Five Customers Needing Their Tax Returns Prepared Must Be Assigned

Essay

Five customers needing their tax returns prepared must be assigned to five tax accountants. The estimated profits for all possible assignments are shown below. Only one accountant can be assigned to a customer, and all customers' tax returns must be prepared. What should the customer-accountant assignments be so that estimated total profit is maximized? What is the resulting total profit? $$\begin{array} { c r r r r r } &&&\text { Accountant }\\\text { Customer } & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 \\\hline \text { A } & \$ 500 & \$ 525 & \$ 550 & \$ 600 & \$ 700 \\\text { B } & 625 & 575 & 700 & 550 & 800 \\\text { C } & 825 & 650 & 450 & 750 & 775 \\\text { D } & 590 & 650 & 525 & 690 & 750 \\\text { E } & 450 & 750 & 660 & 390 & 550 \\\hline\end{array}$$