Professor Jones Is Concerned That Her Students Do Not Understand

question 10

Essay

Professor Jones is concerned that her students do not understand the concept of equivalent units. She has therefore prepared the following questions, to appear on an upcoming examination:
Equivalent units are used in a process-costing accounting system.
A. Equivalent units are needed as a measure of production volume. At the end of the period, manufacturing costs must be spread over the units produced, and it is incorrect to combine fully completed units with those that are still in production (akin to adding apples and oranges). Separate totals are needed because materials are often introduced at specific points in production whereas conversion is often introduced uniformly throughout manufacturing.
A. Explain the need for equivalent units and why separate equivalent-unit totals are calculated for direct materials and conversion cost.
B. If an examination of goods in production at the end of the period revealed 12,000 units that are, on average, 75% complete, would it be correct to say that 9,000 units were finished during the period? Why?
Required:
Prepare a complete answer key that can be used in grading the examination questions.
B. No. The units are still in production, so none of them are fully completed. It would be correct to say that the firm has done the work equivalent to manufacturing 9,000 finished units.

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Definitions:

Cash Dividends

Cash distributions from a company's earnings to its shareholders.

Balance Sheet

An account that outlines the financial position of a company, detailing its assets, liabilities, and owners' equity at a given point in time.

Income Statement

A financial statement that shows a company's revenue and expenses, and the resulting profit or loss, over a specific period.

Indirect Method

A method used in cash flow statements to adjust net income for the changes in non-cash accounts to arrive at operating cash flow.