ashford acc206 full course [ all discussions , all assignment and final paper ]

Discussions
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week'sDiscussion link in the left navigation.

1. Cash Flows Information
   
   What information does the cash flow statement provide that you cannot see in the other financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, owner’s equity)? What elements of the cash flow statement do you think are most important for company management to monitor and why? Is this different for investors?

Guided Response:
Review your peers’ posts. Respond to at least two of classmates, letting them know whether you agree with the use of the cash flow statement and why. Additionally, share elements of the cash flow statement that you see as being the greatest interest to investors (as opposed to internal management) and why.

1. Apple's Cash Flow
   
   Go to http://finance.yahoo.com. Enter in “AAPL” and click on the “get quote” button, and it will bring up information on Apple. On the left hand side you’ll see a section on Financials. Within that section, click on the cash flow. Review the cash flow statement for Apple. How would you summarize Apple’s cash flow position and what does this statement tell you about where the money is coming from and where it’s going? What should Apple do to improve its cash position and why?

Guided Response:
Analyze several of your peers’ posts. Respond to at least two of your classmates, letting them know whether you agree with their posts and what you would add.

Discussions week 2
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week'sDiscussion link in the left navigation.

1. Stock Features
   

   What is "callable preferred stock"? Why do corporations issue such stock? Given the different features that are associated with stock (callable, cumulative, preferred, etc.), what type of stock would you want to buy personally and why?

   Guided Response:
   Review your peer’s responses. Respond to at least two of your peers, letting them know if you agree with their type of desired stock and whether your answer would change and why based on:

   a. Different economic conditions and
   b. Stage of the company (if the company is in a growth phase versus a mature state).

2. Role of Management Accounting
   
   

   Review the roles of management accounting within a company. What is the most important role of management accounting? How is that different than financial accounting?

   Guided Response:
   Review your peers’ posts. Respond to at least two of your classmates, and provide at least two areas that management accountants focus on that your classmates didn’t include.

3. 
   

Discussions week 3
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week'sDiscussion link in the left navigation.

1. Issues in Costing
   
   Describe three issues/problems that a company could encounter when trying to determine the actual cost of a good or service to be used in the cost of goods sold. For each of your issues, provide an example of a company or industry where these issues could be present.

   Guided Response:
   Review your peers’ posts and respond to at least two of your classmates. Describe how job order costing or activity-based costing could resolve the issues your classmates mentioned in their posts.

   
   
   
2. CVP and the Airline Industry
   
   We’ve all experienced (or heard about) the challenges that the airlines have been facing. Read the Zacks Investment Research article, “Airline Industry Stock Outlook – August 2012.” Identify three factors that are affecting airline company’s ability to break even. For each of your factors, discuss how these have an impact on the breakeven (contribution margin, fixed costs, variable costs, a combination, etc.), and what happens if these factors increase or decrease.

   Guided Response:
   Review your peers’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers. In each response, add two factors that your classmate hasn’t included and explain how your additional factors influence the break-even point.

Discussions week 4
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week'sDiscussion link in the left navigation.

1. Issues in Standard Costs and Budgeting
   
   Review theStandard costs: wake up and smell the coffee.[j1] article.

   When evaluating performance, many organizations compare current results with the actual results of previous accounting periods. Is an organization that follows this approach likely to encounter any problems? Explain.

   Guided Response:
   Review your peers’ posts and respond to at least two of your classmates. Describe how job order costing, process costing, or activity based costing could resolve or exacerbate the issues your classmates discussed in their initial posts.

2. Flexible Budgets
   
   Flexible budgets provide different information than static budgets. Discuss some of these differences. Is a flexible budget always better? Are there times when you’d recommend using a static budget over a flexible budget?

   Guided Response:
   Review your peers’ posts and respond to at least two of your classmates. Discuss whether you agree or disagree with the uses of a flexible budget and why.

3. Discussions week 5
   To participate in the following discussions, go to this week's Discussion link in the left navigation.
   
1. Long-Term Decision Making
   
   List a few of the issues and considerations businesses should have when it comes to the selection of long-term investments and how those issues impact the various financial statements.
   
