Chap6 PDF

GarrisonNoreenBrewer: 6.
CostVolumeProfit Text The McGrawHill

Managerial Accounting, Relationships Companies, 2006
11th Edition
C h a p t e r
6
Cost-Volume-Profit
Relationships
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying Chapter 6, you should be able to:
LO1 Explain how changes in activity affect contribution margin and net
operating income.
LO2 Prepare and interpret a cost-volume-profit (CVP) graph.
LO3 Use the contribution margin ratio (CM ratio) to compute changes in
contribution margin and net operating income resulting from changes
in sales volume.
LO4 Show the effects on contribution margin of changes in variable costs,

fixed costs, selling price, and volume.
LO5 Compute the break-even point in unit sales and sales dollars.
LO6 Determine the level of sales needed to achieve a desired target

profit.
LO7 Compute the margin of safety and explain its significance.
LO8 Compute the degree of operating leverage at a particular level of

sales and explain how the degree of operating leverage can be used
to predict changes in net operating income.
LO9 Compute the break-even point for a multiple product company and
explain the effects of shifts in the sales mix on contribution margin
and the break-even point.
GarrisonNoreenBrewer: 6. CostVolumeProfit Text The McGrawHill
11th Edition
What Happened to the Profit?
C
hip Conley is CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, a company that owns and operates 28
hospitality businesses in northern California. Conley summed up the companys experi- BUSINESS FOCUS
ence after the dot.com crash and 9/11 as follows: In the history of American hotel mar-
kets, no hotel market has ever seen a drop in revenues as precipitous as the one in San
Francisco and Silicon Valley in the last two years. On average, hotel revenues . . . dropped 40% to
45%. . . . Weve been fortunate that our breakeven point is lower than our competitions. . . . But the
problem is that the hotel business is a fixed-cost business. So in an environment where you have
those precipitous drops and our costs are moderately fixed, our net incomeswell, theyre not in-
comes anymore, theyre losses.
Source: Karen Dillon, Shop Talk, Inc, December 2002, pp. 111114.
11th Edition
230 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships
Suggested Reading
C
ost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis is one of the most powerful tools
A classic reference for CVP analysis
that managers have at their command. It helps them understand the relation-
is Accounting for Costs as Fixed and
Variable, by Maryanne M. Mowen,
ships among cost, volume, and profit by focusing on interactions among the
National Association of Accountants,
following five elements:
Montvale, NJ, 1986.
1. Prices of products.
2. Volume or level of activity.
3. Per unit variable costs.
Suggested Reading
4. Total fixed costs.
Stacy E. Kovar and Kristin Evanss 5. Mix of products sold.
case study The Bakery: A Cross-
Functional Case Study for Because CVP analysis helps managers understand the interrelationships among cost, vol-
Introductory Managerial ume, and profit, it is a vital tool in many business decisions. These decisions include what
Accounting, Journal of Accounting products and services to offer, what pricing policy to follow, what marketing strategy to
Education 19, 2001, pp. 283303, employ, and what basic cost structure to use. To help understand the role of CVP analysis
offers students an opportunity to in business decisions, consider the case of Acoustic Concepts, Inc., a company founded
practice CVP analysis. by Prem Narayan.
MANAGERIAL Prem, who was a graduate student in engineering at the time, started Acoustic Concepts
ACCOUNTING to market a radical new speaker he had designed for automobile sound systems.
IN ACTION The speaker, called the Sonic Blaster, uses an advanced microprocessor and proprietary
The Issue software to boost amplification to awesome levels. Prem contracted with a Taiwanese
electronics manufacturer to produce the speaker. With seed money provided by his
family, Prem placed an order with the manufacturer and ran advertisements in auto
magazines.
The Sonic Blaster was an almost immediate success, and sales grew to the point that
Prem moved the companys headquarters out of his apartment and into rented quarters in
a nearby industrial park. He also hired a receptionist, an accountant, a sales manager, and
a small sales staff to sell the speakers to retail stores. The accountant, Bob Luchinni, had
worked for several small companies where he had acted as a business advisor as well as
Suggested Reading accountant and bookkeeper. The following discussion occurred soon after Bob was hired:
N. D. Chavan illustrates the
application of many of the concepts Prem: Bob, Ive got a lot of questions about the companys finances that I hope you can
in this chapter to the paper industry help answer.
in India in the paper, Cost and Bob: Were in great shape. The loan from your family will be paid off within a few
Management Accounting System in
months.
Bagasse-Base Paper Industry, The
Management Accountant (India),
Prem: I know, but I am worried about the risks Ive taken on by expanding operations.
April 1995, pp. 259263.
What would happen if a competitor entered the market and our sales slipped?
How far could sales drop without putting us into the red? Another question Ive
been trying to resolve is how much our sales would have to increase to justify the
big marketing campaign the sales staff is pushing for.
Bob: Marketing always wants more money for advertising.
Prem: And they are always pushing me to drop the selling price on the speaker. I agree
with them that a lower price will boost our volume, but Im not sure the in-
creased volume will offset the loss in revenue from the lower price.
Bob: It sounds like these questions are all related in some way to the relationships
among our selling prices, our costs, and our volume. We shouldnt have a problem
coming up with some answers. Ill need a day or two, though, to gather some data.
Prem: Why dont we set up a meeting for three days from now? That would be Thursday.
Bob: Thatll be fine. Ill have some preliminary answers for you as well as a model
you can use for answering similar questions in the future.
Prem: Good. Ill be looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
11th Edition
Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 231
The Basics of Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP)ofAnalysis

The Basics Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis
Bob Luchinnis preparation for the Thursday meeting begins where our study of cost be- Instructors Note
Some students may prefer an
havior in the preceding chapter left offwith the contribution income statement. The
algebraic approach to CVP analysis.
contribution income statement emphasizes the behavior of costs and therefore is ex-
The basic CVP model can be written
tremely helpful to a manager in judging the impact on profits of changes in selling price, as follows:
cost, or volume. Bob will base his analysis on the following contribution income state-
ment he prepared last month: Profit (p v)q F
or
Profit cm q F
ACOUSTIC CONCEPTS, INC.
Contribution Income Statement where p is the unit selling price, v is
For the Month of June the variable cost per unit, q is the
unit sales, F is the fixed cost, and
Total Per Unit cm is the unit contribution margin.
Sales (400 speakers) . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 $250 Expressed in terms of the CM
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . 60,000 150 ratio, the basic equation is as
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000 $100 follows:
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000 Profit CM ratio Sales F
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . $ 5,000
All CVP problems can be solved
using these basic equations.
Notice that sales, variable expenses, and contribution margin are expressed on a per
unit basis as well as in total on this contribution income statement. The per unit figures
will be very helpful in the work we will be doing in the following pages. Note that this
contribution income statement has been prepared for managements use inside the com-
pany and would not ordinarily be made available to those outside the company.
Contribution Margin
As explained in the previous chapter, contribution margin is the amount remaining from LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1
sales revenue after variable expenses have been deducted. Thus, it is the amount available Explain how changes in activity
to cover fixed expenses and then to provide profits for the period. Notice the sequence affect contribution margin and
herecontribution margin is used first to cover the fixed expenses, and then whatever re- net operating income.
mains goes toward profits. If the contribution margin is not sufficient to cover the fixed
expenses, then a loss occurs for the period. To illustrate with an extreme example, assume Reinforcing Problems
that Acoustic Concepts sells only one speaker during a particular month. The companys Learning Objective 1
income statement would appear as follows: Exercise 61 Basic 20 min.
Exercise 610 Basic 20 min.
Total Per Unit Exercise 615 Basic 30 min.
Sales (1 speaker) . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 250 $250 Problem 618 Basic 60 min.
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . 150 150 Problem 619 Basic 60 min.
Problem 620 Basic 60 min.
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . 100 $100 Problem 622 Medium 45 min.
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000 Problem 624 Medium 75 min.
Net operating loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . $(34,900) Case 631 Difficult 60 min.
Case 632 Difficult 90 min.
For each additional speaker that the company is able to sell during the month, $100
more in contribution margin will become available to help cover the fixed expenses. If a
second speaker is sold, for example, then the total contribution margin will increase by
$100 (to a total of $200) and the companys loss will decrease by $100, to $34,800:
11th Edition
Total Per Unit

Sales (2 speakers) . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 500 $250
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . 300 150
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . 200 $100
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000
Net operating loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . $(34,800)
If enough speakers can be sold to generate $35,000 in contribution margin, then all of
the fixed expenses will be covered and the company will break even for the monththat
is, it will show neither profit nor loss but just cover all of its costs. To reach the break-
even point, the company will have to sell 350 speakers in a month, since each speaker
sold yields $100 in contribution margin:
Suggested Reading
William R. Barret discusses the Total Per Unit
economics of skill-crane amusement Sales (350 speakers) . . . . . . . . . . $87,500 $250
machines, including details of costs Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . 52,500 150
and revenues, in Brotherly Love, Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000 $100
Forbes, July 28, 1997, pp. 7475. Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000
Suggested Reading Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . $ 0
Erick Schonfeld discusses the
economics of e-commerce
companies in How Much Are Your Computation of the break-even point is discussed in detail later in the chapter; for the
Eyeballs Worth? Fortune, February moment, note that the break-even point is the level of sales at which profit is zero.
21, 2000, pp. 197204. Once the break-even point has been reached, net operating income will increase by
the amount of the unit contribution margin for each additional unit sold. For example, if
351 speakers are sold in a month, then we can expect that the net operating income for the
month will be $100, since the company will have sold 1 speaker more than the number
needed to break even:
Total Per Unit

Sales (351 speakers) . . . . . . . . . . $87,750 $250
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . 52,650 150
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . 35,100 $100
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . $ 100
If 352 speakers are sold (2 speakers above the break-even point), then we can ex-
pect that the net operating income for the month will be $200, and so forth. It is not nec-
essary to prepare a whole series of income statements to estimate profits at various
activity levels. Rather, profits can be estimated by simply taking the number of units to
be sold over the break-even point and multiplying that number by the unit contribution
margin. The result represents the anticipated profits for the period. Or, to estimate the
effect of a planned increase in sales on profits, simply multiply the increase in units
sold by the unit contribution margin. The result will be the expected increase in profits.
To illustrate, if Acoustic Concepts is currently selling 400 speakers per month and plans
to increase sales to 425 speakers per month, the anticipated impact on profits can be
computed as follows:
Increased number of speakers to be sold . . . . 25

Contribution margin per speaker . . . . . . . . . . . $100
Increase in net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500
11th Edition
These calculations can be verified as follows: Suggested Reading

Luisa Kroll describes how one new
MBA started a paper-shredding
Sales Volume
business in Fear of Flying, Forbes,
400 425 Difference March 24, 1997, pp. 108111. The
Speakers Speakers (25 Speakers) Per Unit article discusses costs and how
profits reacted to changes in
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 $106,250 $6,250 $250
volume.
Less variable expenses . . . . 60,000 63,750 3,750 150
Contribution margin . . . . . . . 40,000 42,500 2,500 $100
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . 35,000 35,000 0
Net operating income . . . . . . $ 5,000 $ 7,500 $2,500
To summarize these examples, if there were no sales, the companys loss would equal
its fixed expenses. Each unit that is sold reduces the loss by the amount of the unit con-
tribution margin. Once the break-even point has been reached, each additional unit sold
increases the companys profit by the amount of the unit contribution margin.
CVP Relationships in Graphic Form

The relationships among revenue, cost, profit, and volume can be expressed graphically by LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2
preparing a cost-volume-profit (CVP) graph. A CVP graph highlights CVP relationships Prepare and interpret a cost-
over wide ranges of activity and can give managers a perspective that can be obtained in volume-profit (CVP) graph.
no other way. To help explain his analysis to Prem Narayan, Bob Luchinni decided to pre-
pare a CVP graph for Acoustic Concepts. Reinforcing Problems
Learning Objective 2
Preparing the CVP Graph In a CVP graph (sometimes called a break-even chart), Exercise 62 Basic 30 min.
unit volume is commonly represented on the horizontal (X) axis and dollars on the verti- Exercise 611 Basic 30 min.
cal (Y) axis. Preparing a CVP graph involves three steps. These steps are keyed to the Problem 618 Basic 60 min.
Problem 623 Medium 30 min.
graph in Exhibit 61:
1. Draw a line parallel to the volume axis to represent total fixed expenses. For Acoustic
Concepts, total fixed expenses are $35,000.
$175 EXHIBIT 61
Step 3 Preparing the CVP Graph
(total sales revenue)
$150
$125
Step 2
(total expenses)
$100
$000
$75
$50 Step 1
(fixed expenses)
$25
$0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Volume in speakers sold
11th Edition
2. Choose some volume of unit sales and plot the point representing total expenses (fixed
and variable) at the activity level you have selected. In Exhibit 61, Bob Luchinni chose
a volume of 600 speakers. Total expenses at that activity level would be as follows:
Fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35,000

Instructors Note
Variable expenses (600 speakers $150 per speaker) . . . . . . 90,000
The graphic form is very useful when
presenting the information to Total expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $125,000
individuals who are uncomfortable
with algebraic equations.
After the point has been plotted, draw a line through it back to the point where the
fixed expenses line intersects the dollars axis.
3. Again choose some volume of unit sales and plot the point representing total sales
dollars at the activity level you have selected. In Exhibit 61, Bob Luchinni again
chose a volume of 600 speakers. Sales at that activity level total $150,000 (600
speakers $250 per speaker). Draw a line through this point back to the origin.
The interpretation of the completed CVP graph is given in Exhibit 62. The anticipated
profit or loss at any given level of sales is measured by the vertical distance between the to-
tal revenue line (sales) and the total expenses line (variable expenses plus fixed expenses).
The break-even point is where the total revenue and total expenses lines cross. The
break-even point of 350 speakers in Exhibit 62 agrees with the break-even point com-
puted earlier.
As discussed earlier, when sales are below the break-even pointin this case, 350
unitsthe company suffers a loss. Note that the loss (represented by the vertical distance
between the total expense and total revenue lines) worsens as sales decline. When sales
are above the break-even point, the company earns a profit and the size of the profit (rep-
resented by the vertical distance between the total revenue and total expense lines) in-
creases as sales increase.
EXHIBIT 62 $175
The Completed CVP Graph Total
Instructors Note revenue
As an interesting sidelight, ask
students what the CVP graph
$150
Profit
would look like for a public area
agency like a county hospital
receiving a fixed budget each $125
year and collecting fees less than Break-even point:
its variable costs. The graph 350 speakers or Total
Variable expenses at
$87,500 in sales
$150 per speaker
would look like this: expenses

$100
Total
$000
expenses
Total $75
revenue
$50
This is the reverse of the usual Loss
situation. If such an organization
area
has a volume above the break-
Total fixed
expenses,
$35,000
even point, it will be in financial $25

difficulties.
$0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Volume in speakers sold
11th Edition
Contribution Margin Ratio (CM Ratio)

