Bob and Nancy Barnett Have Recently Expanded Their Television-Based Educational

question 24

Essay

Bob and Nancy Barnett have recently expanded their television-based educational film business by shooting 30-second television ads for a regional television market in southern Colorado. They began business about 15 years ago with a contract to film training videos for the U.S. Army, and that business continues to provide a steady revenue base, currently about 40 percent of total revenue. Nancy Barnett is the firm's accountant, and in a visit to your accounting class last week, made a presentation detailing her firm's costing activities. Your instructor has asked you to respond to one particular statement that Nancy Barnett made: "Since our contract for military training films requires us to detail all costs, we use the process cost method that gives the maximum amount of fixed overhead cost. This almost covers all of our overhead, giving us an edge in competitively pricing our 30-second TV ads, and explains why we have grown so much in this sector of our business." Nancy knows that the U.S. Army uses cost-plus contracts on services like the Barnetts provide.
Required:
Is there an ethical problem with this approach? Does it represent acceptable accounting procedure?

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Definitions:

Sole Proprietorship

A business owned and operated by a single individual, with no separation between the business and the owner, legally or financially.

Partnership

A partnership is a legal business structure where two or more individuals share ownership, responsibilities, and profits or losses of the business.

Corporation

A legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners, with rights to enter into contracts, loan and borrow money, sue and be sued.

Not-for-Profit

Organizations or institutions that do not operate for the purpose of making a profit but rather for a public benefit or a specific cause.