   Guided Response:
   Review your peer’s posts. Respond to at least two of your peers describing how these issues can be overcome by the tools discussed in this chapter and why (i.e., looking at IRR, NPV, cash flow).
   
   
   
2. Responsibilities in Management Accounting
   
   Review the Rights and Responsibilities of Certified Management Accountants Article:
   
   Rights & Responsibilities of a Certified Management Accountant[j1]
   
   What are some of the ethical responsibilities and obligations that management accountants have within an organization? Provide some examples. Are these responsibilities different than the obligations for financial accountants?
   
   Guided Response:
   Review your peer’s posts. Respond to at least two of your peers outlining the responsibilities that you feel are the most important to management accountants.

ACC 206 Week Assignment

Please complete the following 5 exercises below in either Excel or a word document (but must be single document). You must show your work where appropriate (leaving the calculations within Excel cells is acceptable). Save the document, and submit it in the appropriate week using the Assignment Submission button.

1.Critical Thinking Question:

Answer the following questions:
Why are noncash transactions, such as the exchange of common stock for a building for example, included on a statement of cash flows? How are these noncash transactions disclosed?

2. Classification of activities
Classify each of the following transactions as arising from an operating (O), investing (I), financing (F), or noncash investing/financing (N) activity.

a. ________ Received $80,000 from the sale of land.

b. ________ Received $3,200 from cash sales.

c. ________ Paid a $5,000 dividend.

d. ________ Purchased $8,800 of merchandise for cash.

e. ________ Received $100,000 from the issuance of common stock.

f. ________ Paid $1,200 of interest on a note payable.

g. ________ Acquired a new laser printer by paying $650.

h. ________ Acquired a $400,000 building by signing a $400,000 mortgage note.

3. Overview of direct and indirect methods

Evaluate the comments that follow as being True or False. If the comment is false, briefly explain why.

a. Both the direct and indirect methods will produce the same cash flow from operating activities.

b. Depreciation expense is added back to net income when the indirect method is used.

c. One of the advantages of using the direct method rather than the indirect method is that larger cash flows from financing activities will be reported.

d. The cash paid to suppliers is normally disclosed on the statement of cash flows when the indirect method of statement preparation is employed.

e. The dollar change in the Merchandise Inventory account appears on the statement of cash flows only when the direct method of statement preparation is used.

4.Equipment transaction and cash flow reporting

	Dec. 31, 20X4	Dec. 31, 20X3
Property, Plant & Equipment: Land	$94,000	$94,000
Equipment	652,000	527,000
Less: Accumulated depreciation	-316,000	-341,000

New equipment purchased during 20x4 totaled $280,000. The 20x4 income statement disclosed equipment depreciation expense of $41,000 and a $9,000 loss on the sale of equipment.

a. Determine the cost and accumulated depreciation of the equipment sold during 20X4.

b. Determine the selling price of the equipment sold.

c. Show how the sale of equipment would appear on a statement of cash flows prepared by using the indirect method.

5. Cash flow information: Direct and indirect methods
The comparative year-end balance sheets of Sign Graphics, Inc., revealed the following activity in the company's current accounts:

	20X5	20X4	Increase / Decrease)
Current assets
Cash	$55,400	$35,200	$20,200
Accounts receivable (net)	83,800	88,000	-4,200
Inventory	243,400	233,800	9,600
Prepaid expenses	25,400	24,200	1,200
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	$123,600	$140,600	($17,000)
Taxes payable	43,600	49,200	-5,600
Interest payable	9,000	6,400	2,600
Accrued liabilities	38,800	60,400	-21,600
Note payable	44,000	—	44,000

The accounts payable were for the purchase of merchandise. Prepaid expenses and accrued liabilities relate to the firm's selling and administrative expenses. The company's condensed income statement follows.

