What makes the balance sheet of manufacturing firm different from the balance sheet of a merchandising firm?

Financial reporting by manufacturing companies

Many of you will work in manufacturing companies or provide services for them. Others will work in retail or service organizations that do business with manufacturers. This section will help you understand how manufacturing companies work and how to read both their internal and external financial statements.

Assume you own a bicycle store and purchase bicycles and accessories to sell to customers. To determine your profitability, you would subtract the cost of bicycles and accessories from your gross sales as cost of goods sold. However, if you owned the manufacturing company that made the bicycles, you would base your cost of goods sold on the cost of manufacturing those bicycles. Accounting for manufacturing costs is more complex than accounting for costs of merchandise purchased that is ready for sale.

Perhaps the most important accounting difference between merchandisers and manufacturers relates to the differences in the nature of their activities. A merchandiser purchases finished goods ready to be sold. On the other hand, a manufacturer must purchase raw materials and use production equipment and employee labor to transform the raw materials into finished products.

Thus, while a merchandiser has only one type of inventory—merchandise available for sale—a manufacturer has three types—unprocessed materials, partially complete work in process, and ready-for-sale finished goods. Instead of one inventory account, three different inventory accounts are necessary to show the cost of inventory in various stages of production. Looking at Exhibit 2, you can see how the inventory cost flows differ between manufacturing and merchandising companies.

We compare a manufacturer’s cost of goods sold section of the income statement to that same section of the merchandiser’s income statement in the chart below. There are two major differences in these cost of goods sold sections: (1) goods ready to be sold are referred to as merchandise inventory by a merchandiser and finished goods inventory by a manufacturer, and (2) the net cost of purchases for a merchandiser is equivalent to the cost of goods manufactured by a manufacturer.

Merchandiser  Manufacturer
Cost of goods sold: Cost of goods sold:
Merchandise inventory, Beginning $ 25,000 Finished goods inventory, Beginning $ 50,000
Net cost of purchases 165,000 Cost of goods manufactured

1,100,000

Cost of goods available for sale $ 190,000 Cost of goods available for sale $1,150,000
Merchandise inventory, Ending 30,000 Finished goods inventory, Ending 60,000
Cost of goods sold $ 160,000 Cost of goods sold $1,090,000

Unlike a merchandiser’s balance sheet that reports a single inventory amount, the balance sheet for a manufacturer typically shows materials, work in process, and finished goods inventories separately.  The video and chart will explain these concepts further.

Account Account Type Description
Raw Materials Inventory   Current Asset all materials to be used in production (including direct and indirect materials)
Work in Process Inventory Current Asset Direct Material + Direct Labor + Overhead applied to items started but not completed
Finished Goods Inventory Current Asset Direct Material + Direct Labor + Overhead applied to items completed BUT not sold
Cost of goods sold Expense Direct Material + Direct Labor + Overhead applied to items completed AND sold

The next section will explain the different cost types of direct materials, direct labor and overhead.

Content

  • double entry journal
  • Manufacturing; Merchandising; Service Company
  • Cost Accounting Terminology
  • Example Inventory accounts for Manufacturing Company
  • Variances  Example
  • Income Statement
  • Balance Sheet

Managerial Accounting (Chapter 1)

  • Used internally - no official rules - consists of whatever reports management finds useful
  • Objective: Provide management with decision relevant information to assist in
    • Planning
    • Evaluation
    • Control

Manufacturing, Merchandising and Service Companies

Managerial accounting is just as important in a service company as it is in a manufacturing company or a merchandising company (see the functions above). However, there is a significant difference in the cost determination between the different types of companies. A manufacturing company uses labor and other inputs to transforms raw materials into finished product and then sells the product, like a merchandising company. A service company, on the other hand, does not produce/sell products, instead it provides service. The major difference between the three types of companies can be found in the cost of goods sold (services provided) calculation.

All three types of companies need to determine the costs of product or services to

  • Properly price goods or services (planning)
  • To determine profitability (evaluation)

A final, very important function of managerial accounting is to develop plans and policies to ensure internal control and that company objectives are accomplished (control).

Standard Costing System

  • Product cost - costs that can be associated with manufacturing a product either directly or indirectly

Examples:

  • Raw material; labor
  • Manufacturing equipment depreciation
  • Supervisor's salary
  • Period cost - costs that cannot be associated with specific products and are expensed in the period in which they are incurred

Examples:

  • Corporate advertising
  • Depreciation of corporate headquarter
  • Selling expenses
  • Insurance
  • Direct (prime) Cost - costs that are directly related and identifiable with producing a specific product. Usually raw materials and labor.
    • Indirect Costs - (Overhead) - costs of materials or labor thatare necessary forproductionbutcannot easily be measured for each product item.
    •  

    Example of Direct Cost, Indirect Cost and Overhead Allocation

    XYZ manufactures two products: (A) and (B).