In the previous section, we explored how cost-volume-profit relationships can be visual- LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3
ized. In this section, we show how the contribution margin ratio can be used in cost- Use the contribution margin
volume-profit calculations. As the first step, we have added a column to Acoustic ratio (CM ratio) to compute
Concepts contribution income statement in which sales revenues, variable expenses, and changes in contribution margin
contribution margin are expressed as a percentage of sales: and net operating income
resulting from changes in sales
Percent
volume.
Total Per Unit of Sales
Sales (400 speakers) . . . . . . $100,000 $250 100% Reinforcing Problems
Less variable expenses . . . . . 60,000 150 60% Learning Objective 3
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . 40,000 $100 40% Exercise 63 Basic 10 min.
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . 35,000 Exercise 612 Basic 30 min.
Net operating income . . . . . . $ 5,000 Exercise 615 Basic 30 min.
The contribution margin as a percentage of total sales is referred to as the contribu- Problem 624 Medium 75 min.
tion margin ratio (CM ratio). This ratio is computed as follows:
Suggested Reading
Contribution margin Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian provide
CM ratio a very interesting discussion of the
Sales costs and economics of information-
based industries in Versioning:
For Acoustic Concepts, the computations are:
The Smart Way to Sell Information,
Total contribution margin $40,000 Harvard Business Review,
CM ratio 40% NovemberDecember 1998,
Total sales $100,000
pp. 106114.
In a company such as Acoustic Concepts that has only one product, the CM ratio can also
Instructors Note
be computed as follows:
The two methods of computing the
Unit contribution margin $100 CM ratio are equivalent in a single-
CM ratio 40% product company. To verify this, let p
Unit selling price $250
represent the selling price per unit,
The CM ratio is extremely useful since it shows how the contribution margin will be v the variable cost per unit, and q
affected by a change in total sales. To illustrate, notice that Acoustic Concepts has a CM the total units sold. By definition, the
ratio of 40%. This means that for each dollar increase in sales, total contribution margin unit contribution margin is p v,
will increase by 40 cents ($1 sales CM ratio of 40%). Net operating income will also the total contribution margin is
increase by 40 cents, assuming that fixed costs do not change. (p v)q, and total sales is p q.
The equivalence of the two ways
As this illustration suggests, the impact on net operating income of any given dollar
of computing the CM ratio can be
change in total sales can be computed by simply applying the CM ratio to the dollar
verified as follows:
change. For example, if Acoustic Concepts plans a $30,000 increase in sales during the
coming month, the contribution margin should increase by $12,000 ($30,000 increase in Total
sales CM ratio of 40%). As we noted above, net operating income will also increase by contribution
$12,000 if fixed costs do not change. This is verified by the following table: margin
CM ratio
Total sales
Sales Volume
Percent (p v)q

Present Expected Increase of Sales pq
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 $130,000 $30,000 100% (p v)

Less variable expenses . . . . . . 60,000 78,000* 18,000 60% p
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . 40,000 52,000 12,000 40% Unit
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . 35,000 35,000 0 contribution
margin
Net operating income . . . . . . . . $ 5,000 $ 17,000 $12,000
Unit selling
*$130,000 expected sales $250 per unit 520 units. 520 units $150 per unit price
$78,000.
The CM ratio is particularly valuable in situations where trade-offs must be made be-
tween more dollar sales of one product versus more dollar sales of another. Generally
11th Edition
speaking, when trying to increase sales, products that yield the greatest amount of contri-
bution margin per dollar of sales should be emphasized.
Some Applications of CVP Concepts

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4
Bob Luchinni, the accountant at Acoustic Concepts, wanted to demonstrate to the com-
Show the effects on
panys president Prem Narayan how the concepts developed on the preceding pages can
contribution margin of changes
be used in planning and decision making. Bob gathered the following basic data:
in variable costs, fixed costs,
selling price, and volume. Percent
Per Unit of Sales
Selling price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $250 100%
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . 150 60%
Reinforcing Problems Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . $100 40%
Exercise 610 Basic 20 min. Recall that fixed expenses are $35,000 per month. Bob Luchinni will use these data to
Exercise 611 Basic 30 min. show the effects of changes in variable costs, fixed costs, sales price, and sales volume on
Exercise 612 Basic 30 min. the companys profitability in a variety of situations.
Exercise 616 Basic 15 min. Change in Fixed Cost and Sales Volume Acoustic Concepts is currently selling
Problem 618 Basic 60 min. 400 speakers per month (monthly sales of $100,000). The sales manager feels that a
$10,000 increase in the monthly advertising budget would increase monthly sales by
$30,000 to a total of 520 units. Should the advertising budget be increased? The follow-
ing table shows the effect of the proposed change in the monthly advertising budget:
Problem 626 Medium 30 min. Sales with
Problem 628 Medium 60 min. Additional
Case 631 Difficult 60 min. Current Advertising Percent
Case 632 Difficult 90 min. Sales Budget Difference of Sales
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 $130,000 $30,000 100%
Suggested Reading Less variable expenses . . . . 60,000 78,000* 18,000 60%
An anonymous ghost writer of Contribution margin . . . . . . . . 40,000 52,000 12,000 40%
business books for CEOs and Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . 35,000 45,000 10,000
consultants reveals the secrets of
Net operating income . . . . . . $ 5,000 $ 7,000 $ 2,000
the trade and many fascinating
details about costs and pricing in
Confessions of a Ghost, Inc., 20th *520 units $150 per unit $78,000.
Anniversary Issue, 1999, pp.

$35,000 additional $10,000 monthly advertising budget $45,000.
149152. This article can serve as a
great basis for discussing many of Assuming no other factors need to be considered, the increase in the advertising bud-
the concepts in the chapter. get should be approved since it would increase net operating income by $2,000. There are
two shorter ways to present this solution. The first alternative solution follows:
Alternative Solution 1
Topic Tackler
Expected total contribution margin:
$130,000 40% CM ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . $52,000
PLUS Present total contribution margin:
$100,000 40% CM ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000
61
Incremental contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . 12,000
Change in fixed expenses:
Less incremental advertising expense . . . . 10,000
Increased net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2,000
Since in this case only the fixed costs and the sales volume change, the solution can
be presented in an even shorter format, as follows:
11th Edition
Alternative Solution 2 Instructors Note

To use the algebraic approach in
this example, let Profit* represent the
Incremental contribution margin:
new profit, Sales* the new monthly
$30,000 40% CM ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,000
sales, and F* the new fixed costs.
Less incremental advertising expense . . . . . . 10,000
The change in profit is as follows:
Increased net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000
Profit* CM ratio Sales* F*
[Profit CM ratio Sales F]
Notice that this approach does not depend on knowledge of previous sales. Also note that Profit CM ratio Sales F
it is unnecessary under either shorter approach to prepare an income statement. Both of where Profit stands for the change
the alternative solutions above involve an incremental analysisthey consider only in profit, Sales stands for the
those items of revenue, cost, and volume that will change if the new program is imple- change in sales, and F stands for
mented. Although in each case a new income statement could have been prepared, the in- the change in fixed costs.
cremental approach is simpler and more direct and focuses attention on the specific Substituting the appropriate
changes involved in the decision. values into this equation yields the
following:
Change in Variable Costs and Sales Volume Refer to the original data. Recall Profit 0.40 $30,000 $10,000
that Acoustic Concepts is currently selling 400 speakers per month. Management is con-
$12,000 $10,000
sidering the use of higher-quality components, which would increase variable costs (and
$2,000
thereby reduce the contribution margin) by $10 per speaker. However, the sales manager
predicts that the higher overall quality would increase sales to 480 speakers per month.
Should the higher-quality components be used?
The $10 increase in variable costs will decrease the unit contribution margin by
$10from $100 down to $90.
Solution
Expected total contribution margin with higher-quality components:

480 speakers $90 per speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $43,200
Present total contribution margin:
400 speakers $100 per speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000
Increase in total contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3,200
According to this analysis, the higher-quality components should be used. Since fixed
costs will not change, the $3,200 increase in contribution margin shown above should re-
sult in a $3,200 increase in net operating income.
Change in Fixed Cost, Sales Price, and Sales Volume Refer to the original
data and recall again that the company is currently selling 400 speakers per month. To in-
crease sales, the sales manager would like to cut the selling price by $20 per speaker and
increase the advertising budget by $15,000 per month. The sales manager believes that if
these two steps are taken, unit sales will increase by 50% to 600 speakers per month.
Should the changes be made?
A decrease of $20 per speaker in the selling price will cause the unit contribution
margin to decrease from $100 to $80.
Solution
Expected total contribution margin with lower selling price:

Incremental contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,000
Change in fixed expenses:
Less incremental advertising expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000
Reduction in net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $(7,000)
11th Edition
According to this analysis, the changes should not be made. The same solution can be
obtained by preparing comparative income statements as follows:
Present 400 Expected 600

Speakers Speakers
per Month per Month
Total Per Unit Total Per Unit Difference
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 $250 $138,000 $230 $38,000
Less variable expenses . . . 60,000 150 90,000 150 30,000
Contribution margin . . . . . . . 40,000 $100 48,000 $ 80 8,000
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . 35,000 50,000* 15,000
Net operating income (loss) $ 5,000 $ (2,000) $ (7,000)
*35,000 Additional monthly advertising budget of $15,000 $50,000.
Notice that the effect on net operating income is the same as that obtained by the in-
cremental analysis above.
Change in Variable Cost, Fixed Cost, and Sales Volume Refer to the original
data. As before, the company is currently selling 400 speakers per month. The sales man-
ager would like to pay a sales commission of $15 per speaker sold, rather than the flat
salaries that now total $6,000 per month. The sales manager is confident that the change
will increase monthly sales by 15% to 460 speakers per month. Should the change be
made?
Solution Changing the sales staff from a salaried basis to a commission basis will af-
fect both fixed and variable expenses. Fixed expenses will decrease by $6,000, from
$35,000 to $29,000. Variable expenses will increase by $15, from $150 to $165, and the
unit contribution margin will decrease from $100 to $85.
Expected total contribution margin with sales staff on commissions:

Suggested Reading Decrease in total contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (900)
There has been an ongoing debate Change in fixed expenses:
as to the usefulness and relevancy Add salaries avoided if a commission is paid . . . . . . . . 6,000
of various product costing
alternatives for product-related Increase in net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5,100
strategies or other decision-making
purposes. Two studies, separated
by 12 years, surveyed companies According to this analysis, the changes should be made. Again, the same answer can
on their use of different product cost be obtained by preparing comparative income statements:
models. Respondents to the 1983
study of Vijay Govindarajan and Present 400 Expected 460
Robert Anthony, How Firms Use Speakers Speakers
Cost Data in Price Decisions, per Month per Month
Management Accounting, July 1983,
Total Per Unit Total Per Unit Difference
pp. 3065, found a clear preference
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 $250 $115,000 $250 $15,000
for full-cost pricing; while the 1995
Less variable expenses . . . 60,000 150 75,900 165 15,900
study by Eunsup Shim and Ephraim
Sudit, How Manufacturers Price Contribution margin . . . . . . . 40,000 $100 39,100 $85 900
Products, Management Accounting, Less fixed expenses . . . . . . 35,000 29,000 (6,000)*
February 1995, pp. 3739, found a Net operating income . . . . . $5,000 $10,100 $5,100
shift toward variable-cost pricing
and market-based pricing
*Note: A reduction in fixed expenses has the effect of increasing net operating income.
techniques like target costing.
11th Edition
Change in Regular Sales Price Refer to the original data where Acoustic Concepts Instructors Note
This example should indicate to
is currently selling 400 speakers per month. The company has an opportunity to make a
students the range of uses of CVP
bulk sale of 150 speakers to a wholesaler if an acceptable price can be agreed on. This
analysis. In addition to assisting
sale would not disturb the companys regular sales and would not affect the companys to- management to determine the level
tal fixed expenses. What price per speaker should be quoted to the wholesaler if Acoustic of sales that is needed to break even
Concepts wants to increase its monthly profits by $3,000? or generate a certain dollar amount
of profit, the results of alternative
Solution decisions can be quickly
determined.
Variable cost per speaker . . . . . $150
Desired profit per speaker:
$3,000 150 speakers . . . . 20
Quoted price per speaker . . . . . $170
Notice that fixed expenses are not included in the computation. This is because fixed
expenses are not affected by the bulk sale, so all of the additional revenue that is in excess
of variable costs increases the companys profits.
Break-Even Analysis Break-Even Analysis

CVP analysis is sometimes referred to simply as break-even analysis. This is unfortunate Topic Tackler
because break-even analysis is only one element of CVP analysisalthough an important

element. Break-even analysis is designed to answer questions such as, how far could sales
drop before the company begins to lose money? PLUS
62
Break-Even Computations
Earlier in the chapter we defined the break-even point as the level of sales at which the LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5
companys profit is zero. The break-even point can be computed using either the equation Compute the break-even point
method or the contribution margin methodthe two methods are equivalent. in unit sales and sales dollars.
The Equation Method The equation method centers on the contribution approach Reinforcing Problems
to the income statement illustrated earlier in the chapter. The format of this income state- Learning Objective 5
ment can be expressed in equation form as follows: Exercise 65 Basic 20 min.
Profits (Sales Variable expenses) Fixed expenses Exercise 612 Basic 30 min.
Rearranging this equation slightly yields the following equation, which is widely used in Exercise 613 Basic 30 min.
CVP analysis:
Sales Variable expenses Fixed expenses Profits Problem 619 Basic 60 min.
At the break-even point, profits are zero. Therefore, the break-even point can be com- Problem 622 Medium 45 min.
puted by finding that point where sales equal the total of the variable expenses plus the Problem 623 Medium 30 min.
fixed expenses. For Acoustic Concepts, the break-even point in unit sales, Q, can be com- Problem 624 Medium 75 min.
puted as follows: Problem 625 Medium 60 min.
Sales Variable expenses Fixed expenses Profits Problem 627 Medium 30 min.
$250Q $150Q $35,000 $0 Case 633 Difficult 75 min.
$100Q $35,000 Case 635 Difficult 60 min.
Q $35,000 $100 per speaker
Q 350 speakers
11th Edition
where:
Q Quantity of speakers sold
$250 Unit selling price
$150 Unit variable expenses
$35,000 Total fixed expenses
Suggested Reading The break-even point in total sales dollars can be computed by multiplying the break-
David P. Tarantino provides a very even level of unit sales by the selling price per unit:
easy-to-understand discussion of
how CVP analysis applies to the 350 speakers $250 per speaker $87,500
medical profession in Cost, Volume
and Profitability Analysis, The
The break-even point in total sales dollars, X, can also be computed as follows:
Physician Executive, Sales Variable expenses Fixed expenses Profits
January/February 2002, pp. 7880.
X 0.60X $35,000 $0
0.40X $35,000
X $35,000 0.40
X $87,500
where:
X Total sales dollars
0.60 Variable expense ratio (Variable expenses Sales)
Suggested Reading Organizations often have data available only in percentage or ratio form, and the ap-
Norm Brodsky writes about the steps proach we have just illustrated must then be used to find the break-even point. Notice that
taken at a restaurant to cut costs use of ratios in the equation yields a break-even point in sales dollars rather than in units
and lower the break-even point in
sold. The break-even point in units sold is the following:
Getting It Right, Inc., January
2000, pp. 3940. $87,500 $250 per speaker 350 speakers
IN BUSINESS BUYING ON THE GOA DOT.COM TALE

*CD is a company set up by two young engineers, George Searle and Humphrey Chen, to allow cus-
Suggested Reading tomers to order music CDs on their cell phones. Suppose you hear a cut from a CD on your car ra-
Joanne Gordon provides details of dio that you would like to own. Pick up your cell phone, punch *CD, enter the radio stations
the costs of running a CD website frequency, and the time you heard the song, and the CD will soon be on its way to you.
that can be used in class to illustrate *CD charges about $17 for a CD, including shipping. The company pays its supplier about $13,
CVP concepts in her article Cheap
leaving a contribution margin of $4 per CD. Because of the fixed costs of running the service, Searle
Tricks, Forbes, February 21, 2000,
expects the company to lose $1.5 million on sales of $1.5 million in its first year of operations. That
p. 116.
assumes the company sells 88,000 CDs.
What is the companys break-even point? Working backwards, the companys fixed expenses
would appear to be about $1,850,000 per year. Since the contribution margin per CD is $4, the
company would have to sell over 460,000 CDs per year just to break even!
Source: Peter Kafka, Play It Again, Forbes, July 26, 1999, p. 94.
The Contribution Margin Method The contribution margin method is just a

shortcut version of the equation method already described. The approach centers on the
idea discussed earlier that each unit sold provides a certain amount of contribution mar-
gin that goes toward covering fixed costs. To find how many units must be sold to break
even, divide the total fixed expenses by the unit contribution margin:
11th Edition
Instructors Note
Fixed expenses
Break-even point in units sold Not surprisingly, the equation and
Unit contribution margin contribution margin methods are
related:
Each speaker generates a contribution margin of $100 ($250 selling price, less $150
Variable Fixed
variable expenses). Since the total fixed expenses are $35,000, the break-even point in Sales Profits
expenses expenses
units is computed as follows:
or
Fixed expenses $35,000 p q v q F Profits
350 speakers
Unit contribution margin $100 per speaker pqvqF0
(p v) q F
A variation of this method uses the CM ratio instead of the unit contribution margin. F
q
The result is the break-even point in total sales dollars rather than in total units sold. (p v)
or
Fixed expenses
Break-even point in total sales dollars
CM ratio Unit sales at Fixed expenses

break-even Unit cm
In the Acoustic Concepts example, the calculation is as follows: The formula for break-even sales
involving the CM ratio can also be
Fixed expenses $35,000 derived from the basic equation. For
$87,500
CM ratio 0.40 details, see the Instructors Resource
Guide for this chapter.
This approach, based on the CM ratio, is particularly useful when a company
has multiple product lines and wishes to compute a single break-even point for the com-
pany as a whole. More is said on this point in a later section titled The Concept of
Sales Mix.
Target Profit Analysis

CVP formulas can be used to determine the sales volume needed to achieve a target profit. LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6
Suppose that Prem Narayan of Acoustic Concepts would like to earn a target profit of Determine the level of sales
$40,000 per month. How many speakers would have to be sold? needed to achieve a desired
target profit.
The CVP Equation One approach is to use the equation method. Instead of solving
for the unit sales where profits are zero, you instead solve for the unit sales where profits Reinforcing Problems
are $40,000. Learning Objective 6
Sales Variable expenses Fixed expenses Profits Exercise 612 Basic 30 min.
$250Q $150Q $35,000 $40,000 Exercise 615 Basic 30 min.
$100Q $75,000 Problem 619 Basic 60 min.
Q $75,000 $100 per speaker Problem 625 Medium 60 min.
Q 750 speakers
where:
Q Quantity of speakers sold
$250 Unit selling price
$150 Unit variable expenses
$40,000 Target profit
Thus, the target profit can be achieved by selling 750 speakers per month, which repre-
sents $187,500 in total sales ($250 per speaker 750 speakers).
11th Edition
IN BUSINESS COSTS ON THE INTERNET

The company eToys, which sells toys over the Internet, lost $190 million in 1999 on sales of $151
million. One big cost was advertising. eToys spent about $37 on advertising for each $100 of sales.
(Other e-tailers were spending even morein some cases, up to $460 on advertising for each $100
in sales!)
eToys did have some advantages relative to bricks-and-mortar stores such as Toys R Us.
eToys had much lower inventory costs since it only needed to keep on hand one or two of a slow-
moving item, whereas a traditional store has to fully stock its shelves. And bricks-and-mortar retail
spaces in malls and elsewhere do cost moneyon average, about 7% of sales. However, e-tailers
such as eToys have their own set of disadvantages. Customers pick and pack their own items at
a bricks-and-mortar outlet, but e-tailers have to pay employees to carry out this task. This costs
eToys about $33 for every $100 in sales. And the technology to sell over the net is not free. eToys
spent about $29 on its website and related technology for every $100 in sales. However, many of
these costs of selling over the net are fixed. Toby Lenk, the CEO of eToys, estimated that the com-
pany would pass its break-even point somewhere between $750 and $900 million in salesrepre-
senting less than 1% of the market for toys. eToys did not make this goal and laid off 70% of its
employees in January 2001. Subsequently, eToys was acquired by KBKids.com.
Sources: Erin Kelly, The Last e-Store on the Block, Fortune, September 18, 2000, pp. 214220; Jennifer
Couzin, The Industry Standard, January 4, 2001.
The Contribution Margin Approach A second approach involves expanding the

contribution margin formula to include the target profit:
Fixed expenses Target profit
Unit sales to attain the target profit
Unit contribution margin
$35,000 $40,000

$100 per speaker
750 speakers
This approach gives the same answer as the equation method since it is simply a shortcut
version of the equation method. Similarly, the dollar sales needed to attain the target profit
can be computed as follows:
Fixed expenses Target profit

Dollar sales to attain target profit
CM ratio
$35,000 $40,000

0.40
$187,500
The Margin of Safety

The margin of safety is the excess of budgeted (or actual) sales dollars over the break-
Compute the margin of safety even volume of sales dollars. It states the amount by which sales can drop before losses
and explain its significance. are incurred. The higher the margin of safety, the lower the risk of not breaking even. The
formula for its calculation is:
Reinforcing Problems
Margin of safety Total budgeted (or actual) sales Break-even sales
The margin of safety can also be expressed in percentage form by dividing the mar-
gin of safety in dollars by total sales:
Margin of safety in dollars
Case 632 Difficult 90 min. Margin of safety percentage
Total budgeted (or actual) sales
11th Edition
The calculation for the margin of safety for Acoustic Concepts is:
Sales (at the current volume of 400 speakers) (a) . . . . . $100,000

Break-even sales (at 350 speakers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87,500
Margin of safety (in dollars) (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 12,500
Margin of safety as a percentage of sales, (b) (a) . . . 12.5%
This margin of safety means that at the current level of sales and with the companys cur-
rent prices and cost structure, a reduction in sales of $12,500, or 12.5%, would result in
just breaking even.
In a single-product company like Acoustic Concepts, the margin of safety can also be
expressed in terms of the number of units sold by dividing the margin of safety in dollars
by the selling price per unit. In this case, the margin of safety is 50 speakers ($12,500
$250 per speaker 50 speakers).
SOUP NUTSY IN BUSINESS

Pak Melwani and Kumar Hathiramani, former silk merchants from Bombay, opened a soup store in
Manhattan after watching a Seinfeld episode featuring the soup Nazi. The episode parodied a real-
life soup vendor, Ali Yeganeh, whose loyal customers put up with hour-long lines and snarling cus-
tomer service. Melwani and Hathiramani approached Yeganeh about turning his soup kitchen into a
chain, but they were gruffly rebuffed. Instead of giving up, the two hired a French chef with a reper-
toire of 500 soups and opened a store called Soup Nutsy. For $6 per serving, Soup Nutsy offers 12
homemade soups each day, such as sherry crab bisque and Thai coconut shrimp. Melwani and
Hathiramani report that in their first year of operation, they netted a profit of $210,000 on sales of
$700,000. They report that it costs about $2 per serving to make the soup. So their variable ex-
pense ratio is one-third ($2 cost $6 selling price). If so, what are their fixed expenses? We can an-
swer that question using the equation approach as follows:
Suggested Reading
Sales Variable expenses Fixed expenses Profits Jeffrey Tannenbaum tells the tale of
1 a lawyer with a Harvard MBA who
$700,000 $700,000 Fixed expenses $210,000 struggled over the course of eight
3 years to turn a small soup-making
1 company into a profitable enterprise
Fixed expenses $700,000 $700,000 $210,000
3 in A Watched Pot, The Wall Street
$256,667 Journal, Friday, April 16, 1999, pp.
A1 and A6. The article contains talks
With this information, you can determine that Soup Nutsys break-even point is about $385,000 about misestimated break-evens
of sales. This gives the store a comfortable margin of safety of 45% of sales. and provides many details about the
costs that the owner had to incur.
Source: Silva Sansoni, The Starbucks of Soup? Forbes, July 7, 1997, pp. 9091.
It is Thursday morning, and Prem Narayan and Bob Luchinni are discussing the results of MANAGERIAL
Bobs analysis. ACCOUNTING
IN ACTION
Prem: Bob, everything you have shown me is pretty clear. I can see what impact some
The Wrap Up
of the sales managers suggestions would have on our profits. Some of those sug-
gestions are quite good and some are not so good. I also understand that our
break-even point is 350 speakers, so we have to make sure we dont slip below
that level of sales. What really bothers me is that we are only selling 400 speak-
ers a month now. What did you call the 50-speaker cushion?
Bob: Thats the margin of safety.
Prem: Such a small cushion makes me very nervous. What can we do to increase the
margin of safety?
11th Edition
Bob: We have to increase total sales or decrease the break-even point or both.
Prem: And to decrease the break-even point, we have to either decrease our fixed ex-
penses or increase our unit contribution margin?
Bob: Exactly.
Prem: And to increase our unit contribution margin, we must either increase our selling
price or decrease the variable cost per unit?
Bob: Correct.
Prem: So what do you suggest?
Bob: Well, the analysis doesnt tell us which of these to do, but it does indicate we
have a potential problem here.
Prem: If you dont have any immediate suggestions, I would like to call a general meet-
ing next week to discuss ways we can work on increasing the margin of safety. I
think everyone will be concerned about how vulnerable we are to even small
downturns in sales.
Bob: I agree. This is something everyone will want to work on.
CVP Considerations in Choosing a Cost Structure

CVP Considerations in Choosing a Cost Structure
Suggested Reading Cost structure refers to the relative proportion of fixed and variable costs in an organiza-
Robert Luther and Brian ODonovan tion. An organization often has some latitude in trading off between these two types of
integrate CVP analysis and the costs. For example, fixed investments in automated equipment can reduce variable labor
theory of constraints (TOC) in Cost-
costs. In this section, we discuss the choice of a cost structure. We focus on the impact of
Volume-Profit Analysis and the
cost structure on profit stability, in which operating leverage plays a key role.
Theory of Constraints, Journal of
Cost Management,
September/October 1998,
pp. 1621. Cost Structure and Profit Stability
When a manager has some latitude in trading off between fixed and variable costs, which
cost structure is betterhigh variable costs and low fixed costs, or the opposite? No sin-
gle answer to this question is possible; each approach has its advantages. To show what
we mean, refer to the income statements given below for two blueberry farms. Bogside
Farm depends on migrant workers to pick its berries by hand, whereas Sterling Farm has
invested in expensive berry-picking machines. Consequently, Bogside Farm has higher
variable costs, but Sterling Farm has higher fixed costs:
Bogside Farm Sterling Farm

Amount Percent Amount Percent
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 100% $100,000 100%
Less variable expenses . . . . . . 60,000 60% 30,000 30%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . 40,000 40% 70,000 70%
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . 30,000 60,000
Net operating income . . . . . . . . $ 10,000 $ 10,000
Which farm has the better cost structure? The answer depends on many factors, in-
cluding the long-run trend in sales, year-to-year fluctuations in the level of sales, and the
attitude of the owners toward risk. If sales are expected to be above $100,000 in the fu-
ture, then Sterling Farm probably has the better cost structure. The reason is that its CM
ratio is higher, and its profits will therefore increase more rapidly as sales increase. To il-
lustrate, assume that each farm experiences a 10% increase in sales without any increase
in fixed costs. The new income statements would be as follows:
11th Edition
Bogside Farm Sterling Farm

Amount Percent Amount Percent
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110,000 100% $110,000 100%
Less variable expenses . . . . . . 66,000 60% 33,000 30%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . 44,000 40% 77,000 70%
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . 30,000 60,000
Net operating income . . . . . . . . $ 14,000 $ 17,000
Sterling Farm has experienced a greater increase in net operating income due to its higher
CM ratio even though the increase in sales was the same for both farms.
What if sales drop below $100,000 from time to time? What are the break-even
points of the two farms? What are their margins of safety? The computations needed to
answer these questions are carried out below using the contribution margin method:
Bogside Sterling
Farm Farm
Fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 30,000 $ 60,000
Contribution margin ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.40 0.70
Break-even in total sales dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 75,000 $ 85,714
Total current sales (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 $100,000
Break-even sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000 85,714
Margin of safety in sales dollars (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25,000 $14,286
Margin of safety as a percentage of sales, (b) (a) . . . . . 25.0% 14.3%
This analysis makes it clear that Bogside Farm is less vulnerable to downturns than Ster-
ling Farm. We can identify two reasons why it is less vulnerable. First, due to its lower
fixed expenses, Bogside Farm has a lower break-even point and a higher margin of safety,
as shown by the computations above. Therefore, it will not incur losses as quickly as Ster-
ling Farm in periods of sharply declining sales. Second, due to its lower CM ratio, Bog-
side Farm will not lose contribution margin as rapidly as Sterling Farm when sales
decline. Thus, Bogside Farms income will be less volatile. We saw earlier that this is a
drawback when sales increase, but it provides more protection when sales drop.
To summarize, without knowing the future, it is not obvious which cost structure is
better. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Sterling Farm, with its higher fixed costs
and lower variable costs, will experience wider swings in net operating income as sales
fluctuate, with greater profits in good years and greater losses in bad years. Bogside Farm,
with its lower fixed costs and higher variable costs, will enjoy greater stability in net op-
erating income and will be more protected from losses during bad years, but at the cost of
lower net operating income in good years.
A LOSING COST STRUCTURE IN BUSINESS

