Materials Planning
Materials Planning
Materials Planning
Summary of Lesson
Equivalent units are the number of the same or similar completed units that could
have been produced given the amount of work actually performed on both complete
and partially completed units.
The key document in a typical process costing system is the production cost report
that summarizes the physical units and equivalent units of a production department,
the costs incurred during the period, and the costs assigned to goods both completed
and transferred out as well as to ending work-in-process inventories. The preparation
of a production cost report includes five steps: (1) analyze physical units, (2)
calculate equivalent units, (3) determine total costs to account for, (4) compute unit
costs, and (5) assign total manufacturing costs.
The two methods of preparing the departmental production cost report in process
costing are the weighted-average method and first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. The
weighted-average method includes costs incurred in both current and prior periods
that are shown as the beginning work-in-process inventory of this period. The FIFO
method includes only costs incurred during the current period in calculating unit cost.
Most manufacturing firms have several departments or use processes that require
several steps. As the product passes from one department to another, the costs from
the prior department are transferred-in costs or prior department costs. Process
costing with multiple departments should include the transferred-in cost as the fourth
cost element in addition to direct materials, direct labor, and factory overhead costs.