Exam 8: Cost Analysis and Estimation

Costs that do not vary across decision alternatives are:

Opportunity Costs. Three University of Florida engineering students are considering operating a mobile car clinic in Gainesville, Florida, during their summer break. This is an alternative to summer employment stacking plastic cups at a local injection molding manufacturer where they would earn $10,000 each over the three-month summer period. A van equipped for such service can be leased at a cost of $5,000 for the summer from an owner taking a long vacation in the Bahamas. Additional projected costs are $2,500 for insurance, and $5 per service call for materials and supplies. Their service calls would be priced at $30 per unit, plus any parts costs (parts will not be inventoried, but purchased from local parts outlets). A. What is the accounting cost function for this business (ignoring parts)? B. What is the economic cost function for this business? C. What is the economic breakeven number of units for this operation? (Assume a $30 price and ignore interest costs associated with the timing of the lease payments.)

Incremental Costs. Electron Control, Inc., sells voltage regulators to other manufacturers, who then customize and distribute the products to quality assurance labs for their sensitive test equipment. The yearly volume of output is 15,000 units. The selling price and cost per unit are shown below: Management is evaluating the alternative of performing the necessary customizing to allow Electron Control to sell its output directly to Q/A labs for $275 per unit. Although no added investment is required in productive facilities, additional processing costs are estimated as:

The acquisition cost of an asset is:

Degree of Operating Leverage. Ion Generating, Inc., produces ion generators and control (detection) devices for industrial applications such as chemical labs. It is contemplating an expansion into the home security market by producing a smoke detector based off of the same technology that would sell at a price of $50. The production of each smoke detector would require $20 in materials, and 0.4 hours of labor at the rate of $25 per hour. Energy, supervisory and other variable overhead costs would amount to $10 per unit. The accounting department has derived an allocated fixed overhead charge of $7.50 per smoke detector (at a projected volume of 300,000 units) to account for the expected increase in fixed costs. A. What is Ion Generating's breakeven sales volume (in units) for smoke detectors? B. Calculate the degree of operating leverage at a projected volume of 300,000 units and explain what the DOL means.

Breakeven Analysis. The Midtown Filling Station is a gasoline retailer in Denton, Texas. Louie DePalma, proprietor of Midtown, has decided to prepare a financial analysis of the potential of a 24-hour convenience store operation. Opening such a center would require remodeling the filling station and the hiring of additional cash register attendants, but mechanics would still work only from 8 am to 5 pm. Estimated first year expenses for the Midtown's service and convenience center are: Mechanic and attendant salary expenses are estimated on an hourly basis, reflecting any additional salary and overtime costs. Supplies and remodeling expenses are above and beyond those required for normal facility operations. Equipment costs represent a prorated share of the centers fixed equipment-leasing costs. Electricity costs of $3,000 reflect additional anticipated usage, whereas heat and taxes of $2,000 reflect an allocated share of fixed expenses.

A cost-output relation for a specific plant and operating environment is the:

Sunk costs:

Degree of Operating Leverage. Heat Tamers, Inc., of Bend, Oregon produces special heat-resistant boots used primarily by firefighters, smoke-jumpers and steelworkers. It is contemplating an expansion into the heat resistant leather market charging a price of $150 per pair of boots. The production of each pair of boots would require $60 in materials, and 1.5 hours of labor at the rate of $20 per hour. Energy, supervisory and other variable overhead costs would amount to $25 per unit. The accounting department has derived an allocated fixed overhead charge of $30 per pair of boots (at a projected volume of 280,000 pairs) to account for the expected increase in fixed costs. A. What is Heat Tamers' breakeven sales volume (in pairs) for heat-resistant boots? B. Calculate the degree of operating leverage at a projected volume of 280,000 units and explain what the DOL means.

A firm's capacity is the output: