This week’s Discussion topic is BYP7-7, Ethics Case, on page 330 of your textbook which reads as follows:
“Blake Romney became Chief Executive Officer of Peters Inc. two years ago. At the time, the company was reporting lagging profits, and Blake was brought in to "stir things up." The company has three divisions, electronics, fiber optics, and plumbing supplies. Blake has no interest in plumbing supplies, and one of the first things he did was to put pressure on his accountants to reallocate some of the company’s fixed costs away from the other two divisions to the plumbing division. This had the effect of causing the plumbing division to report losses during the last two years; in the past it had always reported low, but acceptable, net income. Blake felt that this reallocation would shine a favorable light on him in front of the board of directors because it meant that the electronics and fiber optics divisions would look like they were improving. Given that these are "businesses of the future," he believed that the stock market would react favorably to these increases, while not penalizing the poor results of the plumbing division. Without this shift in the allocation of the fixed costs, the profits of the electronics and fiber optics divisions would not have improved. Now the board of directors has suggested that the plumbing division be closed because it is reporting losses. This would mean that nearly 500 employees, many of whom have worked for Peters their whole lives, would lose their jobs. 1. If a division is reporting losses, does that necessarily mean that it should be closed? 2. Was the reallocation of fixed costs across divisions unethical? 3. What should Blake do?”
(Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2012).
Solutions Guide: Please reword the answers to essay type parts so as to guarantee that your answer is an original. Do not submit as your own.
Robert Buey became Chief Executive Officer of Phelps Manufacturing two years ago. At the time, the company was reporting lagging profits, and Robert was brought in to "stir things up." The company has three divisions, electronics, fiber optics, and plumbing supplies. Robert has no interest in plumbing supplies, and one of the first things he did was to put pressure on his accountants to reallocate some of the company's fixed costs away from the other two divisions to the plumbing division. This had the effect of causing the plumbing division to report losses during the last two years; in the past it had always reported low, but acceptable, net income. Robert felt that this reallocation would shine a favorable light on him in front of the board of directors because it meant that the electronics and fiber optics divisions would look like they were improving. Given that these are "businesses of the future," he believed that the stock market would react favorably to these increases, while not penalizing the poor results of the plumbing division. Without this shift in the allocation of the fixed costs, the profits of the electronics and fiber optics divisions would not have improved. But now the board of directors has suggested that the plumbing division be closed because it is reporting losses. This would mean that nearly 500 employees, many of whom have worked for Phelps their whole lives, would lose their jobs. 1. If a division is reporting losses, does that necessarily mean that it should be closed? 2. Was the reallocation of fixed costs across divisions unethical? 3. What should Robert do?
(a) Many factors need to be considered when determining whether to close a division. The loss of jobs can have a devastating impact on a community and on the morale of remaining employees. From a financial perspective, closing a division that is reporting losses will not necessarily increase the reported net income of the company. The reason: if fixed costs that have been allocated to a division that is closed are reallocated to the remaining divisions, the company’s net income might actually decrease. This sounds like it would most likely be the case at Phelps.
(b) It is not unusual to reevaluate fixed cost allocations periodically. However, the allocation should be based on the underlying economics of the situation rather than the motives of individuals.
(c) Robert should explain to the board of directors that the change in income is due to a reallocation and that closing the plumbing division is not advisable. In this case, being honest is not only the ethical thing to do, but it will also maximize the company’s net income.