SIGN GRAPHICS INC.
Income Statement
for the Year Ended December 31, 20x5
Sales							$713,800
Less: Cost of goods sold					323,000
Gross profit						$390,800
Less: Selling & administrative expenses		$186,000
Depreciation expense					17,000
Interest expense					27,000		230,000
Add: gain on sale of land					$160,800
							21,800
Income before taxes					$182,600
Income taxes						36,800
Net income						$145,800

Other data:

1. Long-term investments were purchased for cash at a cost of $74,600.

2. Cash proceeds from the sale of land totaled $76,200.

3. Store equipment of $44,000 was purchased by signing a short-term note payable. Also, a $150,000 telecommunications system was acquired by issuing 3,000 shares of preferred stock.

4. A long-term note of $49,400 was repaid.

5. Twenty thousand shares of common stock were issued at $5.19 per share.

6. The company paid cash dividends amounting to $128,600.

Instructions:

a. Prepare the operating activities section of the company's statement of cash flows, assuming use of:

1. The direct method.

2. The indirect method.

b. Prepare the investing and financing activities sections of the statement of cash flows.

week 2

ACC 206 Week Two Assignment

Please complete the following exercises below in either Excel or a word document (but must be single document). You must show your work where appropriate (leaving the calculations within Excel cells is acceptable). Save the document, and submit it in theappropriate week using the Assignment Submission button.

1. Analysis of stockholders' equity

Star Corporation issued both common and preferred stock during 20X6. The stockholders' equity sections of the company's balance sheets at the end of 20X6 and 20X5 follow:

	20X6	20X5
Preferred stock, $100 par value, 10%	$580,000	$500,000
Common stock, $10 par value	2,350,000	1,750,000
Paid-in capital in excess of par value
Preferred	24,000	—
Common	4,620,000	3,600,000
Retained earnings	8,470,000	6,920,000
Total stockholders' equity	$16,044,000	$12,770,000

a. Compute the number of preferred shares that were issued during 20X6.

b. Calculate the average issue price of the common stock sold in 20X6.

c. By what amount did the company's paid-in capital increase during 20X6?

d. Did Star's total legal capital increase or decrease during 20X6? By what amount?

2. Bond computations: Straight-line amortization

Southlake Corporation issued $900,000 of 8% bonds on March 1, 20X1. The bonds pay interest on March 1 and September 1 and mature in 10 years. Assume the independent cases that follow.

· Case A—The bonds are issued at 100.

· Case B—The bonds are issued at 96.

· Case C—The bonds are issued at 105.

Southlake uses the straight-line method of amortization.

Instructions:

Complete the following table:
	Case A	Case B	Case C
Cash inflow on the issuance date	_______	_______	_______
Total cash outflow through maturity	_______	_______	_______
Total borrowing cost over the life of the bond issue	_______	_______	_______
Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 20X1	_______	_______	_______
Amortization for the year ended December 31, 20X1	_______	_______	_______
Unamortized premium as of December 31, 20X1	_______	_______	_______
Unamortized discount as of December 31, 20X1	_______	_______	_______
Bond carrying value as of December 31, 20X1	_______	_______	_______

3. Definitions of manufacturing concepts
Interstate Manufacturing produces brass fasteners and incurred the following costs for the year just ended:

Materials and supplies used

Brass $75,000

Repair parts 16,000

Machine lubricants 9,000

Wages and salaries Machine operators 128,000

Production supervisors 64,000

Maintenance personnel 41,000

Other factory overhead Variable 35,000

Fixed 46,000

Sales commissions 20,000

Compute:

a. Total direct materials consumed

b. Total direct labor

c. Total prime cost

d. Total conversion cost

4. Scheduleof cost of goods manufactured, income statement

The following information was taken from the ledger of Jefferson Industries, Inc.:

Direct labor	$85,000		Administrative expenses	$59,000
Selling expenses	34,000		Work in. process:
Sales	300,000		Jan. 1	29,000
Finished goods			Dec. 31	21,000
Jan. 1	115,000		Direct material purchases	88,000
Dec. 31	131,000		Depreciation: factory	18,000
Raw (direct) materials on hand	Indirect materials used	10,000
Jan. 1	31,000		Indirect labor	24,000
Dec. 31	40,000		Factory taxes	8,000
			Factory utilities	11,000

Prepare the following:

a. A schedule of cost of goods manufactured for the year ended December 31.

b. An income statement for the year ended December 31.

