(a) State what factors need to be considered when tendering an estimate for a
contract.
(b) Before tendering as a contractor supplying materials and equipment
specified by the client, state briefly some checks that should be made
prior to compiling the tender in order to determine any contract clauses,
contingencies or unforeseen circumstances that may affect future profits
(a) State what factors need to be considered when tendering an estimate for a
contract.
(b) Before tendering as a contractor supplying materials and equipment
specified by the client, state briefly some checks that should be made
prior to compiling the tender in order to determine any contract clauses,
contingencies or unforeseen circumstances that may affect future profits
Related questions
Haley Romeros had just been appointed vice president of the Rocky Mountain Region of the Bank Services Corporation (BSC). The company provides check processing services for small banks. The banks send checks presented for deposit or payment to BSC, which records the data on each check in a computerized database. BSC then sends the data electronically to the nearest Federal Reserve Bank check-clearing center where the appropriate transfers of funds are made between banks. The Rocky Mountain Region has three check processing centers, which are located in Billings, Montana; Great Falls, Montana; and Clayton, Idaho. Prior to her promotion to vice president, Ms. Romeros had been the manager of a check processing center in New Jersey.
| Immediately after assuming her new position, Ms. Romeros requested a complete financial report for the just-ended fiscal year from the regionâs controller, John Littlebear. Ms. Romeros specified that the financial report should follow the standardized format required by corporate headquarters for all regional performance reports. That report follows: |
| Bank Services Corporation (BSC) | ||||||||
| Check Processing Centers | ||||||||
| Total | Billings | Great Falls | Clayton | |||||
| Sales | $ | 50,000,000 | $ | 20,000,000 | $ | 18,000,000 | $ | 12,000,000 |
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||
| Direct labor | 32,000,000 | 12,500,000 | 11,000,000 | 8,500,000 | ||||
| Variable overhead | 850,000 | 350,000 | 310,000 | 190,000 | ||||
| Equipment depreciation | 3,900,000 | 1,300,000 | 1,400,000 | 1,200,000 | ||||
| Facility expense | 2,800,000 | 900,000 | 800,000 | 1,100,000 | ||||
| Local administrative expense* | 450,000 | 140,000 | 160,000 | 150,000 | ||||
| Regional administrative expenseâ | 1,500,000 | 600,000 | 540,000 | 360,000 | ||||
| Corporate administrative expenseâ¡ | 4,750,000 | 1,900,000 | 1,710,000 | 1,140,000 | ||||
| Total operating expense | 46,250,000 | 17,690,000 | 15,920,000 | 12,640,000 | ||||
| Net operating income (loss) | $ | 3,750,000 | $ | 2,310,000 | $ | 2,080,000 | $ | (640,000) |
| *Local administrative expenses are the administrative expenses incurred at the check processing centers. |
| â Regional administrative expenses are allocated to the check processing centers based on sales. |
| â¡Corporate administrative expenses are charged to segments of the company such as the Rocky Mountain Region and the check processing centers at the rate of 9.5% of their sales. |
| Upon seeing this report, Ms. Romeros summoned John Littlebear for an explanation. |
| Romeros: | Whatâs the story on Clayton? It didnât have a loss the previous year did it? |
| Littlebear: | No, the Clayton facility has had a nice profit every year since it was opened six years ago, but Clayton lost a big contract this year. |
| Romeros: | Why? |
| Littlebear: | One of our national competitors entered the local market and bid very aggressively on the contract. We couldnât afford to meet the bid. Claytonâs costsâparticularly their facility expensesâare just too high. When Clayton lost the contract, we had to lay off a lot of employees, but we could not reduce the fixed costs of the Clayton facility. |
| Romeros: | Why is Claytonâs facility expense so high? Itâs a smaller facility than either Billings or Great Falls and yet its facility expense is higher. |
| Littlebear: | The problem is that we are able to rent suitable facilities very cheaply at Billings and Great Falls. No such facilities were available at Clayton; we had them built. Unfortunately, there were big cost overruns. The contractor we hired was inexperienced at this kind of work and in fact went bankrupt before the project was completed. After hiring another contractor to finish the work, we were way over budget. The large depreciation charges on the facility didnât matter at first because we didnât have much competition at the time and could charge premium prices. |
| Romeros: | Well we canât do that anymore. The Clayton facility will obviously have to be shut down. Its business can be shifted to the other two check processing centers in the region. |
| Littlebear: | I would advise against that. The $1,200,000 in depreciation at the Clayton facility is misleading. That facility should last indefinitely with proper maintenance. And it has no resale value; there is no other commercial activity around Clayton. |
| Romeros: | What about the other costs at Clayton? |
| Littlebear: | If we shifted Claytonâs business over to the other two processing centers in the region, we wouldnât save anything on direct labor or variable overhead costs. We might save $90,000 or so in local administrative expense, but we would not save any regional administrative expense and corporate headquarters would still charge us 9.5% of our sales as corporate administrative expense. |
| In addition, we would have to rent more space in Billings and Great Falls in order to handle the work transferred from Clayton; that would probably cost us at least $600,000 a year. And donât forget that it will cost us something to move the equipment from Clayton to Billings and Great Falls. And the move will disrupt service to customers. | |
| Romeros: | I understand all of that, but a money-losing processing center on my performance report is completely unacceptable. |
| Littlebear: | And if you shut down Clayton, you are going to throw some loyal employees out of work. |
| Romeros: | Thatâs unfortunate, but we have to face hard business realities. |
| Littlebear: | And you would have to write off the investment in the facilities at Clayton. |
| Romeros: | I can explain a write-off to corporate headquarters; hiring an inexperienced contractor to build the Clayton facility was my predecessorâs mistake. But theyâll have my head at headquarters if I show operating losses every year at one of my processing centers. Clayton has to go. At the next corporate board meeting, I am going to recommend that the Clayton facility be closed. |
| Required: | |
| 1-a. | What costs and benefits are relevant in the decision to shut down the Clayton facility? (Enter decreases or reductions with a minus sign.) |
| 1-b. | What is the impact on overall profits of FSC if Clayton Processing centre is shut down? | ||||
|
| 1-c. | What would be the net operating income of Rocky Mountain Region if Clayton Processing centre is shut down? Note: Ignore the costs of moving equipment and potential loss of revenues. |
| 1-d. | What is the impact on performance of Rocky Mountain Region if Clayton Processing centre is shut down? Note: Ignore the costs of moving equipment and potential loss of revenues. | ||||
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