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14: Appendix- Service Department Allocation

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    65793
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    • 14.1: Allocation of Service Department Costs
      This page explains how to allocate costs between a company's operating and service departments. It highlights the importance of accurately reflecting costs in operating departments and describes three methods for allocation: the direct method (simple and ignores inter-departmental relationships), the step method (sequential allocation), and the reciprocal method (which accounts for inter-service department relationships for accuracy).
    • 14.2: Direct Method of Allocation
      This page discusses the direct method of allocating service department costs to operating departments, which is based on their respective shares of an allocation base without considering inter-department utilization. Critics highlight its inaccuracies. An example is provided where maintenance and administration costs are allocated based on machine-hours and employee counts, ensuring that total allocated costs equal the service department costs.
    • 14.3: Step Method of Allocation
      The step method allocates service department costs sequentially, starting from the highest to lowest costs. It first assigns costs based on specific metrics, such as machine hours for maintenance and employee numbers for administration, only to operating departments. This unidirectional approach means once costs are allocated, they cannot be redistributed back to service departments.
    • 14.4: Reciprocal Method of Allocation
      This page describes the reciprocal method for service department cost allocation, which accurately reflects interdepartmental relationships. It involves three steps: determining allocation bases, calculating total costs using established formulas, and showing the resulting cost allocations. The method analyzes cost flows between departments, providing a detailed breakdown of expenditures for better financial understanding.
    • 14.5: Appendix C Exercises (CREATE PROBLEMS)


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