Industries Inc. sells heavy equipment to large corporations and federal, state, and local governments. Corporate sales are the result of a competitive bidding process, where TAC competes against other companies based on selling price. Sales to the government, however, are determined on a cost plus basis, where the selling price is determined by adding a fixed markup percentage to the total job cost. Tandy Lane is the cost accountant for the Equipment Division of TAC Industries Inc. The division is under pressure from senior management to improve operating income. As Tandy reviewed the division’s job cost sheets, she realized that she could increase the division’s operating income by moving a portion of the direct labor hours that had been assigned to the job cost sheets of corporate customers onto the job order costs sheets of government customers. She believed that this would create a “win–win” for the division by (1) reducing the cost of…arrow_forward
- Assume you are the department B manager for Marley's Manufacturing. Marley's operates under a cost-based transfer structure. Assume you receive the majority of your raw materials from department A, which sells only to department B (they have no outside sales). After calculating the operating income in dollars and operating income in percentage, analyze the following financial information to determine costs that may need further investigation. The cost that needs further investigation is cost allocated from corporate. In Department A the percentage of cost allocated based on sales is 10% where as in Department B this is 29.41% based on sales. This needs further investigation beacuse of this cost there is operating loss in Department B. Marley's Manufacturing Income Statement Month ending August 31, 2018 Dept. A % Dept. B % Sales…arrow_forwardTed Lozano is a cost accountant for Company C. Fred Lopez, Vice President of Marketing, has asked Ted to meet with representatives of Company C’s major competitor to discuss product cost data. Fred indicates that the sharing of these data will enable Company C to determine a fair and equitable price for its products. Instructions: Would it be ethical for Ted to attend the meeting and share the relevant cost data? Explain your answer.arrow_forwardorganization. 47. Which of the following is an example of a direct cost an organization might incur in producing a product? a. The cost of the raw materials that go into the product b. The rent paid the facility where the product is produced The utility bills, such as the cost of electricity and water d. The wages paid to employees c. futuror opened an automotive assembly plant in Sanarrow_forward
- KLP provides consulting services and uses a job-order system to accumulate the cost of client projects. Traceable costs are charged directly to individual clients; in contrast, other costs incurred by KLP, but not identifiable with specific clients, are charged to jobs by using a predetermined overhead application rate. Clients are billed for directly chargeable costs, overhead, and a markup. KLP anticipates the following costs for the upcoming year: KLP's partners desire to make a $480,000 profit for the firm and plan to add a percentage markup on total cost to achieve that figure.On May 14, KLP completed work on a project for Lawson Manufacturing. The following costs were incurred: professional staff salaries, $68,000; administrative support staff, $8,900; travel, $10,500; and other operating costs, $2,600.REQUIRED:(a) Determine KLP's total traceable costs for the upcoming year and the firm's total anticipated overhead.(b) Calculate the predetermined overhead rate. The…arrow_forwardAaron McKinney is a cost accountant for Majik Systems Inc. Martin Dodd, Vice President of Marketing, has asked Aaron to meet with representatives of Majik Systems major competitor to discuss product cost data. Martin indicates that the sharing of these data will enable Majik Systems to determine a fair and equitable price for its products. Would it be ethical for Aaron to attend the meeting and share the relevant cost data? Explain your answer.arrow_forwardFor apparel manufacturer Abercrombie Fitch, Inc. (ANF), classify each of the following costs as either a product cost or a period cost: a. Advertising expenses b. Chief financial officers salary c. Depreciation on office equipment d. Depreciation on sewing machines e. Fabric used during production f. Factory janitorial supplies g. Factory supervisors salaries h. Property taxes on factory building and equipment i. Oil used to lubricate sewing machines j. Repairs and maintenance costs for sewing machines k. Research and development costs l. Sales commissions m. Salaries of distribution center personnel n. Salaries of production quality control supervisors o. Travel costs of media relations employees p. Utility costs for office building q. Wages of sewing machine operatorsarrow_forward
- Managerial AccountingAccountingISBN:9781337912020Author:Carl Warren, Ph.d. Cma William B. TaylerPublisher:South-Western College PubCornerstones of Cost Management (Cornerstones Ser...AccountingISBN:9781305970663Author:Don R. Hansen, Maryanne M. MowenPublisher:Cengage Learning
- Financial Reporting, Financial Statement Analysis...FinanceISBN:9781285190907Author:James M. Wahlen, Stephen P. Baginski, Mark BradshawPublisher:Cengage LearningManagerial Accounting: The Cornerstone of Busines...AccountingISBN:9781337115773Author:Maryanne M. Mowen, Don R. Hansen, Dan L. HeitgerPublisher:Cengage Learning