When units produced are less than units sold, how does operating income differ between variable costing and absorption costing? Why

Short Answer

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Answer

When units produced are less than units sold the operating income from the absorption method is lower than the operating income from the variable costing method.

Step by step solution

01

When units produced are less than units sold

When units produced are less than units sold, it means there is some opening balance in inventory.

02

Difference in operating income

When units produced are less than units sold the operating income from the absorption method is lower than the operating income from the variable costing method because under variable costing only current period fixed manufacturing overheads were expensed, whereas absorption costing fixed manufacturing overheads of beginning inventory also expensed.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

: Before you begin this assignment, review the Tying It All Together feature in the chapter. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of nitrogen fertilizer and other nitrogen products in the world. The corporation often produces and stores large amounts of inventory during periods of low demand to ensure that there is enough product to meet the demand of peak seasons. Assume that one line of fertilizer (with no beginning Finished Goods Inventory) had the following data during a time period of low demand:

Sales price $ 20.00 per case Variable manufacturing costs 4.00 per case Fixed manufacturing costs 100,000 per quarter Variable selling and administrative costs 2.00 per case Fixed selling and administrative costs 45,000 per quarter Given that the time period has low demand, assume the company produced 1,000,000 cases but only sold 250,000 cases.

Requirement

1. Prepare the income statement for the quarter using variable costing.

2. Prepare the income statement for the quarter using absorption costing.

3. Why, if at all, is there a difference between operating income under the two methods?

Analyzing profitability Refer to Short Exercise S21-10. Which business segment provided the greatest total contribution margin? Which

business segment had the highest contribution margin ratio?

Camden Company has divided its business into segments based on sales territories: East Coast, Midland, and West Coast. Following are financial data for 2018:

East Coast

Midland

West Coast

Units sold

71

69

53

Sales price per unit

\(10,300

\)13,600

$12,000

Variable cost per unit

6,283

7,072

7,080

Using variable costing, service company

Professional Pool Cleaning Service provides pool cleaning services to residential customers. The company has three employees, each assigned to specific customers. The company considers each employee’s territory as a business segment. The company incurs variable costs that include the employees’ wages, pool chemicals, and gas for the service vans. Fixed costs include depreciation on the service vans. Following is the income statement for the month of July:

Requirements

  1. Calculate the contribution margin ratio for each business segment.
  2. The business segments had the following numbers of customers: Birman, 60; Meech, 70; and Frond, 40. Compute the service revenue per customer, variable cost per customer, and contribution margin per customer for each business segment.
  3. Which business segment was most profitable? List some possible reasons why this segment was most profitable. How might the various reasons affect the company in the long term?

Question: Preparing absorption costing income statements, production less than sales

Refer to Exercise E21-19.

Requirements

  1. Prepare the May income statement using absorption costing.
  2. Is operating income using absorption costing higher or lower than variable costing income? Explain why.
  3. Determine the balance in Finished Goods Inventory as of May 31.

Analyzing profitability

Relative Furniture Company manufactures and sells oak tables and chairs. Price and cost data for the furniture follow:

Tables Chairs

Sales Price \( 1,400 \) 50

Variable manufacturing costs 1,148 21

Sales commission (8%) 112 4

Relative Furniture has three sales representatives: Abe, Brett, and Corrin. Abe sold 50 tables with 4 chairs each. Brett sold 110 tables with 6 chairs each. Corrin sold 90 tables with 8 chairs each.

Requirements:

  1. Calculate the total contribution margin and the contribution margin ratio for each sales representative (round to two decimal places).
  2. Which sales representative has the highest contribution margin ratio? Explain why.
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