5. Manufacturing statements and cost behavior

Tampa Foundry began operations during the current year, manufacturing various products for industrial use. One such product is light-gauge aluminum, which the company sells for $36 per roll. Cost information for the year just ended follows.

Per Unit	Variable Cost	Fixed Cost
Direct materials	$4.50	$ —
Direct labor	6.5	—
Factory overhead	9	50,000
Selling	—	70,000
Administrative	—	135,000

Production and sales totaled 20,000 rolls and 17,000 rolls, respectively There is no work in process. Tampa carries its finished goods inventory at the average unit cost of production.

Instructions:

a. Determine the cost of the finished goods inventory of light-gauge aluminum.

b. Prepare an income statement for the current year ended December 31

c. On the basis of the information presented:

1. Does it appear that the company pays commissions to its sales staff? Explain.

2. What is the likely effect on the $4.50 unit cost of direct materials if next year's production increases? Why?

week 3

ACC 206 Week Three Assignment

Please complete the following five exercises below in either Excel or a word document (but must be single document). You must show your work where appropriate (leaving the calculations within Excel cells is acceptable). Save the document, and submit it in the appropriate week using the Assignment Submission button.

1.Overhead application: Working backward

The Towson Manufacturing Corporation applies overhead on the basis of machine hours. The following divisional information is presented for your review:

	Division A	Division B
Actual machine hours	22,500	?
Estimated machine hours	20,000	?
Overhead application rate	$4.50	$5.00
Actual overhead	$110,000	?
Estimated overhead	?	$90,000
Applied overhead	?	$86,000
Over- (under-) applied overhead	?	$6,500

Find the unknowns for each of the divisions.

2. Computationsusing a job order system

General Corporation employs a job order cost system. On May 1 the following balances were extracted from the general ledger;

Work in process $ 35,200

Finished goods 86,900

Cost of goods sold 128,700

Work in Process consisted of two jobs, no. 101 ($20,400) and no. 103 ($14,800). During May, direct materials requisitioned from the storeroom amounted to $96,500, and direct labor incurred totaled $114,500. These figures are subdivided as follows:

Direct Materials Direct Labor Job No. Amount Job No. Amount 101 $5,000 101 $7,800 115 19,500 103 20,800 116 36,200 115 42,000 Other 35,800 116 18,000 $96,500 Other 25,900 $114,500

Job no. 115 was the only job in process at the end of the month. Job no. 101 and three "other" jobs were sold during May at a profit of 20% of cost. The "other" jobs contained material and labor charges of $21,000 and $17,400, respectively.

General applies overhead daily at the rate of 150% of direct labor cost as labor summaries are posted to job orders. The firm's fiscal year ends on May 31.

Instructions:

a. Compute the total overhead applied to production during May.

b. Compute the cost of the ending work in process inventory.

c. Compute the cost of jobs completed during May.

d. Compute the cost of goods sold for the year ended May 31.

3. High-low method
The following cost data pertain to 20X6 operations of Heritage Products:

	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
Shipping costs	$58,200	$58,620	$60,125	$59,400
Orders shipped	120	140	175	150

The company uses the high-low method to analyze costs.

a. Determine the variable cost per order shipped.

b. Determine the fixed shipping costs per quarter.

c. If present cost behavior patterns continue, determine total shipping costs for 20X7 if activity amounts to 570 orders.

4. Break-even and other CVP relationships

Cedars Hospital has average revenue of $180 per patient day. Variable costs are $45 per patient day; fixed costs total $4,320,000 per year.

a. How many patient days does the hospital need to break even?

b. What level of revenue is needed to earn a target income of $540,000?

c. If variable costs drop to $36 per patient day, what increase in fixed costs can be tolerated without changing the break-even point as determined in part (a)?

5.Direct and absorption costing

The information that follows pertains to Consumer Products for the year ended December 31, 20X6.

