Course Title: Cost Accounting for Decision Making
Professional Development Programme on Enriching
Knowledge of the Business, Accounting and Financial Studies
(BAFS) Curriculum
1

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, teacher participants should be able to:
•apply cost‐volume‐profit analysis techniques to ascertain the inter‐relationships among costs, selling price, units sold, breakeven point, target profit and margin of safety;
•state the assumptions and limitations of cost‐volume‐ profit analysis;
•identify and differentiate relevant costs and irrelevant costs in different business scenarios; and
•make recommendation to short‐term business decisions.
2

Syllabus in HKDSE Examination
• Identify the nature of various cost items and their relevance to decision‐making: sunk costs, incremental costs and opportunity costs.
• Apply costing concepts and techniques in business decisions, e.g. “hire, make or buy”, “accept or reject an order at a special price”, “retain or replace equipment”,
“sell or process further” and “eliminate or retain an unprofitable segment”.
• Conduct cost‐volume‐profit analysis to assess the effects of changes in costs, selling price and units sold on the
What‐if analysis breakeven point and target profit.
3

Contents
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4

Breakeven point
Sale level required to achieve target profit
Margin of safety
What‐if analysis (Illustrations 1 & 2)
Sales mix (Illustration 3 & 4)
Relevant costs vs. irrelevant costs (Illustrations 5 & 6)
Accept or reject an order (Illustration 7)
Hire decision (Illustration 8)
Make or buy (illustration 9)
Retain or replace equipment (Illustration 10)
Sell or process further (Illustration 11)
Eliminate or retain an unprofitable segment (Illustration 12)

Prior Knowledge Required

5

Cost‐Volume‐Profit Analysis
(C‐V‐P Analysis)
(Breakeven Analysis)

6

What is it?
• Breakeven = no profit, or loss, that is,
– Total Sales Revenue = Total Costs (Variable Costs +
Fixed Costs)
– Total Contribution = Fixed Costs

• It studies how cost, revenue and production/sales volume affect profit
• Two approaches:
– By Formula
– By Graph
7

Breakeven Point – By Formula

or

where
8

Sales Level Required to Achieve
Target Profit

or

9

Margin of Safety – By Formula

10

What‐if Analysis
• It studies how the result will change if the original data changes.
• It answers questions such as:
– What will be the breakeven point if variable cost per unit increased by 5%?
– What will be the profit if sales volume increases by 5%?

11

Effects of Changes in Costs, Selling Price on the Breakeven Point

12

Illustration 1
Effect of Changes in Costs on Breakeven Point
• A manufacturing company produces and sells a single product as follows:
Selling price per unit
Variable costs per unit

$250
$150

• The fixed cost per annum is estimated to be
$600,000.

13

Illustration 1
Effect of Changes in Costs on Breakeven Point
• The sales manager would like to propose a change to pay a salesman on commission basis of $10 per unit sold rather than on fixed monthly salaries of $8,000 per month.
• What would be the breakeven points in units for the situations before and after the change? 14

Illustration 1
Effect of Changes in Costs on Breakeven Point
Breakeven point before change:
$600,000/($250‐$150)
= 6,000 units
Breakeven point after change:
($600,000 ‐ $8,000 x 12)/[$250‐($150+$10)]
= 5,600 units
15

Illustration 1
Effect of Changes in Costs on Breakeven Point
• It does not mean that the proposed scenario is better than the original scenario because of lower breakeven point.
• It all depends on the actual sales volume.
• For example, if the sales volume is 10,000 units, the profit in the original scenario will be
$400,000 (10,000 x $100 ‐ $600,000) while that in proposed scenario it will only be
$396,000 (10,000 x $90 – $504,000).
16

Effects of Changes in Costs, Selling Price and Units Sold on the Profit

17

Illustration 2
Effects of Changes in Costs and Units Sold on the Profit

• A company produces and sells a single product. In the current year, 20,000 units will be sold at $50 each. The fixed cost is $300,000 and the profit is $100,000.
• The company is considering spending $30,000 to launch a promotion campaign in the next year to boost the sales volume by 5%.
• The selling price and other fixed overhead will keep constant over the two years.
18

Illustration 2
Effects of Changes in Costs and Units Sold on the Profit

Required
1)For the current year, calculate:
a) the breakeven point in units, and
b) the margin of safety in %
2)Prepare the income statements for both current year and next year.
3)Explain whether the promotion campaign should be launched.
19

