Question

Cover-to-Cover Company is a manufacturer of shelving for books. The company has compiled the following cost data, and wants your help in determining the cost behavior. After reviewing the data, complete requirements (1) and (2) that follow.

Units	Total	Total	Total Machine
Produced	Lumber Cost	Utilities Cost	Depreciation Cost
13,000 shelves	$156,000	$15,950	$145,000
26,000 shelves	312,000	30,900	145,000
52,000 shelves	624,000	60,800	145,000
65,000 shelves	780,000	75,750	145,000

1. Determine whether the costs in the table are variable, fixed, mixed, or none of these.

	Variable Cost	Fixed Cost	Mixed Cost	None of these
Lumber
Utilities
Depreciation

2. For each cost, determine the fixed portion of the cost, and the per-unit variable cost. If there is no amount or an amount is zero, enter "0". Recall that, for N= Number of Units Produced, Total Costs = (Variable Cost Per Unit x N) + Fixed Cost. Complete the following table with your answers.

Cost	Fixed Portion of Cost	Variable Portion of Cost (per Unit)
Lumber
Utilities
Depreciation

High-Low

Biblio Files Company is the chief competitor of Cover-to-Cover Company in the bookshelf business. Biblio Files is analyzing its manufacturing costs, and has compiled the following data for the first six months of the year. After reviewing the data, answer questions (1) through (3) that follow.

Month	Number of Units Produced	Total Cost
January	4,360	$65,600
February	275	6,250
March	1,000	15,000
April	4,775	73,750
May	1,750	32,500
June	3,015	48,000

1. From the data previously provided, help Biblio Files Company estimate the fixed and variable portions of its total costs using the High-Low Method. Recall that Total Costs = (Variable Cost Per Unit x Number of Units Produced) + Fixed Cost. Complete the following table.

Total Fixed Cost	Variable Cost per Unit

2. With your Total Fixed Cost and Variable Cost per Unit from the High-Low Method, compute the total cost for the following values of N (Number of Units Produced).

Number of Units Produced	Total Costs
3,500
4,360
4,775

3. Why does the total cost computed for 4,360 units not match the data for January in the table at the top of this panel?

The High-Low method is accurate only for months in which production is at full capacity.

The High-Low method gives accurate data only for levels of production outside the relevant range.

The High-Low method only gives accurate data when fixed costs are zero.

The High-Low method gives a formula for the estimated total cost and may not match levels of production other than the highest and lowest.

Contribution Margin

Review the contribution margin income statements for Cover-to-Cover Company and Biblio Files Company on their respective Income Statements panels. Complete the following table from the data provided in the income statements. Each company sold 84,800 units during the year.

	Cover-to-Cover Company	Biblio Files Company
Contribution margin ratio (percent)
Unit contribution margin
Break-even sales (units)
Break-even sales (dollars)

Income Statement - Cover-to-Cover

Cover-to-Cover Company

Contribution Margin Income Statement

For the Year Ended December 31, 20Y7

1	Sales			$424,000.00
2	Variable costs:
3	Manufacturing expense		$212,000.00
4	Selling expense		21,200.00
5	Administrative expense		63,600.00	296,800.00
6	Contribution margin			$127,200.00
7	Fixed Costs:
8	Manufacturing expense		$5,000.00
9	Selling expense		4,000.00
10	Administrative expense		54,600.00	63,600.00
11	Income from operations			$63,600.00

Income Statement - Biblio Files

Biblio Files Company

Contribution Margin Income Statement

For the Year Ended December 31, 20Y7

1	Sales			$424,000.00
2	Variable costs:
3	Manufacturing expense		$169,600.00
4	Selling expense		16,960.00
5	Administrative expense		33,920.00	220,480.00
6	Contribution margin			$203,520.00
7	Fixed Costs:
8	Manufacturing expense		$121,920.00
9	Selling expense		8,000.00
10	Administrative expense		10,000.00	139,920.00
11	Income from operations			$63,600.00

Sales Mix

Biblio Files Company is making plans for its next fiscal year, and decides to sell two new types of bookshelves, Basic and Deluxe. The company has compiled the following estimates for the new product offerings.

Type of Bookshelf	Sales Price per Unit	Variable Cost per Unit
Basic	$5.00	$1.75
Deluxe	9.00	8.10

The company is interested in determining how many of each type of bookshelf would have to be sold in order to break even. If we think of the Basic and Deluxe products as components of one overall enterprise product called “Combined,” the unit contribution margin for the Combined product would be $2.31. Fixed costs for the upcoming year are estimated at $346,962. Recall that the totals of all the sales mix percents must be 100%. Determine the amounts to complete the following table.

Type of Bookshelf	Percent of Sales Mix	Break-Even Sales in Units	Break-Even Sales in Dollars
Basic
Deluxe

Target Profit

Refer again to the income statements for Cover-to-Cover Company and Biblio Files Company on their respective Income Statement panels. Note that both companies have the same sales and net income. Answer questions (1) - (3) that follow, assuming that all data for the coming year is the same as the current year, except for the amount of sales.

1. If Cover-to-Cover Company wants to increase its profit by $40,000 in the coming year, what must their amount of sales be?

2. If Biblio Files Company wants to increase its profit by $40,000 in the coming year, what must their amount of sales be?

3. What would explain the difference between your answers for (1) and (2)?

The answers are not different; each company has the same required sales amount for the coming year to achieve the desired target profit.

Cover-to-Cover Company’s contribution margin ratio is lower, meaning that it’s more efficient in its operations.

Biblio Files Company has a higher contribution margin ratio, and so more of each sales dollar is available to cover fixed costs and provide income from operations.

The companies have goals that are not in the relevant range.

Answer 1

Calculation:

Lumber Cost:
Variable Cost per Unit = $156,000 / 13,000
Variable Cost per Unit = $12

Utilities Cost:
Total Cost at Highest Level of Activity (y2) = $75,750
Total Cost at Lowest Level of Activity (y1) = $15,950
Units at Highest Level of Activity (x2) = 65,000 shelves
Units at Highest Level of Activity (x2) = 13,000 shelves

As per High-Low Method, Variable Cost per Unit = (y2 – y1) / (x2 – x1)
Variable Cost per Unit = ($75,750 - $15,950) / (65,000 – 13,000)
Variable Cost per Unit = $59,800 / 52,000
Variable Cost per Unit = $1.15

Total Cost = a + bx
Total Cost at Highest level of activity = $75,750
Units at Highest level of Activity = 65,000 Shelves

$75,750 = a + ($1.15 * 65,000)
a = $1,000

Therefore, Fixed Cost is $1,000