In: Accounting
Profit center responsibility reporting for a service company
Red Line Railroad Inc. has three regional divisions organized as
profit centers. The chief executive officer (CEO) evaluates
divisional performance, using operating income as a percent of
revenues. The following quarterly income and expense accounts were
provided from the trial balance as of December 31:
Revenues—East | $1,400,000 |
Revenues—West | 2,000,000 |
Revenues—Central | 3,200,000 |
Operating Expenses—East | 800,000 |
Operating Expenses—West | 1,350,000 |
Operating Expenses—Central | 1,900,000 |
Corporate Expenses—Shareholder Relations | 300,000 |
Corporate Expenses—Customer Support | 320,000 |
Corporate Expenses—Legal | 500,000 |
General Corporate Officers' Salaries | 1,200,000 |
The company operates three support departments: Shareholder
Relations, Customer Support, and Legal. The Shareholder Relations
Department conducts a variety of services for shareholders of the
company. The Customer Support Department is the company’s point of
contact for new service, complaints, and requests for repair. The
department believes that the number of customer contacts is a cost
driver for this work. The Legal Department provides legal services
for division management. The department believes that the number of
hours billed is a cost driver for this work. The following
additional information has been gathered:
East | West | Central | ||||
Number of customer contacts | 1,500 | 2,800 | 5,700 | |||
Number of hours billed | 750 | 1,750 | 1,500 |
Required:
1. Prepare quarterly income statements showing operating income for the three divisions. Use three column headings: East, West, and Central.
Red Line Railroad Inc. | |||
Divisional Income Statements | |||
For the Quarter Ended December 31 | |||
East | West | Central | |
Revenues | $ | $ | $ |
Operating expenses | |||
Operating income before support department allocations | $ | $ | $ |
Support department allocations: | |||
Customer Support | $ | $ | $ |
Legal | |||
Total support department allocations | $ | $ | $ |
Operating income | $ | $ | $ |
2. What is the profit margin of each region? Round percentages to the nearest whole number.
Division | Profit Margin |
East Region | % |
West Region | % |
Central Region | % |
Identify the most successful region according to the profit
margin.
3. What would you include in a recommendation to the CEO for a better method for evaluating the performance of the regions?
1.
Red Line Railroad Inc. | |||
Divisional Income Statements | |||
For the Quarter Ended December 31 | |||
East | West | Central | |
Revenues | 1400000 | 2000000 | 3200000 |
Operating expenses | 800000 | 1350000 | 1900000 |
Operating income before support department allocations | 600000 | 650000 | 1300000 |
Support department allocations: | |||
Customer support | 48000 | 89600 | 182400 |
Legal | 93750 | 218750 | 187500 |
Total support department allocations | 141750 | 308350 | 369900 |
Operating income | 458250 | 341650 | 930100 |
Working:
Customer support: |
East: $320000 x 1500/(1500 + 2800 + 5700) = $48000 |
West: S320000 x 2800/(1500 + 2800 + 5700) = $89600 |
Central: $320000 x 5700/(1500 + 2800 + 5700) = $182400 |
Legal: |
East: $500000 x 750/(750 + 1750 + 1500) = $93750 |
West: $500000 x 1750/(750 + 1750 + 1500) = $218750 |
Central: $500000 x 1500/(750 + 1750 + 1500) = $187500 |
2. Profit margin = Operating income/Revenues
Division | Profit margin |
East | 33% |
West | 17% |
Central | 29% |
Most successful division: East Division
3. A better divisional performance measure would be return on investment, residual income as these methods consider the assets used by the division.