Both JetBlue and United Airlines use an Airbus 235 to fly from Dulles International Airport near Wash-
ington, DC, to Oakland, California. Both planes have a pilot, copilot, and four flight attendants. That
is where the similarity ends. Based on 2002 data, the pilot on the United flight earned $16,350 to
$18,000 a month compared to $6,800 per month for the JetBlue pilot. Uniteds senior flight atten-
dants on the plane earned more than $41,000 per year; whereas the JetBlue attendants were paid
$16,800 to $27,000 per year. Largely because of the higher labor costs at United, its costs of op-
erating the flight were more than 60% higher than JetBlues costs. Due to intense fare competition
from JetBlue and other low-cost carriers, United was unable to cover its higher operating costs on
this and many other flights. Consequently, United went into bankruptcy at the end of 2002.
Source: Susan Carey, Costly Race in the Sky, The Wall Street Journal, September 9, 2002, pp. B1 and B3.
11th Edition
Operating Leverage
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8 A lever is a tool for multiplying force. Using a lever, a massive object can be moved with
Compute the degree of only a modest amount of force. In business, operating leverage serves a similar purpose.
operating leverage at a Operating leverage is a measure of how sensitive net operating income is to percentage
particular level of sales and changes in sales. Operating leverage acts as a multiplier. If operating leverage is high, a
explain how the degree of small percentage increase in sales can produce a much larger percentage increase in net
operating leverage can be used operating income.
to predict changes in net Operating leverage can be illustrated by returning to the data given previously for the
operating income. two blueberry farms. We previously showed that a 10% increase in sales (from $100,000
to $110,000 in each farm) results in a 70% increase in the net operating income of Ster-
ling Farm (from $10,000 to $17,000) and only a 40% increase in the net operating income
Reinforcing Problems
of Bogside Farm (from $10,000 to $14,000). Thus, for a 10% increase in sales, Sterling
Farm experiences a much greater percentage increase in profits than does Bogside Farm.
Therefore, Sterling Farm has greater operating leverage than Bogside Farm.
Problem 620 Basic 60 min. The degree of operating leverage at a given level of sales is computed by the fol-
Problem 624 Medium 75 min. lowing formula:
Contribution margin
Problem 628 Medium 60 min. Degree of operating leverage
Case 632 Difficult 90 min. Net operating income
The degree of operating leverage is a measure, at a given level of sales, of how a per-
centage change in sales volume will affect profits. To illustrate, the degree of operating
leverage for the two farms at a $100,000 sales level would be computed as follows:
$40,000
Bogside Farm: 4
$10,000
$70,000
Sterling Farm: 7
$10,000
Instructors Note Since the degree of operating leverage for Bogside Farm is 4, the farms net operating in-
It may not be obvious why come grows four times as fast as its sales. Similarly, Sterling Farms net operating income
multiplying a given percentage
grows seven times as fast as its sales. Thus, if sales increase by 10%, then we can expect
change in sales by the degree of
the net operating income of Bogside Farm to increase by four times this amount, or by
operating leverage yields the
resulting percentage change in
40%, and the net operating income of Sterling Farm to increase by seven times this
profits. For proof, see the Instructors amount, or by 70%.
Resource Guide for this chapter.
(1) (2) (3)
Percent
Increase in
Percent Degree of Net Operating
Increase in Operating Income
Sales Leverage (1) (2)
Bogside Farm . . . . . . . 10% 4 40%
Sterling Farm . . . . . . . . 10% 7 70%
Suggested Reading What is responsible for the higher operating leverage at Sterling Farm? The only dif-
For an exceptionally lucid look at
ference between the two farms is their cost structure. If two companies have the same to-
operating leverage, see Richard A.
tal revenue and same total expense but different cost structures, then the company with
Lord, Interpreting and Measuring
Operating Leverage, Issues in
the higher proportion of fixed costs in its cost structure will have higher operating lever-
Accounting Education 10, no. 2, Fall age. Referring back to the original example on page 244, when both farms have sales of
1995, pp. 317329. $100,000 and total expenses of $90,000, one-third of Bogside Farms costs are fixed but
two-thirds of Sterling Farms costs are fixed. As a consequence, Sterlings degree of op-
erating leverage is higher than Bogsides.
The degree of operating leverage is not a constant; it is greatest at sales levels near
the break-even point and decreases as sales and profits rise. This can be seen from the fol-
lowing tabulation, which shows the degree of operating leverage for Bogside Farm at var-
ious sales levels. (Data used earlier for Bogside Farm are shown in color.)
11th Edition
Instructors Note
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $75,000 $80,000 $100,000 $150,000 $225,000 Emphasize that the degree of
Less variable expenses . . . . . . 45,000 48,000 60,000 90,000 135,000 operating leverage is not a constant
Contribution margin (a) . . . . . . 30,000 32,000 40,000 60,000 90,000 like unit variable cost or unit
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 contribution margin that a manager
can apply with reasonable
Net operating income (b) . . . . . $ 0 $ 2,000 $ 10,000 $ 30,000 $ 60,000
confidence in a variety of situations.
Degree of operating leverage, The degree of operating leverage
(a) (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 4 2 1.5 depends on the level of sales and
must be recomputed each time the
Thus, a 10% increase in sales would increase profits by only 15% (10% 1.5) if the sales level changes.
company were operating at a $225,000 sales level, as compared to the 40% increase we
computed earlier at the $100,000 sales level. The degree of operating leverage will con-
tinue to decrease the farther the company moves from its break-even point. At the break-
even point, the degree of operating leverage is infinitely large ($30,000 contribution
margin $0 net operating income ).
FAN APPRECIATION IN BUSINESS

Operating leverage can be a good thing when business is booming but can turn the situation ugly
when sales slacken. Jerry Colangelo, the managing partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks profes-
sional baseball team, spent over $100 million to sign six free agentsdoubling the teams payroll
coston top of the costs of operating and servicing the debt on the teams new stadium. With annual
expenses of about $100 million, the team needs to average 40,000 fans per game to break even.
Faced with a financially risky situation, Colangelo decided to raise ticket prices by 12%. And he
did it during Fan Appreciation Weekend! Attendance for the season dropped by 15%, turning what
should have been a $20 million profit into a loss of over $10 million for the year. Note that a drop in
attendance of 15% did not cut profit by just 15%thats the magic of operating leverage at work.
Source: Mary Summers, Bottom of the Ninth, Two Out, Forbes, November 1, 1999, pp. 6970.
A manager can use the degree of operating leverage to quickly estimate what impact
various percentage changes in sales will have on profits, without the necessity of prepar-
ing detailed income statements. As shown by our examples, the effects of operating lever-
age can be dramatic. If a company is near its break-even point, then even small
percentage increases in sales can yield large percentage increases in profits. This explains
why management will often work very hard for only a small increase in sales volume. If
the degree of operating leverage is 5, then a 6% increase in sales would translate into a
30% increase in profits.
Structuring Sales Commissions Structuring Sales Commissions

Companies generally compensate salespeople by paying them either a commission based Suggested Reading
on sales or a salary plus a sales commission. Commissions based on sales dollars can lead Rajiv D. Banker, Seok-Young Lee,
Gordon Potter, and Dhinu Srinivasan
to lower profits. To illustrate, consider Pipeline Unlimited, a producer of surfing equip- analyze individual performance data
ment. Salespeople for the company sell the companys product to retail sporting goods for 3,776 sales employees to
stores throughout North America and the Pacific Basin. Data for two of the companys determine if using a performance-
surfboards, the XR7 and Turbo models, appear below: based compensation plan helps
motivate them to improve their
Model productivity and if it helps
companies attract and retain more
XR7 Turbo productive employees in An
Selling price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $695 $749 Empirical Analysis of Continuing
Improvements Following the
Less variable expenses . . . . . . 344 410
Implementation of a Performance-
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . $351 $339 Based Compensation Plan, Journal
of Accounting and Economics 30,
2001, pp. 315350.
11th Edition
Which model will salespeople push hardest if they are paid a commission of 10% of sales
revenue? The answer is the Turbo, since it has the higher selling price and hence the larger
commission. On the other hand, from the standpoint of the company, profits will be
greater if salespeople steer customers toward the XR7 model since it has the higher con-
tribution margin.
To eliminate such conflicts, commissions can be based on contribution margin rather
than on selling price alone. If this is done, the salespersons will want to sell the mix of
products that will maximize contribution margin. Providing that fixed costs are not af-
fected by the sales mix, maximizing the contribution margin will also maximize the com-
panys profit. In effect, by maximizing their own compensation, salespersons will also
maximize the companys profit.
The Concept of Sales Mix

The Concept of Sales Mix
Before concluding our discussion of CVP concepts, we need to consider the impact of
Compute the break-even point changes in sales mix on a companys profit.
for a multiple product company
and explain the effects of shifts The Definition of Sales Mix
in the sales mix on contribution
margin and the break-even The term sales mix refers to the relative proportions in which a companys products are
point. sold. The idea is to achieve the combination, or mix, that will yield the greatest amount of
profits. Most companies have many products, and often these products are not equally
Reinforcing Problems profitable. Hence, profits will depend to some extent on the companys sales mix. Profits
Learning Objective 9 will be greater if high-margin rather than low-margin items make up a relatively large
Exercise 69 Basic 20 min. proportion of total sales.
Exercise 614 Basic 20 min. Changes in the sales mix can cause perplexing variations in a companys profits. A
Exercise 617 Basic 30 min. shift in the sales mix from high-margin items to low-margin items can cause total profits
Problem 621 Basic 30 min. to decrease even though total sales may increase. Conversely, a shift in the sales mix from
low-margin items to high-margin items can cause the reverse effecttotal profits may in-
crease even though total sales decrease. It is one thing to achieve a particular sales vol-
ume; it is quite another to sell the most profitable mix of products.
IN BUSINESS KODAK: GOING DIGITAL

Kodak dominates the film industry in the U.S., selling two out of every three rolls of film. It also
processes 40% of all film dropped off for developing. Unfortunately for Kodak, this revenue stream
is threatened by digital cameras, which do not use film at all. To counter this threat, Kodak has
moved into the digital market with its own line of digital cameras and various services, but sales of
digital products undeniably cut into the companys film business. Chief Financial Officer Robert
Brust has stress-tested profit models based on how quickly digital cameras may spread. If half of
homes go digital, . . . Kodaks sales would rise 10% a yearbut profits would go up only 8% a year.
Cost cuts couldnt come fast enough to offset a slide in film sales and the margin pressure from sell-
ing cheap digital cameras. The sales mix is moving in the wrong direction, given the companys cur-
rent cost structure and competitive prices.
Source: Bruce Upbin, Kodaks Digital Moment, Forbes, August 21, 2000, pp. 106112.
Sales Mix and Break-Even Analysis

If a company sells more than one product, break-even analysis is somewhat more complex
than discussed earlier in this chapter. The reason is that different products will have differ-
ent selling prices, different costs, and different contribution margins. Consequently, the
break-even point will depend on the mix in which the various products are sold. To illus-
trate, consider Sound Unlimited, a small company that imports CDs from France for use in
11th Edition
personal computers. At present, the company distributes the following CDs to retail com- Instructors Note
puter stores: the Le Louvre CD, a multimedia free-form tour of the famous art museum in The constant sales mix assumption
Paris; and the Le Vin CD, which features the wines and wine-growing regions of France. might be explained like this: To use
the simple break-even and target
Both multimedia products have sound, photos, video clips, and sophisticated software. The
profit formulas, we must assume the
companys September sales, expenses, and break-even point are shown in Exhibit 63.
firm has a single product. So we do
As shown in the exhibit, the break-even point is $60,000 in sales. This is computed by just thateven for multiproduct
dividing the fixed costs by the companys overall CM ratio of 45%. The sales mix is cur- companies. The trick is to assume
rently 20% for the Le Louvre CD and 80% for the Le Vin CD. If this sales mix does not the company is really selling baskets
change, then at the break-even total sales of $60,000, the sales of the Le Louvre CD would of products and each basket always
be $12,000 (20% of $60,000) and the sales of the Le Vin CD would be $48,000 (80% of contains the various products in the
$60,000). As shown in Exhibit 63, at these levels of sales, the company would indeed same proportions.
break even. But $60,000 in sales represents the break-even point for the company only if
the sales mix does not change. If the sales mix changes, then the break-even point will also
change. This is illustrated by the results for October in which the sales mix shifted away
from the more profitable Le Vin CD (which has a 50% CM ratio) toward the less profitable
Le Louvre CD (which has a 25% CM ratio). These results appear in Exhibit 64.
Although sales have remained unchanged at $100,000, the sales mix is exactly the re-
verse of what it was in Exhibit 63, with the bulk of the sales now coming from the less
profitable Le Louvre CD. Notice that this shift in the sales mix has caused both the over-
all CM ratio and total profits to drop sharply from the prior monththe overall CM ratio
EXHIBIT 63
Multiple-Product Break-Even Analysis
SOUND UNLIMITED
Contribution Income Statement
For the Month of September
Le Louvre CD Le Vin CD Total
Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 100% $80,000 100% $100,000 100%
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . 15,000 75% 40,000 50% 55,000 55%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5,000 25% $40,000 50% 45,000 45%
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . 27,000
Computation of the break-even point:

Fixed expenses $27,000
$60,000
Overall CM ratio 0.45
Verification of the break-even:
Current dollar sales . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 $80,000 $100,000
Percentage of total dollar sales . . 20% 80% 100%
Sales at break-even . . . . . . . . . . . $12,000 $48,000 $60,000

Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,000 100% $48,000 100% $ 60,000 100%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3,000 25% $24,000 50% 27,000 45%
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . $ 0
11th Edition
EXHIBIT 64
Multiple-Product Break-Even Analysis: A Shift in Sales Mix (see Exhibit 63)
SOUND UNLIMITED
Contribution Income Statement
For the Month of October
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80,000 100% $20,000 100% $100,000 100%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 25% $10,000 50% 30,000 30%
Computation of the break-even point:

Fixed expenses $27,000
$90,000
Overall CM ratio 0.30
has dropped from 45% in September to only 30% in October, and net operating income
has dropped from $18,000 to only $3,000. In addition, with the drop in the overall CM ra-
tio, the companys break-even point is no longer $60,000 in sales. Since the company is
now realizing less average contribution margin per dollar of sales, it takes more sales to
cover the same amount of fixed costs. Thus, the break-even point has increased from
$60,000 to $90,000 in sales per year.
In preparing a break-even analysis, some assumption must be made concerning the
sales mix. Usually the assumption is that it will not change. However, if the sales mix is
expected to change, then this must be explicitly considered in any CVP computations.
IN BUSINESS PLAYING THE CVP GAME

In 2002, General Motors (GM) gave away almost $2,600 per vehicle in customer incentives such as
price cuts and 0% financing. The pricing sacrifices have been more than offset by volume gains,
most of which have come from trucks and SUVs, like the Chevy Suburban and the GMC Envoy, which
generate far more profit for the company than cars. Lehman Brothers analysts estimate that GM will
sell an additional 395,000 trucks and SUVs and an extra 75,000 cars in 2002. The trucks, however,
are the companys golden goose, hauling in an average [contribution margin] . . . of about $7,000,
compared with just $4,000 for the cars. All told, the volume gains could bring in an additional $3 bil-
lion [in profits].
Source: Janice Revell, GMs Slow Leak, Fortune, October 28, 2002, pp. 105110.
Assumptions of CVP Analysis

