In: Accounting
Cathy, the manager of Cathy’s Catering, Inc., uses activity-based costing to compute the costs of her catered parties. Each party is limited to 20 guests and requires 4 people to serve and clean up. Cathy offers two types of parties—an afternoon picnic and an evening formal dinner. The breakdown of the costs follows.
| Activities (and cost drivers) | Afternoon Picnic | Formal Dinner | ||||
| Advertising (parties) | $ | 97 | per party | $ | 97 | per party | 
| Planning (parties) | $ | 56 | per party | $ | 140 | per party | 
| Renting equipment (parties, guests) | $ | 42 | per party plus $13 per guest | $ | 71 | per party plus $22 per guest | 
| Obtaining insurance (parties) | $ | 220 | per party | $ | 395 | per party | 
| Serving (parties, servers) | $ | 41 | per server per party | $ | 67 | per server per party | 
| Preparing food (guests) | $ | 24 | per guest | $ | 27 | per guest | 
Per party costs do not vary with the number of guests.
Required:
a. Compute the cost of a 20-guest afternoon picnic.
b. Compute the cost of a 20-guest evening formal dinner.
c. How much should Cathy charge for each guest for each type of party if she wants to cover her costs?
Solution a:
| Computation of cost of 20 guest afternoon picnic | |
| Particulars | Amount | 
| Advertising (parties) | $97.00 | 
| Planning (parties) | $56.00 | 
| Renting equipment (parties, guests) | $302.00 | 
| Obtaining insurance (parties) | $220.00 | 
| Serving (parties, servers) | $164.00 | 
| Preparing food (guests) | $480.00 | 
| Total costs | $1,319.00 | 
Solution b:
| Computation of cost of 20 guest evening formal dinner | |
| Particulars | Amount | 
| Advertising (parties) | $97.00 | 
| Planning (parties) | $140.00 | 
| Renting equipment (parties, guests) | $511.00 | 
| Obtaining insurance (parties) | $395.00 | 
| Serving (parties, servers) | $268.00 | 
| Preparing food (guests) | $540.00 | 
| Total costs | $1,951.00 | 
Solution c:
Amount to be charged for each guest for afternoon picnic = $1,319/20 = $65.95 per guest.
Amount to be charged for each guest for evening formal dinner = $1,951/20 = $97.55 per guest.