Inventory, 1/1/X6	24,000 units
Units manufactured	80,000
Units sold	82,000
Inventory, 12/31/X6	? units
Manufacturing costs:
Direct materials	$3 per unit
Direct labor	$5 per unit
Variable factory overhead	$9 per unit
Fixed factory overhead	$280,000
Selling & administrative expenses:
Variable	$2 per unit
Fixed	$136,000

The unit selling price is $26. Assume that costs have been stable in recent years.

Instructions:

a. Compute the number of units in the ending inventory.

b. Calculate the cost of a unit assuming use of:

1. Direct costing.

2. Absorption costing.

c. Prepare an income statement for the year ended December 31, 20X6, by using direct costing.

d. Prepare an income statement for the year ended December 31, 20X6, by using absorption costing.

week 4

aCC 206 Week 4 Assignment

Please complete the following exercises below in either Excel or a word document (but must be single document). You must show your work where appropriate (leaving the calculations within Excel cells is acceptable). Save the document, and submit it in the appropriate week using the Assignment Submission button.

1. Comprehensive budgeting

The balance sheet of Watson Company as of December 31, 20X1, follows.

WATSON COMPANY
Balance Sheet
December 31, 12X1
Assets
Cash		$4,595
Accounts receivable		10,000
Finished goods (575 units x $7.00)		4,025
Direct materials (2,760 units x $0.50)		1,380
Plant & equipment	$50,000
Less: Accumulated depreciation	10,000	40,000
Total assets		$60,000
Liabilities & Stockholders' Equity
Accounts payable to suppliers		$14,000
Common stock	$25,000
Retained earnings	21,000	46,000
Total liabilities &. stockholders' equity		$60,000

The following information has been extracted from the firm's accounting records:

1. All sales are made on account at $20 per unit. Sixty percent of the sales are collected in the month of sale; the remaining 40% are collected in the following month. Forecasted sales for the first five months of 20X2 are: January, 1,500 units,- February, 1,600 units; March, 1,800 units; April, 2,000 units; May, 2,100 units.

2. Management wants to maintain the finished goods inventory at 30% of the following month's sales.

3. Watson uses four units of direct material in each finished unit. The direct material price has been stable and is expected to remain so over the next six months. Management wants to maintain the ending direct materials inventory at 60% of the following month's production needs.

4. Seventy percent of all purchases are paid in the month of purchase; the remaining 30% are paid in the subsequent month.

5. Watson's product requires 30 minutes of direct labor time. Each hour of direct labor costs $7.

Instructions:

a. Rounding computations to the nearest dollar, prepare the following for January through March:

1) Sales budget

2) Schedule of cash collections

3) Production budget

4) Direct material purchases budget

5) Schedule of cash disbursements for material purchases
6) Direct labor budget

b. Determine the balances in the following accounts as of March 31:

1) Accounts Receivable

2) Direct Materials

3) Accounts Payable

2. Basic flexible budgeting
Centron, Inc., has the following budgeted production costs:

Direct materials	$0.40 per unit
Direct labor	1.80 per unit
Variable factory overhead	2.20 per unit
Fixed factory overhead
Supervision	$24,000
Maintenance	18,000
Other	12,000

The company normally manufactures between 20,000 and 25,000 units each quarter. Should output exceed 25,000 units, maintenance and other fixed costs are expected to increase by $6,000 and $4,500, respectively.

During the recent quarter ended March 31, Centron produced 25,500 units and incurred the following costs:

Direct Materials		$10,710
Direct Labor		47,175
Variable factory overhead	51,940
Fixed factory overhead
Supervision		24,500
Maintenance		23,700
Other		16,800
Total production costs		$174,825

Instructions:

a. Prepare a flexible budget for 20,000, 22,500, and 25,000 units of activity.

b. Was Centron's experience in the quarter cited better or worse than anticipated? Prepare an appropriate performance report and explain your answer.

c. Explain the benefit of using flexible budgets (as opposed to static budgets) in the measurement of performance.

3. Straightforward variance analysis

Arrow Enterprises uses a standard costing system. The standard cost sheet for product no. 549 follows.

