Answer:
Alden Co.
Prediction of Future Fixed and Variable Costs, using the high-low method:
a) Determination of the Variable Cost:
7 362,000 $292,624
9 76,400 $67,000
285,600 $225,624
Variable cost per unit = $225,624/285,600 = $0.79
Fixed Costs = $76,000 - (76,400 x $0.79) = $15,644
Explanation:
Month Units Sold Total Cost
1 318,000 $155,500
2 163,000 99,250
3 263,000 203,600
4 203,000 98,000
5 288,000 199,500
6 188,000 110,000
7 362,000 292,624
8 268,000 149,750
9 76,400 67,000
10 148,000 128,625
11 92,000 92,000
12 98,000 83,650
The High-Low Method of determining costs can be relatively accurate if the highest and lowest activity levels represent the overall cost behavior of the company. Inaccurate results will be obtained when the two extreme activity levels are significantly unrepresentative of the dataset. This is exactly the case in this example. If you try to estimate fixed cost, at another activity level, you will get a different result. So the high-low method is not ideal in most cases and its results should not be relied on solely. A better method is to do a regression analysis with the dataset to obtain a more accurate result.