    Direct Costs

    Indirect Cost Examples:

    • Incidental materials (nails, screws, adhesives, etc.)
    • Incidental labor (equipment maintenance, supervisor)
    • Utilities
    • Joint costs (i.e., two products use the same indirect materials)
    • Depreciation on equipment used in the manufacturing process

    A

    Materials

    Labor

    Total direct costs

    2 pounds @ $ 3

    3 hours @ $15/hour

    $ 51

    B

    Material

    Labor

    Total direct costs

    3 pounds @ $1.75

    5 hours @ $12/ hour

    $65.25

    Indirect Costs for A and B

    Overhead allocation

    A:

    Indirect Material: $ 5

    Indi. Labor: 1.5hours @ $9

    B:

    Indirect Material: $ 2

    Indirect labor: 1hour @ $10

    Overhead is allocated to products according to some system

    Examples:

    Overhead is allocated using direct labor hours:

    10,000 units of A and 4,000 units of B are produced with the same equipment. Total depreciation for the equipment for the period: $12,000

    Other overhead costs total $18,000.

    • Labor hours
    • Machine hours
    • Some other method designed to accomplish certain managerial objectives (i.e., as a motivational or control tool)

    Total hours (A) 30,000

    Overhead allocation/unit:

    30,000/50,000*3 = $1.80/unit

    Total hours (A): 20,000

    Overhead allocation/unit:

    30,000/50,000*5 = $3/unit

    Total costs per unit (A)

    Total costs per unit (B)

    Direct costs

    Indirect costs

    Overhead

    Total/unit

    $ 51

    $18.50

    $1.80

    $71.30

    Direct costs

    Indirect costs

    Overhead

    Total/unit:

    $65.25

    $12

    $3

    $80.25

    Inventory Accounts for Manufacturing Companies

    Manufacturing companies use multiple inventory accounts. At a minimum the following:

    • Raw Materials Inventory
    • Work in Process
    • Finished Goods

    Raw Materials Inventory:

    Used to track and report raw materials. As production occurs, raw material balances are transferred to work in process account using the standard quantity per unit produced ----->

    Work in Process:

    During production all appropriate costs are recorded in this account using the standard rate per unit (materials, labor, indirect materials and labor, overhead)

     

    Finished Goods

    As units are completed, the standard cost per unit is recorded in this account. At the end of the reporting period

    Variances:

    Note that all unit costs are recorded/transferred at the standard rate (cost) per unit. In reality, actually quantity and rates (costs) will likely differ from the standard (planned) The reasons are due to

    Quantity Variances

    E.g., it took 3 hours and 15 minutes per unit (@ 15 per hour) to produce one unit, compared to the budgeted 3 hours per unit

    Price Variances

    E.g., the product did use (as planned) 2 pounds of raw materials, however, the price per pound has increased to $3.10 (from $3) per pound.

    What happens to variances?

    A. They are closed to work in process (finished goods) for financial reporting purposes

    B. They are carefully analyzed to assist in the planning and evaluation/control purposes.

    Income Statement Comparison Merchandising versus Manufacturing Company

    The income statement of a manufacturing company is identical to that of a merchandising company. The difference between the two types of companies lies in the

    Determination of cost of goods sold

    Merchandising Company

    Manufacturing Company

    Beginning Inventory

    Purchases (net)

    (Ending Inventory)

    Cost of Goods Sold

    A. Beginning work in Process

    Beginning Raw materials

    Raw materials purchases

    (Ending raw materials inventory)

    Raw materials used

    Direct labor

    Overhead

    Total manufacturing costs

    (ending work in process)

    Cost of Goods Manufactured

    B. Finished goods inventory (beginning)

    Plus cost of goods manufactured

    (Finished goods inventory - ending)

    Cost of Goods Sold

    Balance Sheet Statement Comparison Merchandising versus Manufacturing Company

    How is the balance sheet of a merchandising firm different from the balance sheet of a service business?

    Balance Sheet Differences However, there is one main difference in the accounts listed. This difference is found in the asset section. Merchandising companies will have an asset for inventory, whereas service companies do not.

    What is the difference between a manufacturing company and a merchandising company?

    A merchandising company resells goods that it purchases from its suppliers. A manufacturing company produces goods from raw materials, which is later sold as a finished product.

    What is the main difference between manufacturing and merchandising companies financial statement?

    Unlike merchandising firms, manufacturing firms must calculate their cost of goods sold based on how much they manufacture and how much it costs them to manufacture those goods. This requires manufacturing firms to prepare an additional statement before they can prepare their income statement.

    What is the difference in reporting inventory for a manufacturing company and a merchandising company?

    Manufacturing inventory is more involved than merchandising inventory that has a pass-through element. Manufacturing inventory is generated from raw materials and direct labor and manufacturers maintain three different inventories to create what they sell (raw goods, work-in-process, and finished goods).