Illustration 2
Effects of Changes in Costs and Units Sold on the Profit
1) a) Total contribution = $300,000 + $100,000 = $400,000
Contribution per unit = $400,000/20,000 = $20
Breakeven point in units = $300,000/$20 = 15,000 units
b) Margin of safety in % = (20,000‐15,000)/20,000 x 100%
= 25%

20

Illustration 2
Effects of Changes in Costs and Units Sold on the Profit
2)
Contribution Income
Statements
Sales ($50 per unit)
Variable cost ($30 per unit)
Total contribution
Less: Fixed cost
Net Profit

21

Current Year
$
1,000,000
600,000
400,000
300,000
100,000

Next Year
$
1,050,000
630,000
420,000
330,000
90,000

Illustration 2
Effects of Changes in Costs and Units Sold on the Profit

3) The promotion should not be launched as it would lower the net profit.

22

Activity 1
Illustrative Integrated Question
Cost‐Profit‐Volume Analysis

23

Question (1)
• A manufacturing company produces and sells a single product. The accountant has just prepared the company’s budget for the coming year. The budgeted data is extracted as follows:
Sales volume
Fixed costs
Variable costs per unit
Loss

24

90,000 units
$440,000
$10
$80,000

Question (2)
• The directors are dissatisfied with the budgeted loss and suggest proposals for improvement.
• Director A suggests spending $50,000 on advertising to increase sales. He wishes to achieve a target profit of $100,000.
• Director B suggests reducing selling price by $1 per unit to increase sales. He expects that the sales volume would increase by 80%.
• Director C suggests buying a more efficient machine which would reduce unit variable costs by 50%. The useful life of the machine is 1 year.
25

Question (3)
Required
a) For Director A’s proposal, what is the percentage increase in sales required to achieve the target profit? b) For Director B’s proposal, what would be the profit or loss?
c) For Director C’s proposal, what would be the maximum cost of the machine for breakeven?

26

Answers
a) 50%
b) Profit $46,000
c) $370,000

27

By Graph – Breakeven Chart

sts al co
Tot

le
Sa

Break-even point s

Sales revenue/Costs

Profit

Fixed costs Loss

Variable costs Fixed costs 0
28

Profit

Activity (Sales units)

By Group – Contribution Graph

Fixed costs Loss ts cos le 0
29

Activity (Sales units)

Contribution

Profit

sts al co
Tot

b aria V

Profit

Sa l Breakeven point

es

Sales revenue/Costs

By Graph – Profit‐Volume Graph
Profit / Loss ($’000)
Break-even
point

0

Loss

Profit
Activity
(Sales units) Fixed costs 30

Contribution

Profit

Breakeven Point for Sales Mix
When a company produces multiple products, it is assumed that the relative combination of the products sold (sales units) will be constant.

31

Illustration 3
Breakeven Point for Sales Mix
• Product X and Product Y are sold in sales mix of 3:1.
Details about the two products are:
Product X
Selling price per unit
Variable cost per unit
Unit contribution

$5
$4
$1

Product Y
$10
$3
$7

• The fixed cost is $30,000.
• What is the breakeven point in units and dollars?
32

Illustration 3
Breakeven Point for Sales Mix

Since 1 standard batch consists of 3 units of product X and 1 unit of product Y, the breakeven point is 9,000 units of product X and 3,000 units of product Y.
33

Illustration 3
Breakeven Point for Sales Mix
Breakeven point (in $)

Sales
Product X: 9,000 x $5
Product Y: 3,000 x $10
Breakeven point

34

$
45,000
30,000
75,000

Illustration 3
Breakeven Point for Sales Mix
Alternatively, the breakeven point in $ can be calculated by using the contribution margin ratio: Contribution in standard sales mix
= $1 x 3 + $7 x 1 = $10
Selling price in standard sales mix
= $5 x 3 = $10 x 1 = $25

35

Illustration 3
Breakeven Point for Sales Mix
• Hence, the contribution margin ratio is

• The breakeven point in $ is

36

Illustration 4
Effect of Change in Expenses on Sales Mix
• Continue with illustration 3. As the marketing manager observes that Product Y is more profitable, he is considering spending additional $5,000 on marketing campaign to boost the sales of Product Y. It is estimated that sales volume of Product Y can be increased by 1/3.
• How many units of Product X should be sold at least in order to achieve breakeven?
37