Direct materials: 4 units @ $6.50		$26.00
Direct labor: 8 hours @ $8.50		68
Variable factory overhead: 8 hours	@ $7.00	56
Fixed factory overhead: 8 hours	@ 2.5	20
Total standard cost per unit		$170.00

The following information pertains to activity for December:

1. Direct materials acquired during the month amounted to 26,350 units at $6.40 per unit. All materials were consumed in operations.

2. Arrow incurred an average wage rate of $8.75 for 51,400 hours of activity.

3. Total overhead incurred amounted to $508,400. Budgeted fixed overhead totals $1.8 million and is spread evenly throughout the year.

4. Actual production amounted to 6,500 completed units.

Instructions:

a. Compute Arrow's direct material variances.

b. Compute Arrow's direct labor variances.

c. Compute Arrow's variances for factory overhead.

week 5

ACC206 Week Five Problems

Please complete the following 5 exercises below in either Excel or a word document (but must be single document). You must show your work where appropriate (leaving the calculations within Excel cells is acceptable). Save the document, and submit it in the appropriate week using the Assignment Submission button.

1. Basic present value calculations

Calculate the present value of the following cash flows, rounding to the nearest dollar:

a. A single cash inflow of $12,000 in five years, discounted at a 12% rate of return.

b. An annual receipt of $16,000 over the next 12 years, discounted at a 14% rate of return.

c. A single receipt of $15,000 at the end of Year 1 followed by a single receipt of $10,000 at the end of Year 3. The company has a 10% rate of return.

d. An annual receipt of $8,000 for three years followed by a single receipt of $10,000 at the end of Year 4. The company has a 16% rate of return.

2. Cash flow calculationsand net present value

On January 2, 20X1, Bruce Greene invested $10,000 in the stock market and purchased 500 shares of Heartland Development, Inc. Heartland paid cash dividends of $2.60 per share in 20X1 and 20X2; the dividend was raised to $3.10 per share in 20X3. On December 31, 20X3, Greene sold his holdings and generated proceeds of $13,000. Greene uses the net-present- value method and desires a 16% return on investments.

a. Prepare a chronological list of the investment's cash flows. Note:Greene is entitled to the 20X3 dividend.

b. Compute the investment's net present value, rounding calculations to the nearest dollar.

c. Given the results of part (b), should Greene have acquired the Heartland stock? Briefly explain.

3. Straightforwardnet present value and internal rate of return

The City of Bedford is studying a 600-acre site on Route 356 for a new landfill. The startup cost has been calculated as follows:

Purchase cost: $450 per acre

Site preparation: $175,000

The site can be used for 20 years before it reaches capacity. Bedford, which shares a facility in Bath Township with other municipalities, estimates that the new location will save $40,000 in annual operating costs.

a. Should the landfill be acquired if Bedford desires an 8% return on its investment? Use the net-present-value method to determine your answer.

4. Straightforward net-present-value and payback computations

STL Entertainment is considering the acquisition of a sight-seeing boat for summer tours along the Mississippi River. The following information is available:

Cost of boat	$500,000
Service life	10 summer seasons
Disposal value at the end of 10 seasons	$100,000
Capacity per trip	300 passengers
Fixed operating costs per season (including straight-line depreciation)	$160,000
Variable operating costs per trip	$1,000
Ticket price	$5 per passenger

All operating costs, except depreciation, require cash outlays. On the basis of similar operations in other parts of the country, management anticipates that each trip will be sold out and that 120,000 passengers will be carried each season. Ignore income taxes.

Instructions:

By using the net-present-value method, determine whether STL Entertainment should acquire the boat. Assume a 14% desired return on all investments- round calculations to the nearest dollar.

5. Equipment replacement decision

Columbia Enterprises is studying the replacement of some equipment that originally cost $74,000. The equipment is expected to provide six more years of service if $8,700 of major repairs are performed in two years. Annual cash operating costs total $27,200. Columbia can sell the equipment now for $36,000; the estimated residual value in six years is $5,000.

New equipment is available that will reduce annual cash operating costs to $21,000. The equipment costs $103,000, has a service life of six years, and has an estimated residual value of $13,000. Company sales will total $430,000 per year with either the existing or the new equipment. Columbia has a minimum desired return of 12% and depreciates all equipment by the straight-line method.

