UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
BUS 5110
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
DR. PEGGY JANUARY
Written Assignment 4
Submitted on
Date: December 07, 2021
In this case, the approach should be the differential analysis for making managerial
decisions related to making or buying engines from the third party. The alternative
selected is the one with the most favorable (or least unfavorable) financial impact. The
evaluation includes only those costs that will change if one alternative is selected over
another. (Christine, 2020)
A vacuum manufacturer has prepared the following cost data for manufacturing one of
its engine components based on the annual production of 50,000 units.
Description Cost per Month
Direct Materials $75,000
Direct Labor $100,000
Total $175,000
Annual production: 50,000 units / 12Months = 4166.6 Monthly production works out
to 4166 units.
If the vacuum manufacturer manufacts the engines own themselves, monthly cost works
out as follows.
Direct Materials $75,000
Direct Labor $100,000
Variable factories Overhead $7.5 x 4166 units = $31,245
Fixed factories Overhead $150,000
Sales Monthly $150 per unit x 4166 units = $624,900
If the vacuum manufacturer buys the engines from the third party, monthly cost works
out as follows.
Cost to buy $60 x 4166 units =$249,960
Direct Materials $0
Direct Labor $0
Variable factories Overhead $0
Fixed factories Overhead $150,000 x 75% = $112,500
Variable Cost Alternative Alternative Differential Alternative 1
1 2 Amount is
Cost to buy from $00 $249,960 $(249,960) Lower
outside
Direct Materials $75,000 $00 $75,000 Higher
Direct Labor $100,000 $00 $100,000 Higher
Variable factories $31,245 $00 $31,245 Higher
Overhead
Fixed Cost
Fixed factories $150,000 $112,500 $37,500 Higher
Overhead
Total Costs $356,245 $362,460 $(6,215) Lower
Revenue
($624,900-Total Costs) $268,655 $262,440 Higher
Should the company make or buy the engines?
The offer from the third-party sounds profitable, as the cost of engine is only $ 60 per
unit compared to the $ 150 of selling price. However, if we compare and analyze the
direct costs and indirect costs, we can see that the profit is higher when the engine is
manufactured in-house. As you can see from the table above, Alternative 1 (in-house
production) has lower total cost and higher profitability. Therefore, the vacuum
company should make a business model of manufacturing engines by themselves and
selling the vacuums.
References
Heisinger, K., & Hoyle, J. B. (n.d.). Accounting for
Managers. https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/accounting-for-managers/index.html
Christine Jonick (2020). Professor (Accounting) at University of North Georgia,
Introduction to Differential Analysis
https://biz.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Accounting/Book
%3A_Principles_of_Managerial_Accounting_(Jonick)/09%3A_Differential_Analysis/9.
01%3A_Introduction_to_Differential_Analysis