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:

Constructive Conflict

A type of conflict that is healthy, cooperative, and aimed at improving mutual understanding and outcome through effective communication.

Relationship Conflict

This term describes conflicts in professional environments that arise from interpersonal disagreements, tensions, or misunderstandings.

Manager's Time

How managers allocate their work hours among various tasks and responsibilities, impacting their effectiveness and the performance of their team.

Workplace Conflict

Refers to disagreements and disputes that occur among individuals or groups in a professional setting, often resulting from differences in opinions, goals, or values.