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MA

Job, Batch, and Service Costing - ACCA Management Accounting (MA)

VIVA Subject Guide
YouTube video

21 Comments

  1. Max
    Hi John.

    First, thank you for these excellent lectures and this wonderful platform. My question is the same as I've seen a few others ask on the final example:

    I agree with the mathematics you have done on the "cost per kilogram kilometre" making logical sense, but I don't think the way you have written the units is mathematically correct.

    "cost per kilogram kilometre" = $ / kgkm
    What you've written in lecture and notes "Cost per kg/km" = "cost per kilogram per kilometre"

    Please could you let me know if you agree?
  2. John MoffatTutor
    For the exam it can be written either way :-)
  3. Ronan
    Hi John,

    Why did you divide the units (kg/km), rather than multiply them (kg · km)?

    150,000 kg × 6000 km = 900,000,000 kg · km

    Thank you.
  4. Olo
    When we divide total cost (in dollars) by the total weight-distance (in kg·km), we’re distributing the cost over both dimensions: weight (kg) and distance (km).

    The result, $/kg/km, means:

    Cost per kilogram per kilometer.
    This happens because the cost is shared across both factors (kg and km) separately, not as a single unit.

    If we left it as $/kg·km, it would treat kg·km as a single unit and lose the interpretation of "separately per kg and per km."

    By writing $/kg/km, we emphasize that the cost applies independently to:

    Each kilogram of weight.
    Each kilometer of travel.

    I am a student too, but hope this helps.
  5. Alisha
    Sir, Set-up costs are included as direct expense in batch cost right? Let's suppose if there are two batches, will the set-up cost be included in every batch expense or included in the first batch only?
  6. John MoffatTutor
    It depends on the rest of the question. If they are making several batches one after the other then there will be just one set-up cost. If they are making batches of different products then there will be a set-up cost for each batch.
  7. Alisha
    Ok Sir, got it. Thankyou!
  8. Syeda Zainab
    Hi sir,
    I wanted to ask if it's correct to divide 27 mil by 150 000 and then divide the answer which is 180 over 6000 km which equals 0.03 as well. I paused the video to answer it myself but it differs from your technique. is it still correct?
  9. John MoffatTutor
    Yes, that is fine :-)
  10. Sohaib
    sir can you explain why you multiplied the excess baggage and the distance instead of dividing?
  11. Mohamed Ruzaik
    In ex 2,
    when we calculate the cost per unit, we need to add non production cost and divide it by the units? Or without non production cost?
  12. John MoffatTutor
    Normally, when a question asks for the production cost we only take the production costs and do not include any non-production costs.

    Here we do include all costs (including non-production) because it is a 'one-off' special job. (Also the question does not ask for the production cost, it asks for the cost per unit produced. That might sound the same, but it isn't - the cost per unit produced just means the cost per unit made.)
  13. Mohamed Ruzaik
    Thank you

    And normally when the question asks for calculate the cost per unit, do we need add the production costs + non production costs and divide it by the units were produced or without non production cost?
  14. John MoffatTutor
    In normal costing (i.e. not job costing) we do not include non-production overheads when calculating the production cost.
  15. Mohamed Ruzaik
    Got it.. Thank you so much ?
  16. John MoffatTutor
    You are welcome :-)
  17. Shirley
    150,000 kg x 6,000 km = 900,000,000 kg/km?

    I thought it would be 150,000 kg / 6,000 km = 25kg/km

    Then 108,000 ($27,000,000 / (25 kg/km)) is the cost per kg/km?

    Thanks
  18. John MoffatTutor
    No - that would make no sense.

    You would expect the total cost to depend on the total weight AND the distance travelled. If either of them increases then you would expect the total cost to increase.
  19. Christine
    Sir, is it possible the unit should be kgkm and not kg/km?
  20. Richard
    I was thinking the same as CApeji, that the units are kgkm, rather than kg/km
  21. martha2019
    love your classes. I really understand each topic just by listening in..

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