COST–VOLUME–PROFIT ANALYSIS

Assignment Overview

The Annie Smith Dance Center

The Director of Annie Smith Dance Center is asking for assistance with the financial aspects of running a professional group of performers. She wants financial information presented in an easy to read format and a better understanding of the profitability of the concerts and the organization as a whole.

The Annie Smith professional group features three styles of dance concerts each year. Two of the dance concerts showcase a different genre. The third performance is a Christmas Spectacular, which is the most popular and is therefore scheduled every year. The table below provides information about expected ticket sales for the performances.

Lower Orchestra Section (A)Upper Orchestra Section (B)DescriptionsNo. of Seats.Ticket PriceTickets sold per performanceNo. of seatsTicket PriceTickets sold per performanceHip-Hop Performance150$85100%450$5090%Jazz and Tap Dance150$85100%450$5060%Christmas Spectacular150$125100%450$50100%

Ms. Smith has prepared a tentative schedule for the coming season. The table below also shows the type and number of performances and direct cost per type of concert.

DescriptionsNumber of PerformancesCost per Dance Concert
(direct fixed costs)*Hip-Hop Concert10$48,000Jazz and Tap Dance586,000Christmas Spectacular2022,000Total Direct Fixed Costs$156,000

*Examples of direct fixed costs are costumes, rehearsals, royalties, guest artist fees, choreography, and salaries of production staff, music, and wardrobe for each of the concerts. This amount does not change with the number of performances.

Additional costs:

Variable costs associated with each performance are shown below.

Musicians$6,100Rental of auditorium2,500Dancers’ compensation6,700

Annual general administrative and operating costs for the dance center are:

Administrative staff$185,000Insurance25,000Marketing115,000General office expenses90,000

Case Assignment

Required:

Computations (use Excel)

• Summarize key financial information in a table as shown below.

TitleName of Dance ConcertRevenues/
PerformanceVariable Costs/
PerformanceContribution Margin/
PerformanceNumber of PerformancesTotal Contribution/
Type of Dance ConcertDirect Fixed CostsSegment Margin/
Type of Concert1.2.3.Total

• Use the information in the table you completed to compute the number of performances required to break even for each concert. Do not include general and administrative expenses. These are separate computations for each dance concert.
• Compute break even for the organization as a whole (include all fixed expenses) and express the result in revenues instead of the number of performances.
• Ms. Smith wants the Dance Center to generate at least $200,000 in operating profit. What level of revenues does the performance group need to achieve to meet this goal? Prepare an income statement in good format to support the computations.
• Give a recommendation about changes Ms. Smith can implement to achieve the target profit. Support your idea with computations.

Memo (use Word)

Write a 4- or 5-paragraph memo to the owner of the dance center to assist her in interpreting the financial analysis. Start with an introduction and end with a recommendation. Each of the four or five paragraphs should have a heading.

Short Essay (use Word)

Start with an introduction and end with a summary or conclusion. Use headings.

• What are some shortcomings of multi-product even analysis?
• How does demand and resource constraints affect this type of analysis.

Assignment Expectations

Each submission should include two files: (1) An Excel file and (2) a Word document. The Word document shows the memo first and short essay last. Assume a knowledgeable business audience and use required format and length. Individuals in business are busy and want information presented in an organized and concise manner. 

Module 2 – Background

COST-VOLUME-PROFIT ANALYSIS

Modular Learning Objectives

Keep the following objectives in mind as you work through the material in this module:

• Define of cost-volume-profit.
• Understand the relationship between variable costing and cost-volume-profit analysis.
• Apply and analyze break-even.
• Compute break-even in units.
• Compute break-even in sales.
• Analyze target profit.

Required Reading

Variable and fixed costs were introduced in the prior module. Now it is time to examine cost behavior in more detail by familiarizing yourself with the following while keeping the above six objectives in mind. Click on the three arrows to explore each topic in more detail.

Check Your Understanding

Check your understanding to make sure that you have a good grasp of the background material. If you are not comfortable with the concepts, review some of the material again or go to the optional resource for more examples.

Click on the quiz icon for an ungraded, 20-question true-or-false self-study quiz to check your progress. If you are not satisfied with the score, review some of the material again. For more in-depth information, review materials listed under optional reading at the bottom of this page.

Final Thoughts

Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis is a computational method that analyzes the effect of sales and product costs on the operating income of a business. Specifically, it assesses the effect of changes in variable costs, fixed costs and selling price on operating income. Break-even analysis (with or without a target profit) is a common CVP approach. Another definition of break-even is where the total contribution margin equals total costs. A contribution margin income statement shows zero income at break-even.

Several assumptions underlie CVP analysis:

• All cost can be categorized as variable or fixed.
• Sales price per unit, variable cost per unit, and total fixed cost are constant.
• Mixed costs must be split into their fixed and variable component by an estimation process.
• Understanding the behavior of costs makes cost-volume-profit analysis possible.

Optional Reading

For further detail refer to Dr. Walther’s accounting text and videos.

Walther, L. (2017). Chapter 18: Cost-Volume-Profit and Business Scalability.

LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS