Chap 3 (Overheads)
Chap 3 (Overheads)
Chapter 3 Overheads
3.1 Manufacturing expenses are of two types:
i) Direct expenses – expenses that are fully traceable to the product, service or department that is
being costed or in other words, the expenses which can be attributable directly to specific cost object.
⯈ Examples:
• Raw Materials that are specifically used for the product in consideration. For example, milk is
raw material used in production of butter or cheese.
• Labour which is directly involved in converting the raw material. For example, labour cost in
connection with production of sugar.
• Other expenses that are specifically incurred for the product. For example, hiring cost of machine
in order to manufacture specific product.
ii) Indirect expenses (Production overheads) –are those expenses that incur in the course of making a
product, providing of service or running department but which cannot be traced directly and fully to
the product, service or department.
⯈ Examples:
• Labour not directly involved in the conversion of raw material but indirectly involved in making
of the product, such as supervisor responsible for supervising the production process.
• Tools, spares and materials that are used in the machinery or equipment used in the production.
• Factory rent if the factory premises are hired.
• Depreciation of machinery and equipment.
• Electricity and other utility expenses incurred for the production facilities.
3.2 The manufacturing expenses generally comprise:
i) Direct materials
ii) Direct labour and
iii) Production / manufacturing / factory overheads.
3.3 Cost behaviors refer to how a cost reacts to changes in the level of activity. As the activity level rises
or falls, a particular cost may rise or fall as well or it may remain constant. To help make such
distinctions, the costs are often categorized as ‘variable cost’ or ‘fixed cost’.
i) Variable costs are those that tend to change with level of activity in direct ratio with equal
proportion. The variable expenses are fixed per unit of output while they vary in total. For example,
direct material, direct labour etc.
ii) Fixed costs are those that remained constant, irrespective of the level of output. Fixed expenses vary
per unit of output while they are fixed in total. For example, monthly rent, salaries etc.
iii) There are few costs that are called Semi-variable because they carry some fixed part of cost and
some variable. For example, electricity bill comprises of fixed charges as line rent / fixed
connection charges as well as variable charges based on units of power consumed.
3.4 Production and non-production overheads
i) Overheads that incur in relation to the production processes are called production overheads (also
called manufacturing overheads / factory overheads). For example, salary of factory supervisor,
depreciation of production machine, electricity cost of factory, rent of factory premises etc.
Production overheads can be fixed or variable.
ii) Overheads that incur to support the overall objectives of the business are called non-production
overheads. For example, salaries of sales team, salaries of finance, HR and IT teams, rent of the
building occupied by finance, IT, sales and HR departments (other than production department),
Depreciation of computers being used in these departments etc. These are classified as
‘Administrative Expenses, Marketing, Selling and Distribution Expenses’ in the Statement of
Comprehensive Income.
3.5 Product cost and period cost
i) If a cost is incurred to acquire or produce something that will eventually be sold, then the cost
should be recorded as an expense only when the sale takes place – that is, when the benefit occurs.
Such costs are called product costs.
ii) Period costs are all costs that are not product costs. Period costs are not included as part of the cost
of either purchased or manufactured goods instead, period costs are expensed in the period in which
they are incurred.
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3.6 Factors affecting the predetermined overhead rate
In addition to the selection of bases, the following more factors are also considered:
i) Activity Level Selection:
Activity level can be described as the level at which the business performs its production activities.
For example, a company has the capacity to produce 100,000 units every month using 7,000 labour
hours and 5,000 machine hours. However, in past months the company has only produced 80,000
units due to the market demand. This shows that company’s activity level is 80% (80,000/100,000)
of its maximum capacity.
If, the company expects that there is no change in the demand and therefore, the same number of
units shall be produced. This is called Normal Capacity and overhead rate should be based on this
capacity. In normal capacity, the overhead rate is calculated using average utilization of plant and
expenditures over a period long enough to level out the highs and lows that occur in every business
venture. A rate based on normal capacity should not change periodically because of change in actual
production. The rate will be changed when the prices of certain expense items change or when
fixed costs increase or decrease.
If the company expects that the demand will increase or decrease and estimates a level at 90% or
70%, this is called Expected Actual Capacity and overhead rate should be based on this capacity.
In expected actual capacity, the overhead rate is determined using the expected cost and production
at expected actual output for the next production period. This method usually results in different
predetermined rates for each period. When the company is unable to judge its current performance
on a long range (normal capacity) then this activity level is used.
ii) Inclusion or exclusion of fixed overheads
In cost accounting there are two methods of assigning costs to the products:
a) In Absorption costing / conventional costing / full costing, both fixed and variable
manufacturing costs are included in product cost. Therefore, when predetermined overhead
rate is determined, both fixed and variable overhead costs are taken into account.
b) In Marginal costing, fixed costs are considered as period cost and are not included in cost of
product. Therefore, when a predetermined overhead rate is determined, only variable overhead
costs are taken into account.
iii) Overhead rates can be classified as:
a) Single rate system
A single overhead rate is used to describe a single overhead absorption rate that is established
for the organization as a whole.