Assumptions of CVP Analysis
A number of assumptions underlie CVP analysis:
1. Selling price is constant. The price of a product or service will not change as volume
changes.
2. Costs are linear and can be accurately divided into variable and fixed elements. The
variable element is constant per unit, and the fixed element is constant in total over
the entire relevant range.
3. In multiproduct companies, the sales mix is constant.
4. In manufacturing companies, inventories do not change. The number of units pro-
duced equals the number of units sold.
11th Edition
While some of these assumptions may be violated in practice, the violations are usu- Instructors Note
ally not serious enough to call into question the validity of CVP analysis. For example, in Point out that nothing is sacred
most multiproduct companies, the sales mix is constant enough so that the results of CVP about these assumptions. When
violations of these assumptions are
analysis are reasonably valid.
significant, managers can and do
Perhaps the greatest danger lies in relying on simple CVP analysis when a manager
modify the basic CVP model.
is contemplating a large change in volume that lies outside of the relevant range. For ex- Spreadsheets allow practical models
ample, a manager might contemplate increasing the level of sales far beyond what the that incorporate more realistic
company has ever experienced before. However, even in these situations a manager can assumptions. For example, nonlinear
adjust the model as we have done in this chapter to take into account anticipated changes cost functions with step-fixed costs
in selling prices, fixed costs, and the sales mix that would otherwise violate the assump- can be modeled using IF . . .
tions. For example, in a decision that would affect fixed costs, the change in fixed costs THEN functions.
can be explicitly taken into account as illustrated earlier in the chapter in the Acoustic
Concepts example on pages 235238.
Summary Summary
CVP analysis as presented in this chapter is based on a simple model of how profits respond to
prices, costs, and volume. This model can be used to answer a variety of critical questions such as
what is the companys break-even volume, what is its margin of safety, and what is likely to hap-
pen if specified changes are made in prices, costs, and volume.
A CVP graph depicts the relationships between sales volume in units on the one hand and
fixed expenses, variable expenses, total expenses, total sales, and profits on the other hand. The
CVP graph is useful for developing intuition about how costs and profits respond to changes in
sales volume.
The contribution margin ratio is the ratio of the total contribution margin to total sales. This
ratio can be used to quickly estimate what impact a change in total sales would have on net operat-
ing income. The ratio is also useful in break-even analysis.
The break-even point is the level of sales (in units or in dollars) at which the company just
breaks even. The break-even point can be computed using several different techniques that are all
based on the simple CVP model. With slight modifications, the same techniques can be used to
compute the level of sales required to attain a target profit.
The margin of safety is the amount by which the companys current sales exceeds the break-
even point.
The degree of operating leverage allows quick estimation of what impact a given percentage
change in sales would have on the companys net operating income. The higher the degree of op-
erating leverage, the greater is the impact on the companys profits. The degree of operating lever-
age is not constantit depends on the companys current level of sales.
The profits of a multiproduct company are affected by its sales mix. Changes in the sales mix
can affect the break-even point, margin of safety, and other critical factors.
Review Problem: CVP Relationships Review Problem: CVP Relationships

Voltar Company manufactures and sells a specialized cordless telephone for high electromagnetic
radiation environments. The companys contribution format income statement for the most recent
year is given below:
Total Per Unit Percent of Sales
Sales (20,000 units) . . . . . . . $1,200,000 $60 100%

Less variable expenses . . . . 900,000 45 ?%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . 300,000 $15 ?%
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . 240,000
Net operating income . . . . . $ 60,000
Management is anxious to improve the companys profit performance and has asked for an
analysis of a number of items.
11th Edition
Required:
1. Compute the companys CM ratio and variable expense ratio.
2. Compute the companys break-even point in both units and sales dollars. Use the equation
method.
3. Assume that sales increase by $400,000 next year. If cost behavior patterns remain unchanged,
by how much will the companys net operating income increase? Use the CM ratio to deter-
mine your answer.
4. Refer to the original data. Assume that next year management wants the company to earn a
minimum profit of $90,000. How many units will have to be sold to meet this target profit?
5. Refer to the original data. Compute the companys margin of safety in both dollar and per-
centage form.
6. a. Compute the companys degree of operating leverage at the present level of sales.
b. Assume that through a more intense effort by the sales staff, the companys sales increase
by 8% next year. By what percentage would you expect net operating income to increase?
Use the degree of operating leverage to obtain your answer.
c. Verify your answer to (b) by preparing a new contribution format income statement
showing an 8% increase in sales.
7. In an effort to increase sales and profits, management is considering the use of a higher-
quality speaker. The higher-quality speaker would increase variable costs by $3 per unit, but
management could eliminate one quality inspector who is paid a salary of $30,000 per year.
The sales manager estimates that the higher-quality speaker would increase annual sales by
at least 20%.
a. Assuming that changes are made as described above, prepare a projected contribution for-
mat income statement for next year. Show data on a total, per unit, and percentage basis.
b. Compute the companys new break-even point in both units and dollars of sales. Use the
contribution margin method.
c. Would you recommend that the changes be made?
Solution to Review Problem

1.
Contribution margin $15
CM ratio 25%
Selling price $60
Variable expense $45
Variable expense ratio 75%
Selling price $60
2. Sales Variable expenses Fixed expenses Profits
$60Q $45Q $240,000 $0
$15Q $240,000
Q $240,000 $15 per unit
Q 16,000 units; or at $60 per unit, $960,000
Alternative solution:
X 0.75X $240,000 $0
0.25X $240,000
X $240,000 0.25
X $960,000; or at $60 per unit, 16,000 units
3.
Increase in sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $400,000
Multiply by the CM ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
Expected increase in contribution margin . . . . . . . . $100,000
Since the fixed expenses are not expected to change, net operating income will increase by the
entire $100,000 increase in contribution margin computed above.
11th Edition
4. Equation method:
Sales Variable expenses Fixed expenses Profits
$60Q $45Q $240,000 $90,000
$15Q $330,000
Q $330,000 $15 per unit
Q 22,000 units
Contribution margin method:
Fixed expenses Target profit $240,000 $90,000
22,000 units
Contribution margin per unit $15 per unit
5. Margin of safety in dollars Total sales Break-even sales
$1,200,000 $960,000 $240,000
Margin of safety in dollars $240,000
Margin of safety percentage 20%
Total sales $1,200,000
6. a. Contribution margin $300,000
Degree of operating leverage 5
Net operating income $60,000
b.
Expected increase in sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8%
Degree of operating leverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Expected increase in net operating income . . . . . 40%
c. If sales increase by 8%, then 21,600 units (20,000 1.08 21,600) will be sold next
year. The new contribution format income statement will be as follows:
Sales (21,600 units) . . . . . . . . . . . $1,296,000 $60 100%

Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . 972,000 45 75%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . 324,000 $15 25%
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . $ 84,000
Thus, the $84,000 expected net operating income for next year represents a 40% increase over
the $60,000 net operating income earned during the current year:
$84,000 $60,000 $24,000
40% increase
$60,000 $60,000
Note from the income statement above that the increase in sales from 20,000 to 21,600 units
has resulted in increases in both total sales and total variable expenses. It is a common error to
overlook the increase in variable expenses when preparing a projected contribution format in-
come statement.
7. a. A 20% increase in sales would result in 24,000 units being sold next year: 20,000 units
1.20 24,000 units.
Sales (24,000 units) . . . . . . . . . . . $1,440,000 $60 100%

Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . 1,152,000 48* 80%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . 288,000 $12 20%
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . $78,000
*$45 $3 $48; $48 $60 80%.

$240,000 $30,000 $210,000.
11th Edition
Note that the change in per unit variable expenses results in a change in both the per unit con-
tribution margin and the CM ratio.
Fixed expenses
b. Break-even point in unit sales
Contribution margin per unit
$210,000
17,500 units
$12 per unit
Fixed expenses
Break-even point in dollar sales
CM ratio
$210,000
$1,050,000
0.20
c. Yes, based on these data the changes should be made. The changes will increase the com-
panys net operating income from the present $60,000 to $78,000 per year. Although the
changes will also result in a higher break-even point (17,500 units as compared to the pre-
sent 16,000 units), the companys margin of safety will actually be wider than before:
Margin of safety in dollars Total sales Break-even sales

$1,440,000 $1,050,000 $390,000
As shown in (5) above, the companys present margin of safety is only $240,000. Thus, sev-
eral benefits will result from the proposed changes.
Glossary Glossary
Break-even point The level of sales at which profit is zero. The break-even point can also be de-
fined as the point where total sales equals total expenses or as the point where total contribu-
tion margin equals total fixed expenses. (p. 232)
Contribution margin method A method of computing the break-even point in which the fixed
expenses are divided by the contribution margin per unit. (p. 240)
Contribution margin ratio (CM ratio) The contribution margin as a percentage of total sales.
(p. 235)
Cost-volume-profit (CVP) graph The relationships between an organizations revenues, costs,
and level of activity presented in graphic form. (p. 233)
Degree of operating leverage A measure, at a given level of sales, of how a percentage change in
sales volume will affect profits. The degree of operating leverage is computed by dividing
contribution margin by net operating income. (p. 246)
Equation method A method of computing the break-even point that relies on the equation Sales
Variable expenses Fixed expenses Profits. (p. 239)
Incremental analysis An analytical approach that focuses only on those items of revenue, cost,
and volume that will change as a result of a decision. (p. 237)
Margin of safety The excess of budgeted (or actual) sales over the break-even volume of sales.
(p. 242)
Operating leverage A measure of how sensitive net operating income is to a given percentage
change in sales. It is computed by dividing the contribution margin by net operating income.
(p. 246)
Sales mix The relative proportions in which a companys products are sold. Sales mix is computed
by expressing the sales of each product as a percentage of total sales. (p. 248)
Questions Questions
61 What is meant by a products CM ratio? How is this ratio useful in planning business
operations?
62 Often the most direct route to a business decision is an incremental analysis. What is meant
by an incremental analysis?
11th Edition
63 Company As cost structure includes costs that are mostly variable, whereas Company Bs
cost structure includes costs that are mostly fixed. In a time of increasing sales, which com-
pany will tend to realize the most rapid increase in profits? Explain.
64 What is meant by the term operating leverage?
65 A 10% decrease in the selling price of a product will have the same impact on net income
as a 10% increase in the variable expenses. Do you agree? Why or why not?
66 What is meant by the term break-even point?
67 Name three approaches to break-even analysis. Briefly explain how each approach works.
68 In response to a request from your immediate supervisor, you have prepared a CVP graph
portraying the cost and revenue characteristics of your companys product and operations.
Explain how the lines on the graph and the break-even point would change if (a) the sell-
ing price per unit decreased, (b) fixed costs increased throughout the entire range of activ-
ity portrayed on the graph, and (c) variable costs per unit increased.
69 Als Auto Wash charges $4 to wash a car. The variable costs of washing a car are $0.60 per
car. Fixed expenses total $1,700 monthly. How many cars must be washed each month for
Al to break even?
610 What is meant by the margin of safety?
611 Companies X and Y are in the same industry. Company X is highly automated, whereas
Company Y relies primarily on labor to make its products. If sales and total expenses in the
two companies are about the same, which would you expect to have the lower margin of
safety? Why?
612 What is meant by the term sales mix? What assumption is usually made concerning sales
mix in CVP analysis?
613 Explain how a shift in the sales mix could result in both a higher break-even point and a
lower net income.
Exercises Exercises
EXERCISE 61 Preparing a Contribution Format Income Statement [LO1]
Whirly Corporations most recent income statement is shown below:
Total Per Unit
Sales (10,000 units) . . . . . . . . . . . . $350,000 $35.00

Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . 200,000 20.00
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . 150,000 $15.00
Required:
Prepare a new contribution format income statement under each of the following conditions (con-
sider each case independently):
1. The sales volume increases by 100 units.
2. The sales volume decreases by 100 units.
3. The sales volume is 9,000 units.
EXERCISE 62 Prepare a Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Graph [LO2]

Karlik Enterprises has a single product whose selling price is $24 and whose variable cost is $18
per unit. The companys monthly fixed expense is $24,000.
Required:
1. Prepare a cost-volume-profit graph for the company up to a sales level of 8,000 units.
2. Estimate the companys break-even point in unit sales using your cost-volume-profit graph.
EXERCISE 63 Computing and Using the CM Ratio [LO3]

Last month when Holiday Creations, Inc., sold 50,000 units, total sales were $200,000, total vari-
able expenses were $120,000, and total fixed expenses were $65,000.
Required:
1. What is the companys contribution margin (CM) ratio?
2. Estimate the change in the companys net income if it were to increase its total sales by
$1,000.
11th Edition
EXERCISE 64 Changes in Variable Costs, Fixed Costs, Selling Price, and Volume [LO4]
Data for Hermann Corporation are shown below:
Per Unit Percent of Sales
Selling price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $90 100%

Less variable expenses . . . . . . . 63 70
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . $27 30%
Fixed expenses are $30,000 per month and the company is selling 2,000 units per month.
Required:
1. The marketing manager argues that a $5,000 increase in the monthly advertising budget would
increase monthly sales by $9,000. Should the advertising budget be increased?
2. Refer to the original data. Management is considering using higher-quality components that
would increase the variable cost by $2 per unit. The marketing manager believes the higher-
quality product would increase sales by 10% per month. Should the higher-quality compo-
nents be used?
EXERCISE 65 Compute the Break-Even Point [LO5]

Mauro Products has a single product, a woven basket whose selling price is $15 and whose vari-
able cost is $12 per unit. The companys monthly fixed expenses are $4,200.
Required:
1. Solve for the companys break-even point in unit sales using the equation method.
2. Solve for the companys break-even point in sales dollars using the equation method and the
CM ratio.
3. Solve for the companys break-even point in unit sales using the contribution margin
method.
4. Solve for the companys break-even point in sales dollars using the contribution margin
method and the CM ratio.
EXERCISE 66 Compute the Level of Sales Required to Attain a Target Profit [LO6]
Lin Corporation has a single product whose selling price is $120 and whose variable cost is $80 per
unit. The companys monthly fixed expense is $50,000.
Required:
1. Using the equation method, solve for the unit sales that are required to earn a target profit of
$10,000.
2. Using the contribution margin approach, solve for the dollar sales that are required to earn a
target profit of $15,000.
EXERCISE 67 Compute the Margin of Safety [LO7]

Molander Corporation is a distributor of a sun umbrella used at resort hotels. Data concerning the
next months budget appear below:
Selling price . . . . . . . $30 per unit

Variable expense . . . $20 per unit
Fixed expense . . . . . $7,500 per month
Unit sales . . . . . . . . . 1,000 units per month
Required:
1. Compute the companys margin of safety.
2. Compute the companys margin of safety as a percentage of its sales.
EXERCISE 68 Compute and Use the Degree of Operating Leverage [LO8]

Engberg Company installs lawn sod in home yards. The companys most recent monthly contribu-
tion format income statement follows:
11th Edition
Amount Percent of Sales

Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80,000 100%
Less variable expenses . . . . . 32,000 40%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . 48,000 60%
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . 38,000
Net operating income . . . . . . . $10,000
Required:
1. Compute the companys degree of operating leverage.
2. Using the degree of operating leverage, estimate the impact on net income of a 5% increase in
sales.
3. Verify your estimate from part (2) above by constructing a new contribution format income
statement for the company assuming a 5% increase in sales.
EXERCISE 69 Compute the Break-Even Point for a Multiproduct Company [LO9]

Lucido Products markets two computer games: Claimjumper and Makeover. A contribution format
income statement for a recent month for the two games appears below:
Claimjumper Makeover Total

Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30,000 $70,000 $100,000
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . 20,000 50,000 70,000
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 $20,000 30,000
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . $ 6,000
Required:
1. Compute the overall contribution margin (CM) ratio for the company.
2. Compute the overall break-even point for the company in sales dollars.
3. Verify the overall break-even point for the company by constructing a contribution format in-
come statement showing the appropriate levels of sales for the two products.
EXERCISE 610 Using a Contribution Format Income Statement [LO1, LO4]

Miller Companys most recent contribution format income statement is shown below:
Total Per Unit

Sales (20,000 units) . . . . . . . . . . . $300,000 $15.00
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . 180,000 9.00
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,000 $6.00
Required:
Prepare a new contribution format income statement under each of the following conditions (con-
sider each case independently):
1. The sales volume increases by 15%.
2. The selling price decreases by $1.50 per unit, and the sales volume increases by 25%.
3. The selling price increases by $1.50 per unit, fixed expenses increase by $20,000, and the sales
volume decreases by 5%.
4. The selling price increases by 12%, variable expenses increase by 60 cents per unit, and the
sales volume decreases by 10%.
EXERCISE 611 Break-Even Analysis and CVP Graphing [LO2, LO4, LO5]
The Hartford Symphony Guild is planning its annual dinner-dance. The dinner-dance committee
has assembled the following expected costs for the event:
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Dinner (per person) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18