Illustration 4
Effect of Change in Expenses on Sales Mix
$
Original fixed cost
30,000
Marketing expenses
5,000
Contribution from Product Y ($7 x 3,000 x 4/3) (28,000)
Uncovered fixed cost
7,000
Hence, number of units of Product X to be sold for achieving breakeven =

38

Assumptions of C‐V‐P Analysis
• Selling price per unit and variable cost per unit are constant.
• Fixed cost per period is constant.
• Production units equal sales units.
• A single product is sold or the sales mix is constant. 39

Limitations of C‐V‐P Analysis
• Unit selling price may vary, e.g. due to bulk discounts offered to customers.
• Unit variable costs per unit may vary, e.g. due to economies of scales or overtime premium etc. • Fixed costs may change at different levels of activity, e.g. step costs, i.e. in different relevant ranges, the fixed cost will vary.
40

Cost Classification & Items

41

42

Relevant Cost vs. Irrelevant Cost
Relevant Cost
Cost that will be changed by a decision 43

Irrelevant Cost
Cost that will not be changed by a decision Relevant Costs
Incremental Cost

Opportunity Cost

Additional cost which will be specifically incurred because of a decision Benefit which will be forgone when the choice of one course of action requires an alternative course of action be given up

44

Irrelevant Cost
Sunk Cost
Cost of a resource already acquired and are unaffected by choice between alternatives 45

Committed Cost
Cost which has been committed although it has not been incurred or paid.

Material Cost:
How Relevant?

46

Illustration 5
Material Cost: How Relevant?
• A job requires 1,000 units of material X which have already been in the inventory.
• They were purchased at a cost of $8 per unit.
• The materials can be sold at a net realizable value of $12 per unit.
• It can also be used in another job as substitute for 1,500 units of material Y of which the current purchasing price is $10.
47

Illustration 5
Relevant Cost for Material X
Analysis:
•The original purchase price of material X is irrelevant since it is a sunk cost
•The opportunity cost would be the higher of
NRV or Costing Savings,
i.e. $15,000
•Therefore, the relevant cost of material X is
$15,000
48

Labour Cost:
How Relevant?

49

Illustration 6
Labour Cost: How Relevant?
A company has been offered a special order which requires 1,000 direct skilled labour hours at $400 per hour. Because of full capacity and limited supply, the direct skilled labour hours have to be diverted from existing production of
500 units of Product X which gives contribution of $300 per unit.

50

Illustration 6
Labour Cost: How Relevant?

Relevant Costs for Direct
Labour
Incremental Cost ($400 x 1,000)
Contribution Lost ($300 x 500)

51

$
400,000
150,000
550,000

Short‐Term Business Decisions

52

Factors to Consider in Business
Decision Making
• Quantitative factors: cost vs. benefit analysis
Concentrate this in this course in monetary terms.
• Qualitative factors: social responsibility, corporate goodwill, employee morale etc.

53

Accept or Reject an Order at a
Special Price

54

Accept or Reject an Order at a
Special Price

55

Accept or Reject an Order at a
Special Price

56

Illustration 7
Accept or Reject an Order at a Special Price
A firm currently makes 50,000 units of product per annum and sells at $30 each. The operating statement is as follows:
$
Sales (50,000 x $30)
1,500,000
Less: Materials
(500,000)
Labour
(680,000)
Contribution
320,000
Less: Fixed Costs
(200,000)
Net Profit
120,000
57

Illustration 7
Accept or Reject an Order at a Special Price
A customer offers an order for 10,000 units at selling price of $28 each.
If the order is accepted:
•Fixed cost would increase to $250,000.
•Extra labour would be required at overtime premium of 20%.
•4% discount would be obtained for all materials.