Instructions:

a. By using the net-present-value method, determine whether Columbia should keep its present equipment or acquire the new equipment. Round all calculations to the nearest dollar, and ignore income taxes.

b. Columbia's management feels that the time value of money should be considered in all long-term decisions. Briefly discuss the rationale that underlies management's be

Final Paper

Focus of the Final Paper

You’ve just been hired onto ABC Company as the corporate controller. ABC Company is a manufacturing firm that specializes in making cedar roofing and siding shingles. The company currently has annual sales of around $1.2 million, a 25% increase from the previous year. The company has an aggressive growth target of reaching $3 million annual sales within the next 3 years. The CEO has been trying to find additional products that can leverage the current ABC employee skillset as well as the manufacturing facilities.

As the controller of ABC Company, the CEO has come to you with a new opportunity that he’s been working on. The CEO would like to use the some of the shingle scrap materials to build cedar dollhouses. While this new product line would add additional raw materials and be more time-intensive to manufacture than the cedar shingles, this new product line will be able to leverage ABC’s existing manufacturing facilities as well as the current staff. Although this product line will require added expenses, it will provide additional revenue and gross profit to help reach the growth targets. The CEO is relying on you to help decide how this project can be afforded Provide details about the estimated product costs, what is needed to break even on the project, and what level of return this product is expected to provide.

In order to help out the CEO, you need to prepare a six- to eight-page report that will contain the following information (including exhibits, but excluding your references and title page). Refer to the accompanying Excel spreadsheet (available through your online course) for some specific cost and profit information to complete the calculations.

Final Paper Spreadsheet

I. An overall risk profile of the company based on current economic and industry issues that it may be facing.

II. Current company cash flow

a. You need to complete a cash flow statement for the company using the direct method.
b. Once you’ve completed the cash flow statement, answer the following questions:

i. What does this statement of cash flow tell you about the sources and uses of the company funds?
ii. Is there anything ABC Company can do to improve the cash flow?
iii. Can this project be financed with current cash flow from the company? Why or why not?
iv. If the company needs additional financing beyond what ABC Company can provide internally (either now or sometime throughout the life of the project), how would you suggest the company obtain the additional financing, equity or corporate debt, and why?

III. Product cost: ABC Company believes that it has an additional 5,000 machine hours available in the current facility before it would need to expand. ABC Company uses machine hours to allocate the fixed factory overhead, and units sold to allocate the fixed sales expenses. Bases on current research, ABC Company expects that it will take twice as long to produce the expansion product as it currently takes to produce its existing product.

a. What is the product cost for the expansion product under absorption and variable costing?
b. By adding this new expansion product, it helps to absorb the fixed factory and sales expenses. How much cheaper does this expansion make the existing product?
c. Assuming ABC Company wants a 40% gross margin for the new product, what selling price should it set for the expansion product?
d. Assuming the same sales mix of these two products, what are the contribution margins and break-even points by product?

IV. Potential investments to accelerate profit: ABC company has the option to purchase additional equipment that will cost about $42,000, and this new equipment will produce the following savings in factory overhead costs over the next five years:

Year 1, $15,000
Year 2, $13,000
Year 3, $10,000
Year 4, $10,000
Year 5, $6,000

ABC Company uses the net-present-value method to analyze investments and desires a minimum rate of return of 12% on the equipment.

a. What is the net present value of the proposed investment (ignore income taxes and depreciation)?
b. Assuming a 5-year straight-line depreciation, how will this impact the factory’s fixed costs for each of the 5 years (and the implied product costs)? What about cash flow?
c. Considering the cash flow impact of the equipment as well as the time-value of money, would you recommend that ABC Company purchases the equipment? Why or why not?

V. Conclusion:

a. What are the major risk factors that you see in this project?
b. As the controller and a management accountant, what is your responsibility to this project?
c. What do you recommend the CEO do?



Writing the Final Paper

1. Must be six to eight double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must include a title page with the following:

a. Title of paper
b. Student’s name
c. Course name and number
d. Instructor’s name
e. Date submitted

3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
6. Must document at least three, but no more than five sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
7. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.