Castenet Company Uses a Volume-Based Costing System That Applies Overhead

Essay

Castenet Company uses a volume-based costing system that applies overhead cost based on direct labor hours at $250 per direct labor hour.
The company is considering adopting an activity-based costing system with the following data: The two jobs processed in the month of June had the following characteristics: Required:
1. Compute the unit manufacturing cost of each job under the firm's current volume-based costing system.
2. Compute the unit manufacturing cost of each job under the activity-based costing system.
3. Compare the unit manufacturing cost for Jobs A and B computed in requirements 1 and 2.
(a) Why do the two cost systems differ in their total cost for each job?
(b) Why might these differences be important to the Company?