Favors and program (per person) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2
Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,800
Rental of ballroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $900
Professional entertainment during intermission . . . . . $1,000
Tickets and advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,300
The committee members would like to charge $35 per person for the evenings activities.
Required:
1. Compute the break-even point for the dinner-dance (in terms of the number of persons who
must attend).
2. Assume that last year only 300 persons attended the dinner-dance. If the same number attend
this year, what price per ticket must be charged in order to break even?
3. Refer to the original data ($35 ticket price per person). Prepare a CVP graph for the dinner-
dance from a zero level of activity up to 600 tickets sold. Number of persons should be placed
on the horizontal (X) axis, and dollars should be placed on the vertical (Y) axis.
EXERCISE 612 Break-Even and Target Profit Analysis [LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6]
Lindon Company is the exclusive distributor for an automotive product that sells for $40 per unit
and has a CM ratio of 30%. The companys fixed expenses are $180,000 per year.
Required:
1. What are the variable expenses per unit?
2. Using the equation method:
a. What is the break-even point in units and sales dollars?
b. What sales level in units and in sales dollars is required to earn an annual profit of
$60,000?
c. Assume that by using a more efficient shipper, the company is able to reduce its variable
expenses by $4 per unit. What is the companys new break-even point in units and sales
dollars?
3. Repeat (2) above using the contribution margin method.
EXERCISE 613 Break-Even and Target Profit Analysis [LO4, LO5, LO6]
Outback Outfitters sells recreational equipment. One of the companys products, a small camp
stove, sells for $50 per unit. Variable expenses are $32 per stove, and fixed expenses associated
with the stove total $108,000 per month.
Required:
1. Compute the break-even point in number of stoves and in total sales dollars.
2. If the variable expenses per stove increase as a percentage of the selling price, will it result in a
higher or a lower break-even point? Why? (Assume that the fixed expenses remain unchanged.)
3. At present, the company is selling 8,000 stoves per month. The sales manager is convinced
that a 10% reduction in the selling price would result in a 25% increase in monthly sales of
stoves. Prepare two contribution income statements, one under present operating conditions,
and one as operations would appear after the proposed changes. Show both total and per unit
data on your statements.
4. Refer to the data in (3) above. How many stoves would have to be sold at the new selling price
to yield a minimum net operating income of $35,000 per month?
EXERCISE 614 Missing Data; Basic CVP Concepts [LO1, LO9]

Fill in the missing amounts in each of the eight case situations below. Each case is independent of
the others. (Hint: One way to find the missing amounts would be to prepare a contribution income
statement for each case, enter the known data, and then compute the missing items.)
a. Assume that only one product is being sold in each of the four following case situations:
Contribution Net Operating

Units Variable Margin Fixed Income
Case Sold Sales Expenses per Unit Expenses (Loss)
1 ..... 15,000 $180,000 $120,000 ? $50,000 ?

2 ..... ? $100,000 ? $10 $32,000 $8,000
3 ..... 10,000 ? $70,000 $13 ? $12,000
4 ..... 6,000 $300,000 ? ? $100,000 $(10,000)
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b. Assume that more than one product is being sold in each of the four following case situations:
Average
Contribution Net Operating
Variable Margin Fixed Income
Case Sales Expenses (Percent) Expenses (Loss)
1 ............. $500,000 ? 20% ? $7,000
2 ............. $400,000 $260,000 ? $100,000 ?
3 ............. ? ? 60% $130,000 $20,000
4 ............. $600,000 $420,000 ? ? $(5,000)
EXERCISE 615 Break-Even Analysis; Target Profit; Margin of Safety; CM Ratio [LO1, LO3, LO5,
LO6, LO7]
Menlo Company manufactures and sells a single product. The companys sales and expenses for
last quarter follow:
Total Per Unit
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $450,000 $30

Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . 180,000 12
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . 270,000 $18
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . 216,000
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . $ 54,000
Required:
1. What is the quarterly break-even point in units sold and in sales dollars?
2. Without resorting to computations, what is the total contribution margin at the break-even point?
3. How many units would have to be sold each quarter to earn a target profit of $90,000? Use the
contribution margin method. Verify your answer by preparing a contribution format income
statement at the target sales level.
4. Refer to the original data. Compute the companys margin of safety in both dollar and per-
centage terms.
5. What is the companys CM ratio? If sales increase by $50,000 per quarter and there is no change
in fixed expenses, by how much would you expect quarterly net operating income to increase?
EXERCISE 616 Operating Leverage [LO4, LO8]

Magic Realm, Inc., has developed a new fantasy board game. The company sold 15,000 games last
year at a selling price of $20 per game. Fixed costs associated with the game total $182,000 per
year, and variable costs are $6 per game. Production of the game is entrusted to a printing contrac-
tor. Variable costs consist mostly of payments to this contractor.
Required:
1. Prepare a contribution format income statement for the game last year and compute the degree
of operating leverage.
2. Management is confident that the company can sell 18,000 games next year (an increase of
3,000 games, or 20%, over last year). Compute:
a. The expected percentage increase in net operating income for next year.
b. The expected total dollar net operating income for next year. (Do not prepare an income
statement; use the degree of operating leverage to compute your answer.)
EXERCISE 617 Multiproduct Break-Even Analysis [LO9]

Olongapo Sports Corporation is the distributor in the Philippines of two premium golf ballsthe
Flight Dynamic and the Sure Shot. Monthly sales and the contribution margin ratios for the two
products follow:
Product
Flight Dynamic Sure Shot Total
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . P150,000 P250,000 P400,000
CM ratio . . . . . . . . . . 80% 36% ?
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Fixed expenses total P183,750 per month. (The currency in the Philippines is the peso, which is de-
noted by P.)
Required:
1. Prepare a contribution format income statement for the company as a whole. Carry computa-
tions to one decimal place.
2. Compute the break-even point for the company based on the current sales mix.
3. If sales increase by P100,000 a month, by how much would you expect net operating income
to increase? What are your assumptions?
Problems Problems
PROBLEM 618 Basic CVP Analysis; Graphing [LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5]
The Fashion Shoe Company operates a chain of womens shoe shops around the country. The shops
carry many styles of shoes that are all sold at the same price. Sales personnel in the shops are paid
a substantial commission on each pair of shoes sold (in addition to a small basic salary) in order to
Check Figure encourage them to be aggressive in their sales efforts.
(1) 12,500 pairs of shoes The following worksheet contains cost and revenue data for Shop 48 and is typical of the com-
(3) $6,000 loss panys many outlets:
Required:
1. Calculate the annual break-even point in dollar sales and in unit sales for Shop 48.
2. Prepare a CVP graph showing cost and revenue data for Shop 48 from a zero level of activity
up to 17,000 pairs of shoes sold each year. Clearly indicate the break-even point on the graph.
3. If 12,000 pairs of shoes are sold in a year, what would be Shop 48s net operating income or
loss?
4. The company is considering paying the store manager of Shop 48 an incentive commission of
75 cents per pair of shoes (in addition to the salespersons commission). If this change is made,
what will be the new break-even point in dollar sales and in unit sales?
5. Refer to the original data. As an alternative to (4) above, the company is considering paying
the store manager 50 cents commission on each pair of shoes sold in excess of the break-even
point. If this change is made, what will be the shops net operating income or loss if 15,000
pairs of shoes are sold?
6. Refer to the original data. The company is considering eliminating sales commissions entirely
in its shops and increasing fixed salaries by $31,500 annually. If this change is made, what will
be the new break-even point in dollar sales and in unit sales for Shop 48? Would you recom-
mend that the change be made? Explain.
11th Edition
PROBLEM 619 Basics of CVP Analysis; Cost Structure [LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6]
Due to erratic sales of its sole producta high-capacity battery for laptop computersPEM, Inc.,
has been experiencing difficulty for some time. The companys contribution format income state-
ment for the most recent month is given below:
x
e cel
Check Figure
Sales (19,500 units $30 per unit) . . . . . . $585,000 (3) Net loss: $6,000
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409,500 (5a) Break-even: 21,000 units
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175,500
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180,000
Net operating loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ (4,500)
Required:
1. Compute the companys CM ratio and its break-even point in both units and dollars.
2. The president believes that a $16,000 increase in the monthly advertising budget, combined
with an intensified effort by the sales staff, will result in an $80,000 increase in monthly sales.
If the president is right, what will be the effect on the companys monthly net operating in-
come or loss? (Use the incremental approach in preparing your answer.)
3. Refer to the original data. The sales manager is convinced that a 10% reduction in the selling
price, combined with an increase of $60,000 in the monthly advertising budget, will cause unit
sales to double. What will the new contribution format income statement look like if these
changes are adopted?
4. Refer to the original data. The Marketing Department thinks that a fancy new package for the
laptop computer battery would help sales. The new package would increase packaging costs
by 75 cents per unit. Assuming no other changes, how many units would have to be sold each
month to earn a profit of $9,750?
5. Refer to the original data. By automating certain operations, the company could reduce vari-
able costs by $3 per unit. However, fixed costs would increase by $72,000 each month.
a. Compute the new CM ratio and the new break-even point in both units and dollars.
b. Assume that the company expects to sell 26,000 units next month. Prepare two contribu-
tion format income statements, one assuming that operations are not automated and one
assuming that they are. (Show data on a per unit and percentage basis, as well as in total,
for each alternative.)
c. Would you recommend that the company automate its operations? Explain.
PROBLEM 620 Basics of CVP Analysis [LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO8]
Feather Friends, Inc., distributes a high-quality wooden birdhouse that sells for $20 per unit. Vari-
able costs are $8 per unit, and fixed costs total $180,000 per year. x
e cel
Required:
Check Figure
Answer the following independent questions: (2) Break-even: $300,000
1. What is the products CM ratio?
2. Use the CM ratio to determine the break-even point in sales dollars.
3. Due to an increase in demand, the company estimates that sales will increase by $75,000 dur-
ing the next year. By how much should net operating income increase (or net loss decrease)
assuming that fixed costs do not change?
4. Assume that the operating results for last year were:
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $400,000
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160,000
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60,000
a. Compute the degree of operating leverage at the current level of sales.

b. The president expects sales to increase by 20% next year. By what percentage should net
operating income increase?
5. Refer to the original data. Assume that the company sold 18,000 units last year. The sales man-
ager is convinced that a 10% reduction in the selling price, combined with a $30,000 increase
in advertising, would cause annual sales in units to increase by one-third. Prepare two contri-
bution income statements, one showing the results of last years operations and one showing
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the results of operations if these changes are made. Would you recommend that the company
do as the sales manager suggests?
6. Refer to the original data. Assume again that the company sold 18,000 units last year. The
president does not want to change the selling price. Instead, he wants to increase the sales
commission by $1 per unit. He thinks that this move, combined with some increase in adver-
tising, would increase annual sales by 25%. By how much could advertising be increased with
profits remaining unchanged? Do not prepare an income statement; use the incremental analy-
sis approach.
PROBLEM 621 Sales Mix; Multiproduct Break-Even Analysis [LO9]

Gold Star Rice, Ltd., of Thailand exports Thai rice throughout Asia. The company grows three va-
rieties of riceFragrant, White, and Loonzain. (The currency in Thailand is the baht, which is de-
noted by B.) Budgeted sales by product and in total for the coming month are shown below:
Product
White Fragrant Loonzain Total
Percentage of total sales 20% 52% 28% 100%

Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B150,000 100% B390,000 100% B210,000 100% B750,000 100%
Less variable expenses . . . . . . 108,000 72% 78,000 20% 84,000 40% 270,000 36%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . B 42,000 28% B312,000 80% B126,000 60% 480,000 64%
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . 449,280
Net operating income . . . . . . . . B30,720
Check Figure Break-even point Fixed expenses B449,280

(2) Break-even: B864,000 in sales dollars CM ratio

0.64
B702,000
As shown by these data, net operating income is budgeted at B30,720 for the month and
break-even sales at B702,000.
Assume that actual sales for the month total B750,000 as planned. Actual sales by product are:
White, B300,000; Fragrant, B180,000; and Loonzain, B270,000.
Required:
1. Prepare a contribution format income statement for the month based on actual sales data. Pre-
sent the income statement in the format shown above.
2. Compute the break-even point in sales dollars for the month based on your actual data.
3. Considering the fact that the company met its B750,000 sales budget for the month, the pres-
ident is shocked at the results shown on your income statement in (1) above. Prepare a brief
memo for the president explaining why both the operating results and the break-even point in
sales dollars are different from what was budgeted.
PROBLEM 622 Break-Even Analysis; Pricing [LO1, LO4, LO5]

Minden Company introduced a new product last year for which it is trying to find an optimal sell-
ing price. Marketing studies suggest that the company can increase sales by 5,000 units for each $2
reduction in the selling price. The companys present selling price is $70 per unit, and variable ex-
Check Figure penses are $40 per unit. Fixed expenses are $540,000 per year. The present annual sales volume (at
(2) Break-even: 18,000 units the $70 selling price) is 15,000 units.
Required:
1. What is the present yearly net operating income or loss?
2. What is the present break-even point in units and in dollar sales?
3. Assuming that the marketing studies are correct, what is the maximum profit that the company
can earn yearly? At how many units and at what selling price per unit would the company gen-
erate this profit?
4. What would be the break-even point in units and in sales dollars using the selling price you de-
termined in (3) above (e.g., the selling price at the level of maximum profits)? Why is this
break-even point different from the break-even point you computed in (2) above?
11th Edition
PROBLEM 623 Interpretive Questions on the CVP Graph [LO2, LO5]

