Garcia Company Has Two Service Departments,Maintenance and Human Resources Assume the Step-Down Method Is Used to Allocate Service Department

Multiple Choice

Garcia Company has two service departments,Maintenance and Human Resources.Garcia Company also has two production departments,Mixing and Finishing.Maintenance costs are allocated based on square footage while Human Resources costs are allocated based on number of employees.The following information has been gathered for the current year:
$\begin{array}{lllll}&&\text { Human }\\&\text { Maintenance } &\text { Resources } & \text { Mixing } & \text { Finishing }\\\text { Direct costs } & \$ 126,000 & \$ 84,000 & \$ 105,000 & \$ 175,000 \\\text { Square footage } & 800 & 400 & 1,600 & 1,200 \\\text { Number of employees } & 8 & 12 & 24 & 32\end{array}$
Assume the step-down method is used to allocate service department costs.Which department should be allocated first?

A) Maintenance
B) Human Resources
C) Mixing
D) Finishing