Single rate system involves three steps:
Step 1
Predetermined FOH absorption rate is calculated at the start of period by using following
formula:
Budgeted FOH cost
FOH absorption rate = Budgeted base
Step 2
FOH cost is included in the production cost of various products or orders during the period
by using FOH Absorption rate as shown below:
FOH absorbed = FOH Absorption rate x Actual activity level performed.
Step 3
FOH variance is calculated at the end of the period by comparing absorbed FOH cost with
actual FOH cost as shown below:
Under / (over) absorbed = Actual FOH cost – Absorbed FOH cost
Important points for single rate system
1) FOH absorption rate is also known as FOH applied rate, plant wide rate, blanket rate,
composite rate, FOH recovery rate, or predetermined FOH rate.
2) Budgeted FOH cost includes budgeted Fixed FOH cost and budgeted Variable FOH cost.
3) Budgeted base can be budgeted total direct labour hours, budgeted total machine hours,
budgeted production units, budgeted direct material cost, budgeted direct labour cost, or
budgeted prime cost.
4) Actual activity level actual direct labour hours, actual machine hours, actual production
units, actual direct material cost, actual direct labour cost, or actual prime cost.
Step 2
Department wise FOH absorption rate is calculated at start of period using budgeted
departmental FOH cost from FOH distribution sheet prepared in step 1.
Assume we have 2 production departments, department A and department B. Also assume
that department A is labour intensive and department B is machine intensive.
Step 3
FOH cost is included in the production cost of various products or orders during the period
by using FOH Absorption rate as shown below:
Rs.
Department A (FOH absorption rate per hour × Actual labour hours of department A) xx
Department B (FOH absorption rate per hour × Actual machine hours of department B) xx
Total FOH cost absorbed in production cost xx
Step 4
Department wise budgeted FOH distribution sheet is prepared at the end of period by using
actual data to calculate department wise actual FOH cost.
Step 5
FOH variance is calculated at the end of the period by comparing absorbed FOH cost with
actual FOH cost as shown below:
Dept. A Dept. B
Actual FOH cost from step 4 xx xx
Less: Absorbed FOH cost from step 3 (xx) (xx)
Under / (over) absorbed xx xx
QUESTIONS
Question-1
1 unit of a product requires 6 kgs of material and 10 hours of direct labour. Material cost is Rs. 600 per kg and
direct labour cost is Rs. 400 per hour. FOH is included in product cost at Rs. 140 per direct labour hour.
Required
Calculate product cost per unit.
Question-2
1 unit of a product requires 4 kgs of material and 3 hours of direct labour. Material cost is Rs.100 per kg and
direct labor cost is Rs 250 per hour. FOH is included in product cost at 50% of direct material cost.
Required
Calculate product cost per unit.
Question-3
Budgeted information for the year 2025 is as follows:
Production 5,000 units
Total Direct material cost Rs.125,000
Total Direct labour cost (Rs.50 per hour) Rs 500,000
Total FOH Rs.75,000
Machine hours 5 hours per unit
Required
a) Calculate overhead absorption rate (OAR) based on:
(i) Direct labour hours (ii) Machine hours (iii) Production units
(iv) Direct labour cost (v) Direct material cost (vi) Prime cost
b) For each part calculated in (a) above, calculate product cost per unit using OAR calculated in each part.
above
Question-4
Alpha Ltd. provided following data for the month of April, 2018:
Budgeted direct labour hours 25,600
Budgeted machine hours 80,000
Budgeted units of product 500,000
Rs.
Budgeted direct material cost 1 million
Budgeted direct labour cost 0.64 million
Budgeted Factory overheads cost
Fixed FOH 0.3 million
Variable FOH 0.5 million
Required
Calculate predetermined factory overheads absorption rate based on:
a) Direct labour hours d) Direct labour cost
b) Machine hours e) Direct material cost
c) Units of product f) Prime cost
Question-5
Cost accounting department of Zain Ltd. made the following estimates for the coming year:
Factory overheads cost Rs. 525,000
Direct material cost Rs. 750,000
Production volume 40,000 units
Direct labour cost Rs. 300,000
Direct labour time 60,000 hours
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Required
1) Calculate predetermined factory overheads absorption rate based on:
a) Direct labour hours c) Direct material cost
b) Direct labour cost
2) Calculate total production cost of job No. 924 by using each absorption ratefrom part (1), if job No. 924
requires:
▪ Direct material cost Rs. 20,000
▪ Direct labour cost (1,400 labour hours) Rs. 8,400
Question-6
Rashid Ltd. produces three products. The company has provided estimated factory overheads cost of Rs.