A CVP graph such as the one shown below is a useful technique for showing relationships between
an organizations costs, volume, and profits.
1
4
9
3
7
5
2
Required:
1. Identify the numbered components in the CVP graph.
2. State the effect of each of the following actions on line 3, line 9, and the break-even point. For
line 3 and line 9, state whether the action will cause the line to:
Remain unchanged.
Shift upward.
Shift downward.
Have a steeper slope (i.e., rotate upward).
Have a flatter slope (i.e., rotate downward).
Shift upward and have a steeper slope.
Shift upward and have a flatter slope.
Shift downward and have a steeper slope.
Shift downward and have a flatter slope.
In the case of the break-even point, state whether the action will cause the break-even point to:
Remain unchanged.
Increase.
Decrease.
Probably change, but the direction is uncertain.
Treat each case independently.
x. Example. Fixed costs are reduced by $5,000 per period.
Answer (see choices above): Line 3: Shift downward.
Line 9: Remain unchanged.
Break-even point: Decrease.
a. The unit selling price is increased from $18 to $20.
b. Unit variable costs are decreased from $12 to $10.
c. Fixed costs are increased by $3,000 per period.
d. Two thousand more units are sold during the period than were budgeted.
e. Due to paying salespersons a commission rather than a flat salary, fixed costs are reduced
by $8,000 per period and unit variable costs are increased by $3.
f. Due to an increase in the cost of materials, both unit variable costs and the selling price
are increased by $2.
g. Advertising costs are increased by $10,000 per period, resulting in a 10% increase in the
number of units sold.
h. Due to automating an operation previously done by workers, fixed costs are increased by
$12,000 per period and unit variable costs are reduced by $4.
11th Edition
PROBLEM 624 Various CVP Questions: Break-Even Point; Cost Structure; Target Sales [LO1, LO3,
LO4, LO5, LO6, LO8]
Northwood Company manufactures basketballs. The company has a ball that sells for $25. At pre-
sent, the ball is manufactured in a small plant that relies heavily on direct labor workers. Thus, vari-
able costs are high, totaling $15 per ball.
Last year, the company sold 30,000 of these balls, with the following results:
Check Figure
(2) Break-even: 30,000 balls Sales (30,000 balls) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $750,000
(6b) Leverage: 8 Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450,000
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 90,000
Required:
1. Compute (a) the CM ratio and the break-even point in balls, and (b) the degree of operating
leverage at last years sales level.
2. Due to an increase in labor rates, the company estimates that variable costs will increase by $3
per ball next year. If this change takes place and the selling price per ball remains constant at
$25, what will be the new CM ratio and break-even point in balls?
3. Refer to the data in (2) above. If the expected change in variable costs takes place, how many
balls will have to be sold next year to earn the same net operating income ($90,000) as last
year?
4. Refer again to the data in (2) above. The president feels that the company must raise the sell-
ing price of its basketballs. If Northwood Company wants to maintain the same CM ratio as
last year, what selling price per ball must it charge next year to cover the increased labor costs?
5. Refer to the original data. The company is discussing the construction of a new, automated
manufacturing plant. The new plant would slash variable costs per ball by 40%, but it would
cause fixed costs per year to double. If the new plant is built, what would be the companys
new CM ratio and new break-even point in balls?
6. Refer to the data in (5) above.
a. If the new plant is built, how many balls will have to be sold next year to earn the same
net operating income ($90,000) as last year?
b. Assume the new plant is built and that next year the company manufactures and sells
30,000 balls (the same number as sold last year). Prepare a contribution income statement
and compute the degree of operating leverage.
c. If you were a member of top management, would you have been in favor of constructing
the new plant? Explain.
PROBLEM 625 Graphing; Incremental Analysis; Operating Leverage [LO2, LO4, LO5, LO6, LO8]
Angie Silva has recently opened The Sandal Shop in Brisbane, Australia, a store that specializes in
fashionable sandals. Angie has just received a degree in business and she is anxious to apply the
principles she has learned to her business. In time, she hopes to open a chain of sandal shops. As a
Check Figure first step, she has prepared the following analysis for her new store:
(1) Break-even: 2,500 pairs
(5a) Leverage: 6
Sales price per pair of sandals . . . . . . . . . . $40
Variable expenses per pair of sandals . . . . 16
Contribution margin per pair of sandals . . . $24
Fixed expenses per year:

Building rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000
Equipment depreciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,000
Selling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000
Administrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,000
Total fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60,000
Required:
1. How many pairs of sandals must be sold each year to break even? What does this represent in
total sales dollars?
11th Edition
2. Prepare a CVP graph for the store from a zero level of activity up to 4,000 pairs of sandals sold
each year. Indicate the break-even point on your graph.
3. Angie has decided that she must earn at least $18,000 the first year to justify her time and ef-
fort. How many pairs of sandals must be sold to reach this target profit?
4. Angie now has two salespersons working in the storeone full time and one part time. It will
cost her an additional $8,000 per year to convert the part-time position to a full-time position.
Angie believes that the change would bring in an additional $25,000 in sales each year. Should
she convert the position? Use the incremental approach. (Do not prepare an income state-
ment.)
5. Refer to the original data. During the first year, the store sold only 3,000 pairs of sandals and
reported the following operating results:
Sales (3,000 pairs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $120,000

Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,000
a. What is the stores degree of operating leverage?

b. Angie is confident that with a more intense sales effort and with a more creative adver-
tising program she can increase sales by 50% next year. What would be the expected per-
centage increase in net operating income? Use the degree of operating leverage to
compute your answer.
PROBLEM 626 Changes in Fixed and Variable Costs; Break-Even and Target Profit Analysis [LO4, Check Figure
LO5, LO6] (1) Break-even: 21,000 units
Neptune Company produces toys and other items for use in beach and resort areas. A small, inflat-
able toy has come onto the market that the company is anxious to produce and sell. The new toy
will sell for $3 per unit. Enough capacity exists in the companys plant to produce 16,000 units of
the toy each month. Variable costs to manufacture and sell one unit would be $1.25, and fixed costs
associated with the toy would total $35,000 per month.
The companys Marketing Department predicts that demand for the new toy will exceed the
16,000 units that the company is able to produce. Additional manufacturing space can be rented
from another company at a fixed cost of $1,000 per month. Variable costs in the rented facility
would total $1.40 per unit, due to somewhat less efficient operations than in the main plant.
Required:
1. Compute the monthly break-even point for the new toy in units and in total sales dollars. Show
all computations in good form.
2. How many units must be sold each month to make a monthly profit of $12,000?
3. If the sales manager receives a bonus of 10 cents for each unit sold in excess of the break-even
point, how many units must be sold each month to earn a return of 25% on the monthly in-
vestment in fixed costs?
PROBLEM 627 Break-Even and Target Profit Analysis [LO5, LO6]

The Shirt Works sells a large variety of tee shirts and sweatshirts. Steve Hooper, the owner, is
thinking of expanding his sales by hiring local high school students, on a commission basis, to sell
sweatshirts bearing the name and mascot of the local high school.
These sweatshirts would have to be ordered from the manufacturer six weeks in advance, and Check Figure
they could not be returned because of the unique printing required. The sweatshirts would cost Mr. (1) 300 sweatshirts
Hooper $8 each with a minimum order of 75 sweatshirts. Any additional sweatshirts would have to
be ordered in increments of 75.
Since Mr. Hoopers plan would not require any additional facilities, the only costs associated
with the project would be the costs of the sweatshirts and the costs of the sales commissions. The
selling price of the sweatshirts would be $13.50 each. Mr. Hooper would pay the students a com-
mission of $1.50 for each shirt sold.
Required:
1. To make the project worthwhile, Mr. Hooper would require a $1,200 profit for the first three
months of the venture. What level of sales in units and in dollars would be required to reach
this target net operating income? Show all computations.
11th Edition
2. Assume that the venture is undertaken and an order is placed for 75 sweatshirts. What would
be Mr. Hoopers break-even point in units and in sales dollars? Show computations and ex-
plain the reasoning behind your answer.
PROBLEM 628 Changes in Cost Structure; Break-Even Analysis; Operating Leverage; Margin of
Safety [LO4, LO5, LO7, LO8]
Morton Companys contribution format income statement for last month is given below:
Check Figure
(2c) Present margin of safety: Sales (15,000 units $30 per unit) . . . . . . $450,000
$150,000 Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315,000
The industry in which Morton Company operates is quite sensitive to cyclical movements in the econ-
omy. Thus, profits vary considerably from year to year according to general economic conditions. The
company has a large amount of unused capacity and is studying ways of improving profits.
Required:
1. New equipment has come onto the market that would allow Morton Company to automate a
portion of its operations. Variable costs would be reduced by $9 per unit. However, fixed costs
would increase to a total of $225,000 each month. Prepare two contribution format income
statements, one showing present operations and one showing how operations would appear if
the new equipment is purchased. Show an Amount column, a Per Unit column, and a Percent
column on each statement. Do not show percentages for the fixed costs.
2. Refer to the income statements in (1) above. For both present operations and the proposed new
operations, compute (a) the degree of operating leverage, (b) the break-even point in dollars,
and (c) the margin of safety in both dollar and percentage terms.
3. Refer again to the data in (1) above. As a manager, what factor would be paramount in your
mind in deciding whether to purchase the new equipment? (Assume that ample funds are
available to make the purchase.)
4. Refer to the original data. Rather than purchase new equipment, the marketing manager is
thinking about changing the companys marketing strategy. Rather than pay sales commis-
sions, which are currently included in variable expenses, the company would pay salespersons
fixed salaries and would invest heavily in advertising. The marketing manager claims this new
approach would increase unit sales by 30% without any change in selling price; the companys
new monthly fixed expenses would be $180,000; and its net operating income would increase
by 20%. Compute the break-even point in sales dollars for the company under the new mar-
keting strategy. Do you agree with the marketing managers proposal?
PROBLEM 629 Sales Mix; Break-Even Analysis; Margin of Safety [LO7, LO9]
Island Novelties, Inc., of Palau makes two products, Hawaiian Fantasy and Tahitian Joy. Present
revenue, cost, and sales data for the two products follow:
Check Figure
(1b) Break even: $732,000 Hawaiian Tahitian
(2b) Margin of safety: 22% Fantasy Joy
Selling price per unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15 $100

Variable expenses per unit . . . . . . . . . . . . $9 $20
Number of units sold annually . . . . . . . . . 20,000 5,000
Fixed expenses total $475,800 per year. The Republic of Palau uses the U.S. dollar as its currency.
Required:
1. Assuming the sales mix given above, do the following:
a. Prepare a contribution format income statement showing both dollar and percent columns
for each product and for the company as a whole.
b. Compute the break-even point in dollars for the company as a whole and the margin of
safety in both dollars and percent.
11th Edition
2. The company has developed a new product to be called Samoan Delight. Assume that the com-
pany could sell 10,000 units at $45 each. The variable expenses would be $36 each. The
companys fixed expenses would not change.
a. Prepare another contribution format income statement, including sales of the Samoan
Delight (sales of the other two products would not change).
b. Compute the companys new break-even point in dollars and the new margin of safety in
both dollars and percent.
3. The president of the company examines your figures and says, Theres something strange
here. Our fixed costs havent changed and you show greater total contribution margin if we
add the new product, but you also show our break-even point going up. With greater contri-
bution margin, the break-even point should go down, not up. Youve made a mistake some-
where. Explain to the president what has happened.
PROBLEM 630 Sales Mix; Commission Structure; Multiproduct Break-Even Analysis [LO9]
Carbex, Inc., produces cutlery sets out of high-quality wood and steel. The company makes a stan-
dard cutlery set and a deluxe set and sells them to retail department stores throughout the country.
The standard set sells for $60, and the deluxe set sells for $75. The variable expenses associated
with each set are given below (in cost per set): Check Figure
(1) April net operating income:
$21,800
Standard Deluxe
Production costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.00 $30.00

Sales commissions (15% of sales price) . . . . . $9.00 $11.25
The companys fixed expenses each month are:
Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . $105,000
Depreciation . . . . . . . . . . $21,700
Administrative . . . . . . . . $63,000
Salespersons are paid on a commission basis to encourage them to be aggressive in their sales ef-
forts. Mary Parsons, the financial vice president, watches sales commissions carefully and has
noted that they have risen steadily over the last year. For this reason, she was shocked to find that
even though sales have increased, profits for the current monthMayare down substantially
from April. Sales, in sets, for the last two months are given below:
Standard Deluxe Total
April . . . . . . . . . . . 4,000 2,000 6,000

May . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000 5,000 6,000
Required:
1. Prepare contribution format income statements for April and May. Use the following headings:
Standard Deluxe Total