58

Illustration 7
Accept or Reject an Order at a Special Price
Cost‐Benefit Analysis for Accepting

$

Incremental Benefits
Increase in sales revenue (10,000 x $28)
Savings in material cost for existing production (500,000 x 4%)

280,000
20,000
300,000

Incremental Costs
Material cost for additional production ($500,000/50,000 x 10,000 x 96%)

96,000

Labour cost for additional production ($680,000/50,000 x 10,000 x 120%)

163,200

Increase in fixed cost ($250,000‐$200,000)

50,000
309,200

Decrease in net profit
59

9,200

Illustration 7
Accept or Reject an Oder at a Special Price
• Conclusion: As the incremental benefit is less than the increment cost, the order should be rejected. 60

Hire or Not Hire

61

Hire or Not Hire

62

Hire or Not Hire

63

Illustration 8
Hire or Not Hire
• A company currently produced 1,000 units of product X per month at unit variable costs of
$50.
• Product X was sold at $120 per unit.
• The company is considering hiring an additional machine which can reduce the unit variable costs to $48 and increase production by 20%.
• The monthly hire charge is $200,000.
64

Illustration 8
Hire or Not Hire
Cost‐Benefit Analysis for Hiring
Savings in variable costs for existing production
[($50‐$48) x 1,000]
Increase in contribution from additional production
[($120‐$48) x (1,000 x 20%)]

14,400

Increase in contribution
Less: Hire charge
Decrease in profit

16,400
20,000
3,600

65

$
2,000

Illustration 8
Hire or Not Hire
• Conclusion: Since hiring would lead to a decrease in profit, it should not be hired.

66

Make or Buy

67

Make or Buy

68

Make or Buy

69

Illustration 9
Make or Buy
• A company requires 800 units of component X specifically for a single order and is considering making the components itself or buying them from outside supplier.
• In making, it requires $3,000 materials, 100 labour hours at hourly rate of $28 to be diverted from other teams which are idle but cannot be fired because of the employment contract.
• If the company makes the components itself, the existing production of product Y will fall by 100 units. Product Y provides a contribution of $8 per unit.
• The components are sold at a multiple of 1,000 units at
$4,500 per 1,000 units. Any excess of the demand can be re‐ sold at a price of $1 per unit.
70

Illustration 9
Make or Buy

Relevant Cost for Making
Materials
Contribution lost ($8 x 100)
Total Relevant Cost

$
3,000
800
3,800

Since the labour is idle, the cost is irrelevant.

71

Illustration 9
Make or Buy

Relevant Cost for Buying
$
Purchase cost
4,500
Re‐sale of excess [ (1,000‐800) x $1] (200)
Total Net Relevant Cost
4,300

72

Illustration 9
Make or Buy
• Conclusion: Since the relevant cost for making is lower than that of buying, the components should be made.

73

Retain or
Replace
Equipment

74

Retain or
Replace
Equipment

75

Retain or
Replace
Equipment

76

Illustration 10
Retain or Replace Equipment
A company is considering replacing an old machine with a new one. Details about the old machine and the new machine are as follows:
Old Machine
Original Cost
Depreciated amount
Remaining useful life
Current disposal value
Disposal value after 3 years
77

$1,000,000
$800,000
3 years
$10,000
Nil

Illustration 10
Retain or Replace Equipment
New Machine
Current purchase cost
Useful life
Disposal value after 3 years

$300,000
3 years
$60,000

The new machine can reduce operating costs by $80,000 per annum.

78

Illustration 10
Retain or Replace Equipment
Cost‐Benefit Analysis for Replacement
Incremental Benefits of Replacement
Total costs saving (3 x $80,000)
Disposal value of new machine after 3 years
Current disposal value of old machine
Less: Incremental Costs
Purchase cost of new machine
Net Incremental Benefits of Replacement
Note: Time value of money is ignored.
79

$
240,000
60,000
10,000
310,000
(300,000)
10,000

Illustration 10
Retain or Replace Equipment
• Conclusion: Since replacement would make a net incremental benefit, it should be replaced.

80

Sell or Process
Further

81

Sell or Process
Further

82

Sell or Process
Further

83

Illustration 11
Sell or Process Further
• A company is considering whether to process a semi‐ finished product which has been produced at total variable cost of $60,000 and can be sold at $100,000.
• If the semi‐finished product is further processed to make it a finished product, it can be sold at
$220,000. The costs involved in the process are as follows: 84

Direct materials
Direct labour
Overheads

$
150,000
10,000
180,000

Illustration 11
Sell or Process Further
• Contract has been signed for the purchase of the
$150,000 materials. The materials are for special purpose and cannot be used in another alternative.
If it is not used, it can be sold at $30,000.
• Overheads include $70,000 specific to further process and allocated general overheads of
$110,000.
• The finished product after the further process can be sold at $220,000.
85

Illustration 11
Sell or Process Further
$
Incremental Benefits from Further Processing
Increase in sales revenue ($220,000 ‐ $100,000)

120,000

Relevant Costs to Completion
Direct materials

30,000

Direct labour

10,000

Overheads

70,000
110,000

Net Incremental Benefits
86

10,000

Illustration 11
Sell or Process Further
• Conclusion: Since the benefit of further processing is greater than the costs, further processing is recommended.