100,000 which is based on estimated machine hours for the next month.
Following estimated information is also provided for the next month:
Product A Product B Product C
Budgeted production units 5,000 10,000 15,000
Budgeted machine hours per unit 2 2.5 1
Actual information is as under:
Product A Product B Product C
Direct material cost per unit Rs. 10 Rs. 12 Rs. 8
Direct labour cost per unit Rs. 9 Rs. 6 Rs. 7
Actual production units and actual machine hours were same as budgeted.
Required
(i) Calculate plant wide factory overheads absorption rate based upon machine hours.
(ii) Calculate cost per unit for each product using above absorption rate.
(iii) Calculate sale price per unit if company adds markup equal to 20% of cost.
Question-7
Budgeted info for the year 2025 is as follows:
Direct material cost Rs.600,000
Direct labour cost (400 per hour) Rs.100,000
Repair and maintenance Rs.60,000
Indirect labour Rs.140,000
Indirect material Rs.30,000
Fuel & power Rs.70,000
Depreciation Rs.95,000
Other FOH Rs.25,000
Production 1,000 units
Machine hours 3 hrs per unit
Required
Calculate OAR based on all 6 bases.
Question-8
Rehman Ltd. estimates its factory’s overheads cost for the next year amounting Rs. 1.5 million. It is estimated
that 400,000 units will be produced at direct material cost of Rs.600,000 and production of these units will
require 300,000 direct labour hours at an estimated wages cost of Rs. 1,800,000. The machines will run for
about 500,000 hours.
Required
Calculate predetermined factory overheads absorption rate based on:
a) Direct labour hours d) Direct labour cost
b) Machine hours e) Direct material cost
c) Units of product f) Prime cost
Question-17 (Illustration)
Assume all data is same as in question 16 above, except SDs provide support as follows:
PD-A PD-B SD-1 SD-2 SD-3
SD-1 40% 60% - - -
SD-2 50% 20% 15% - 15%
SD-3 40% 40% 20% - -
Required: Calculate overhead absorption rate for each production department.
Rs. in '000
Salaries and wages 115,000
Depreciation of machinery 80,000
Building insurance 25,000
Electricity 60,000
280,000
Other information related to the four departments is given below:
Department Department Department Department Total
A B X Y
Cost of machinery (Rs. in '000) 250,000 150,000 400,000
Floor Area (square feet) 15,000 6,000 6,000 3,000 30,000
No. of employees 150 50 25 25 250
Services provided by
− Department X 80% 20% - - -
− Department Y 75% 15% 10% - -
The overhead absorption rates used by BL for allocation to Shine and Glow are Rs. 1,800and Rs. 1,700 per unit
respectively. Any under/over absorbed overheads are adjusted tocost of sales.
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Required:
(a) Compute product-wise actual overheads for Shine and Glow. (08)
(b) Compute the product-wise under / over absorbed production overheads. (02)
Question-28 (Spring 2016, Q-5)
Omega Industries Limited (OIL) produces two products Alpha and Beta. These products are processed through
Fabrication and Finishing departments. Quality control and Logistics departments provide all the necessary
support for the production.
OIL allocates production overheads to Alpha and Beta at a pre-determined rate of Rs. 1,300 and
Rs. 500 per unit respectively. Any under/over absorbed overheads are adjusted to cost of sales.
Following actual data has been extracted from the cost records of OIL for the month of December - 2015:
Quality
Particulars Fabrication Finishing Logistics Total
control
Indirect labour Rs. in '000 1,500 1,200 500 400 3,600
Factory rent Rs. in '000 - - - - 2,000
Power Rs. in '000 - - - - 1,200
Depreciation - Plant Rs. in '000 - - - - 9,000
Other information: - - - - -
Cost of plant Rs. in '000 32,000 20,000 2,000 6,000 60,000
Floor area Square feet 10,000 5,000 3,000 2,000 20,000
Power KWH 50,000 40,000 4,000 6,000 100,000
Hours worked for Alpha 70% 60% - - -
Hours worked for Beta 30% 40% - - -
Services provided by: - - - - -
- Quality control 40% 60% - - 100%
- Logistics 60% 35% 5% - 100%
8,000 units of Alpha and 10,000 units of Beta were produced during the month of December 2015.
Required:
(a) Compute product wise actual overheads for Alpha and Beta. (10)
(b) Prepare journal entries to record:
(i) Applied production overheads; and
(ii) Under/Over absorbed production overheads (02)