Sales . . . .
Etc . . . . . .
Place the fixed expenses only in the Total column. Do not show percentages for the fixed ex-
penses.
2. Explain why there is a difference in net operating income between the two months, even
though the same total number of sets was sold in each month.
3. What can be done to the sales commissions to optimize the sales mix?
4. a. Using Aprils figures, what was the break-even point for the month in sales dollars?
b. Has Mays break-even point gone up or down from that of April? Explain your answer
without calculating the break-even point for May.
11th Edition
Cases Cases
CASE 631 Detailed Income Statement; CVP Analysis [LO1, LO4, LO6]
Check Figure The most recent income statement for Whitney Company appears below:
(1) Net loss: $19,000
x
e cel WHITNEY COMPANY
Income Statement
For the Year Ended December 31
Sales (45,000 units at $10 per unit) . . . . . . . . . . . $450,000
Less cost of goods sold:
Direct materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $90,000
Direct labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78,300
Manufacturing overhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98,500 266,800
Gross margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183,200
Less operating expenses:
Selling expenses:
Variable:
Sales commissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $27,000
Shipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,400 32,400
Fixed (advertising, salaries) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,000
Administrative:
Variable (billing and other) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,800
Fixed (salaries and other) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,000 202,200
Net operating loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ (19,000)
All variable expenses in the company vary in terms of unit sold, except for sales commissions,
which are based on sales dollars. Variable manufacturing overhead is 30 cents per unit. There were
no beginning or ending inventories. Whitney Companys plant has a capacity of 75,000 units per
year.
The company has been operating at a loss for several years. Management is studying several
possible courses of action to determine what should be done to make next year profitable.
Required:
1. Redo Whitney Companys income statement in the contribution format. Show both a Total
column and a Per Unit column on your statement. Leave enough space to the right of your
numbers to enter the solution to both parts of (2) below.
2. The president is considering two proposals prepared by members of his staff:
a. For next year, the vice president would like to reduce the unit selling price by 20%. She
is certain that this would fill the plant to capacity.
b. For next year, the sales manager would like to increase the unit selling price by 20%, in-
crease the sales commission to 9% of sales, and increase advertising by $100,000. Based
on marketing studies, he is confident this would increase unit sales by one-third.
Prepare two contribution income statements, one showing what profits would be under the
vice presidents proposal and one showing what profits would be under the sales managers
proposal. On each statement, include both Total and Per Unit columns (do not show per unit
data for the fixed costs).
3. Refer to the original data. The president believes it would be a mistake to change the unit sell-
ing price. Instead, he wants to use less costly raw materials, thereby reducing unit costs by 70
cents. How many units would have to be sold next year to earn a target profit of $30,200?
4. Refer to the original data. Whitney Companys board of directors believes that the companys
problem lies in inadequate promotion. By how much can advertising be increased and still al-
low the company to earn a target profit of 4.5% on sales of 60,000 units?
5. Refer to the original data. The company has been approached by an overseas distributor who
wants to purchase 9,500 units on a special price basis. There would be no sales commission on
these units. However, shipping costs would be increased by 50% and variable administrative
costs would be reduced by 25%. In addition, a $5,700 special insurance fee would have to be
paid by Whitney Company to protect the goods in transit. What unit price would have to be
quoted on the 9,500 units by Whitney Company to allow the company to earn a profit of
$14,250 on total operations? Regular business would not be affected by this special order.
11th Edition
CASE 632 Missing Data; Break-Even Analysis; Target Profit; Margin of Safety; Operating Leverage
[LO1, LO4, LO5, LO7, LO8]
You were employed just this morning by Pyrrhic Company, a prominent and rapidly growing or-
ganization. As your initial assignment, you were asked to complete an analysis of one of the com-
panys products for the board of directors meeting later in the day. After completing the analysis, Check Figure
you left your office for a few moments only to discover on returning that a broken sprinkler in the (1b) Break-even: 24,000 units
ceiling has destroyed most of your work. Only the following bits remained:
PYRRHIC COMPANY
Actual Income Statement
For the Month Ended June 30
Total Per Unit Percent
Sales (? units) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ ? $ ? 100%
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? ? ?%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? $ ? ?%
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ ?
Break-even point:
In units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? units
In dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $180,000
Margin of safety:
In dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ ?
In percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Degree of operating leverage . . . . . . . . . . ?
The computations above are all based on actual results for June. The companys projected contri-
bution format income statement for this product for July follows:
PYRRHIC COMPANY
Projected Income Statement
For the Month Ended July 31
Total Per Unit Percent
Sales (33,000 units) . . . . . . . . . . . $ ? $ ? ?%
Less variable expenses . . . . . . . . ? ? ?%
Contribution margin . . . . . . . . . . . ? $ ? ?%
Less fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . ?
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . $40,500
To add to your woes, the companys mainframe computer is down so no data are available
from that source. You do remember that sales for July are projected to increase by 10% over sales
for June. You also remember that Junes net operating income was $27,000the same amount as
your annual salary from the company. Finally, you remember that the degree of operating leverage
is highly useful to the manager as a predictive tool.
Total fixed expenses, the unit selling price, and the unit variable expenses are planned to be
the same in June and July.
The board of directors meets in just one hour.
Required:
1. For the June data, do the following:
a. Complete the June contribution format income statement (all three columns).
b. Compute the break-even point in units and verify the break-even point in sales dollars
that is provided above. Use the contribution margin method.
c. Compute the margin of safety in dollars and verify the margin of safety percentage that is
provided above.
d. Compute the degree of operating leverage as of June 30.
2. For the July data, do the following:
a. Complete the July projected contribution format income statement (all three columns).
11th Edition
b. Compute the margin of safety in dollars and percent and compute the degree of operating
leverage. Why has the margin of safety gone up and the degree of operating leverage
gone down?
3. Brimming with confidence after having completed (1) and (2) above in less than one hour, you
decide to give the board of directors some added data. You know that direct labor accounts for
$1.80 of the companys per unit variable expenses. You have learned that direct labor costs
may increase by one-third next year. Assuming that this cost increase takes place and that sell-
ing price and other cost factors remain unchanged, how many units will the company have to
sell in a month to earn a net operating income equal to 20% of sales?
CASE 633 Cost Structure; Break-Even; Target Profits [LO4, LO5, LO6]
Pittman Company is a small but growing manufacturer of telecommunications equipment. The
company has no sales force of its own; rather, it relies completely on independent sales agents to
market its products. These agents are paid a commission of 15% of selling price for all items sold.
Check Figure Barbara Cheney, Pittmans controller, has just prepared the companys budgeted income state-
(1a) Break-even: $12,000,000 ment for next year. The statement follows:
PITTMAN COMPANY
Budgeted Income Statement
For the Year Ended December 31
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $16,000,000
Manufacturing costs:
Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,200,000
Fixed overhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,340,000 9,540,000
Gross margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,460,000
Selling and administrative costs:
Commissions to agents . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,400,000
Fixed marketing costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,000*
Fixed administrative costs . . . . . . . . . . 1,800,000 4,320,000
Net operating income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,140,000
Less fixed interest cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540,000
Income before income taxes . . . . . . . . . . 1,600,000
Less income taxes (30%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480,000
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,120,000
*Primarily depreciation on storage facilities.
As Barbara handed the statement to Karl Vecci, Pittmans president, she commented, I went
ahead and used the agents 15% commission rate in completing these statements, but weve just
learned that they refuse to handle our products next year unless we increase the commission rate to
20%.
Thats the last straw, Karl replied angrily. Those agents have been demanding more and
more, and this time theyve gone too far. How can they possibly defend a 20% commission rate?
They claim that after paying for advertising, travel, and the other costs of promotion, theres
nothing left over for profit, replied Barbara.
I say its just plain robbery, retorted Karl. And I also say its time we dumped those guys and
got our own sales force. Can you get your people to work up some cost figures for us to look at?
Weve already worked them up, said Barbara. Several companies we know about pay a
7.5% commission to their own salespeople, along with a small salary. Of course, we would have to
handle all promotion costs, too. We figure our fixed costs would increase by $2,400,000 per year,
but that would be more than offset by the $3,200,000 (20% $16,000,000) that we would avoid
on agents commissions.
The breakdown of the $2,400,000 cost follows:
Salaries:
Sales manager . . . . . . . . . $ 100,000
Salespersons . . . . . . . . . . . 600,000
Travel and entertainment . . . 400,000
Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,300,000
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,400,000
11th Edition
Super, replied Karl. And I noticed that the $2,400,000 is just what were paying the agents
under the old 15% commission rate.
Its even better than that, explained Barbara. We can actually save $75,000 a year because
thats what were having to pay the auditing firm now to check out the agents reports. So our over-
all administrative costs would be less.
Pull all of these numbers together and well show them to the executive committee tomor-
row, said Karl. With the approval of the committee, we can move on the matter immediately.
Required:
1. Compute Pittman Companys break-even point in sales dollars for next year assuming:
a. That the agents commission rate remains unchanged at 15%.
b. That the agents commission rate is increased to 20%.
c. That the company employs its own sales force.
2. Assume that Pittman Company decides to continue selling through agents and pays the 20%
commission rate. Determine the volume of sales that would be required to generate the same
net income as contained in the budgeted income statement for next year.
3. Determine the volume of sales at which net income would be equal regardless of whether
Pittman Company sells through agents (at a 20% commission rate) or employs its own sales
force.
4. Compute the degree of operating leverage that the company would expect to have on Decem-
ber 31 at the end of next year assuming:
a. That the agents commission rate remains unchanged at 15%.
b. That the agents commission rate is increased to 20%.
c. That the company employs its own sales force.
Use income before income taxes in your operating leverage computation.
5. Based on the data in (1) through (4) above, make a recommendation as to whether the com-
pany should continue to use sales agents (at a 20% commission rate) or employ its own sales
force. Give reasons for your answer.
(CMA, adapted)
CASE 634 Break-Even Analysis with Step Fixed Costs [LO5, LO6]
The Pediatric Department at Wymont General Hospital has a capacity of 90 beds and operates 24
hours a day every day. The measure of activity in the department is patient-days, where one patient-
day represents one patient occupying a bed for one day. The average revenue per patient-day is
$130 and the average variable cost per patient-day is $50. The fixed cost of the department (not in- Check Figure
cluding personnel costs) is $454,000. (2) 16,325 patient-days
The only personnel directly employed by the Pediatric Department are aides, nurses, and su-
pervising nurses. The hospital has minimum staffing requirements for the department based on to-
tal annual patient-days in Pediatrics. Hospital requirements, beginning at the minimum expected
level of activity, follow:
Annual Supervising
Patient-Days Aides Nurses Nurses
10,00014,000 21 11 4
14,00117,000 22 12 4
17,00123,725 22 13 4
23,72625,550 25 14 5
25,55127,375 26 14 5
27,37629,200 29 16 6
These staffing levels represent full-time equivalents, and it should be assumed that the Pediatric
Department always employs only the minimum number of required full-time equivalent personnel.
Average annual salaries for each class of employee are: aides, $18,000; nurses, $26,000; and
supervising nurses, $36,000.
Required:
1. Compute the total fixed costs (including the salaries of aides, nurses, and supervising nurses)
in the Pediatric Department for each level of activity shown above (i.e., total fixed costs at the
10,00014,000 patient-day level of activity, total fixed costs at the 14,00117,000 patient-day
level of activity, etc.).
2. Compute the minimum number of patient-days required for the Pediatric Department to break
even.
11th Edition
3. Determine the minimum number of patient-days required for the Pediatric Department to earn
an annual profit of $200,000.
(CPA, adapted)
CASE 635 Break-Evens for Individual Products in a Multiproduct Company [LO5, LO9]
Cheryl Montoya picked up the phone and called her boss, Wes Chan, the vice president of market-
ing at Piedmont Fasteners Corporation: Wes, Im not sure how to go about answering the ques-
tions that came up at the meeting with the president yesterday.
Whats the problem?
The president wanted to know the break-even point for each of the companys products, but
I am having trouble figuring them out.
Im sure you can handle it, Cheryl. And, by the way, I need your analysis on my desk tomor-
row morning at 8:00 sharp in time for the follow-up meeting at 9:00.
Piedmont Fasteners Corporation makes three different clothing fasteners in its manufacturing
facility in North Carolina. Data concerning these products appear below:
Velcro Metal Nylon
Normal annual sales volume . . . . . . . . . 100,000 200,000 400,000

Unit selling price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.65 $1.50 $0.85
Variable cost per unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.25 $0.70 $0.25
Total fixed expenses are $400,000 per year.

All three products are sold in highly competitive markets, so the company is unable to raise its
prices without losing unacceptable numbers of customers.
The company has an extremely effective just-in-time manufacturing system, so there are no
beginning or ending work in process or finished goods inventories.
Required:
1. What is the companys over-all break-even in total sales dollars?
2. Of the total fixed costs of $400,000, $20,000 could be avoided if the Velcro product were
dropped, $80,000 if the Metal product were dropped, and $60,000 if the Nylon product were
dropped. The remaining fixed costs of $240,000 consist of common fixed costs such as ad-
ministrative salaries and rent on the factory building that could be avoided only by going out
of business entirely.
a. What is the break-even point in units for each product?
b. If the company sells exactly the break-even quantity of each product, what will be the
overall profit of the company? Explain this result.
Group and Internet Exercises

Group and Internet Exercises
GROUP EXERCISE 636 CVP and Collegiate Sports
Revenue from major intercollegiate sports is an important source of funds for many colleges. Most
of the costs of putting on a football or basketball game are fixed and increase very little as the size
of the crowd increases. Thus, the revenue from every extra ticket sold is almost pure profit.
Choose a sport played at your college or university, such as football or basketball, that gener-
ates significant revenue. Talk with the business manager of your colleges sports programs before
answering the following questions:
Required:
1. What is the maximum seating capacity of the stadium or arena in which the sport is played?
During the past year, what was the average attendance at the games? On average, what per-
centage of the stadium or arena capacity was filled?
2. The number of seats sold often depends on the opponent. The attendance for a game with a tra-
ditional rival (e.g., Nebraska vs. Colorado, University of Washington vs. Washington State, or
Texas vs. Texas A&M) is usually substantially above the average. Also, games against con-
ference foes may draw larger crowds than other games. As a consequence, the number of tick-
ets sold for a game is somewhat predictable. What implications does this have for the nature
of the costs of putting on a game? Are most of the costs really fixed with respect to the num-
ber of tickets sold?
3. Estimate the variable cost per ticket sold.
11th Edition
4. Estimate the total additional revenue that would be generated in an average game if all of the
tickets were sold at their normal prices. Estimate how much profit is lost because these tickets
are not sold.
5. Estimate the ancillary revenue (parking and concessions) per ticket sold. Estimate how much
profit is lost in an average game from these sources of revenue as a consequence of not hav-
ing a sold-out game.
6. Estimate how much additional profit would be generated for your college if every game were
sold out for the entire season.
GROUP EXERCISE 637 The Economics of Higher Education

The baby bust of the 1960s and early 1970s resulted in the number of college-age 18- and 19-
year-olds contrasting sharply from 1980 to 1993. The number of graduating high school seniors
peaked in 1979 and declined to a low of 6.9 million in 1992, a drop of nearly 40%. Throughout the
eighties, tuition at private and public universities rose at an average of 9% per year, a figure far
above the rise in household family incomes. Then, the demographics began to reverse themselves:
the number of 18- and 19-year-olds began to increase in 1996 and will continue until they peak in
2010 at about 9.3 million for nearly a 33% increase in the college-eligible population. The four-
year cost of attending a private college now often exceeds $100,000including room and board.
Required:
1. If tuition and room and board costs increase at the rate of 9% per year, what will four years
tuition at a private college cost in 10 years? How affordable will a college education be at this
level?
2. What is the cost of adding an extra student to a typical class? Explain this in terms of the cost
structure of a university.
3. After two decades of almost uninterrupted expansion, the baby bust enrollment drop left
many colleges with considerable underutilized capacity. What impact will increasing enroll-
ment and economies of scale have on costs and tuition?
4. Which colleges do you expect will be helped the most by increasing enrollmentspublic or
private?
GROUP EXERCISE 638 Airline Cost Structure

Airlines provide an excellent illustration of the concept of operating leverage, the sensitivity of a
firms operating profits to changes in demand, and the opportunities and risks presented by such a
cost structure. The Uniform System of Accounts required by the Department of Transportation for
airlines operating in the United States contains the following cost categories:
Fuel and oil.
Flying operations labor (flight crewspilots, copilots, navigators, and flight engineers).
Passenger service labor (flight attendants).
Aircraft traffic and servicing labor (personnel servicing aircraft and handling passengers at
gates, baggage, and cargo).
Promotions and sales labor (reservations and sales agents, advertising and publicity).
Maintenance labor (maintenance of flight equipment and ground property and equipment).
Maintenance materials and overhead.
Ground property and equipment (landing fees, rental expenses, and depreciation for ground
property and equipment).
Flight equipment (rental expenses and depreciation on aircraft frames and engines).
General overhead (administrative personnel, utilities, insurance, communications, etc.).
Required:
1. Which of the above costs are likely to be affected if an airline adds an airport to its network?
2. Which of the above costs are likely to be affected if an airline schedules one more flight out of
an airport that the airline already serves?
3. Which of the above costs are likely to be variable with respect to the number of passengers
who actually fly on a particular scheduled flight?
4. Are airline profits likely to be affected very much by their load factors? Why? (The load fac-
tor refers to the percentage of scheduled seats filled by paying passengers.)
INTERNET EXERCISE 639

As you know, the World Wide Web is a medium that is constantly evolving. Sites come and go, and
change without notice. To enable the periodic updating of site addresses, this problem has been
posted to the textbook website (www.mhhe.com/garrison11e). After accessing the site, enter the
Student Center and select this chapter. Select and complete the Internet exercise.

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GarrisonNoreenBrewer: 6.

CostVolumeProfit Text The McGrawHill

After studying Chapter 6, you should be able to:

LO2 Prepare and interpret a cost-volume-profit (CVP) graph.

LO4 Show the effects on contribution margin of changes in variable costs,

LO6 Determine the level of sales needed to achieve a desired target

LO7 Compute the margin of safety and explain its significance.

LO8 Compute the degree of operating leverage at a particular level of

What Happened to the Profit?

230 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 231

The Basics of Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP)ofAnalysis

232 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

Total Per Unit

Total Per Unit

Increased number of speakers to be sold . . . . 25

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 233

These calculations can be verified as follows: Suggested Reading

CVP Relationships in Graphic Form

234 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

Fixed expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35,000

would look like this: expenses

even point, it will be in financial $25

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 235

Contribution Margin Ratio (CM Ratio)

236 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

Some Applications of CVP Concepts

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 237

Alternative Solution 2 Instructors Note

Expected total contribution margin with higher-quality components:

Expected total contribution margin with lower selling price:

238 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

Present 400 Expected 600

*35,000 Additional monthly advertising budget of $15,000 $50,000.

Expected total contribution margin with sales staff on commissions:

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 239

Break-Even Analysis Break-Even Analysis

because break-even analysis is only one element of CVP analysisalthough an important

240 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

IN BUSINESS BUYING ON THE GOA DOT.COM TALE

The Contribution Margin Method The contribution margin method is just a

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 241

Target Profit Analysis

242 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

IN BUSINESS COSTS ON THE INTERNET

The Contribution Margin Approach A second approach involves expanding the

Fixed expenses Target profit

The Margin of Safety

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 243

Sales (at the current volume of 400 speakers) (a) . . . . . $100,000

SOUP NUTSY IN BUSINESS

244 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

CVP Considerations in Choosing a Cost Structure

Bogside Farm Sterling Farm

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 245

Bogside Farm Sterling Farm

A LOSING COST STRUCTURE IN BUSINESS

246 Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships 247