87

Eliminate or
Retain an
Unprofitable
Segment

88

Eliminate or
Retain an
Unprofitable
Segment

89

Eliminate or
Retain an
Unprofitable
Segment

90

Illustration 12
Eliminate or Retain an Unprofitable Segment
A Company has two departments producing products X and Y respectively. The budgeted operating statement for the coming year is summarized as follows:

Sales
Less: Total Cost
Net Profit / (Loss)

Product X
$
60,000
70,000
(10,000)

Product Y
$
100,000
80,000
20,000

Of the total cost 70% is variable, 10% is specific fixed and 20% is general fixed.
91

Illustration 12
Eliminate or Retain an Unprofitable Segment
Contribution Income Statement

Product X

Product Y

Total

$

$

$

Sales

60,000

100,000

160,000

Less: Variable cost (70% of total cost)

49,000

56,000

105,000

Contribution

11,000

46,000

55,000

7,000

8,000

15,000

4,000

36,000

40,000

Less: Specific fixed cost (10% of total cost)
Less: General fixed cost (20% of $150,000)

30,000

Net profit

10,000

92

Illustration 12
Eliminate or Retain an Unprofitable Segment
• Conclusion: Since the department producing product X makes contribution, it should be retained. If it is eliminated, the profit will be only $6,000 instead of $10,000.

93

Activity 2
Integrated Illustrative Question

94

Question (1)
A manufacturing company has been asked to quote for a one‐off job which would require the following resources: Material A
1,000 kg would be required. The material is used regularly in other jobs. Currently there are 4,000 kg in the inventory which was purchased at $8 per kg. It can be sold at $7 if not used. The current replacement cost is $9 per kg.
95

Question (2)
Material B or Material C
100 kg would be required. Material B is not in the inventory and has to be ordered at a current price of
$15 per kg. However, material C can be used to substitute material B. Material C is in inventory and has been purchased at a cost of $20 per kg. It was specifically purchased for use in a product line which has now been discontinued. It can be sold at a net realizable value of $8 per kg. If it is used to substitute material B, additional conversion cost of $6 per kg has to be incurred.
96

Question (3)
Skilled labour
Direct skilled labour cost for the job would be $40,000.
Skilled labour is in short supply. If the workers work for this job, they cannot work for another job which would make a total contribution of $5,000.

97

Question (4)
Unskilled labour
Unskilled labour receiving pay totaling $16,000 will be transferred from another department which will recruit additional labour at a total cost of $17,000 including pay and recruitment costs.

98

Question (5)
Machine hours
50 machine hours would be required. A machine currently lying idle will be used in the job. Details about the machinery are as follows:
Depreciation due to use
$10,000
Current net realization value
$240,000
Estimated net realizable value after use
$200,000
If the machine is not used, the machine hours can be hired from a leasing company which charges $1,000 per hour.
99

Question (6)
Required
Calculate the minimum price that should be quoted for the job.

100

Answer
Relevant Costs
Material A
Material C
Skilled labour
Unskilled labour
Machine hours
101

$
9,000
1,400
45,000
17,000
40,000
112,400

Further Readings
Burgstahler, D., Horngren, C., Schatzberg, J., Stratton, W., & Sundem,
G. (2008). Introduction to Management Accounting, 14th ed.
Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Chapters 2 & 5‐6.
Drury, C. (2008). Management and Cost Accounting, 7th ed. London:
South‐Western Cengage Learning. Chapters 8‐9 & 11‐12.
Horngren, C. T., Datar, S. M., Foster, G., Raian, M. & Ittner, C. (2009).
Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, 13th ed. Upper Saddle
River: Prentice Hall. Chapters 3 & 11.
Lucey, T. (2009). Costing, 7th ed. London: South‐Western Cengage
Learning. Chapters 17 & 20‐21.
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