CHAPTER 16
COST ALLOCATION: JOINT PRODUCTS AND BYPRODUCTS
16-1 Exhibit 16-1 presents nine examples of joint products from four different general
industries. These include:
IndustrySeparable Products at the Splitoff Point
Food Processing:
• Lamb • Lamb cuts, tripe, hides, bones, fat
• Turkey • Breasts, wings, thighs, poultry meal
Extractive:
• Petroleum • Crude oil, natural gas, raw LPG
16-2 A joint cost is a cost of a production process that yields multiple products simultaneously.
A separable cost is a cost incurred beyond the splitoff point that is assignable to each of the
specific products identified at the splitoff point.
16-3 The distinction between a joint product and a byproduct is based on relative sales value.
A joint product is a product from a joint production process (a process that yields two or more
products) that has a relatively high total sales value. A byproduct is a product that has a relatively
low total sales value compared to the total sales value of the joint (or main) products.
16-4 A product is any output that has a positive sales value (or an output that enables a
company to avoid incurring costs). In some joint-cost settings, outputs can occur that do not have
a positive sales value. The offshore processing of hydrocarbons yields water that is recycled back
into the ocean as well as yielding oil and gas. The processing of mineral ore to yield gold and
silver also yields dirt as an output, which is recycled back into the ground.
16-5 The chapter lists the following six reasons for allocating joint costs:
1. Computation of inventoriable costs and cost of goods sold for financial accounting
purposes and reports for income tax authorities.
2. Computation of inventoriable costs and cost of goods sold for internal reporting purposes.
3. Cost reimbursement under contracts when only a portion of a business's products or
services is sold or delivered under cost-plus contracts.
4. Insurance settlement computations for damage claims made on the basis of cost
information of joint products or byproducts.
5. Rate regulation when one or more of the jointly-produced products or services are subject
to price regulation.
6. Litigation in which costs of joint products are key inputs.
16-6 The joint production process yields individual products that are either sold this period or
held as inventory to be sold in subsequent periods. Hence, the joint costs need to be allocated
between total production rather than just those sold this period.
16-7 This situation can occur when a production process yields separable outputs at the splitoff
point that do not have selling prices available until further processing. The result is that selling
prices are not available at the splitoff point to use the sales value at splitoff method. Examples
include processing in integrated pulp and paper companies and in petro-chemical operations.
16-1
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