Chapter 6: Cost Allocation: Joint Products and

Byproducts
Terms
 Joint costs are the costs of a single production process that yields multiple
products simultaneously.
 The Split-off point is the juncture in a joint production process where one or more
products become separately identifiable.
 Separable costs are all costs of manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and so on.
Incurred beyond the split off point those are assignable to one or more individual
products.
At or beyond the split off point, decisions relating to sale or further processing of
individual products can be made independently of decisions about other products.
The outputs of a joint production process can be classified into two general categories-
those with a positive sales value and those with a zero sales value. A product is any output
that has a positive net sales value (or an output that enables an organization to avoid
incurring costs).
 A joint product has relatively high sales value compared to other products yielded
by a joint production process
 When a joint production process yields only one product with a relatively high
sales value, the product is termed as main product.
 A byproduct has a relatively low sales value compared with the sales value of a
joint or main product.
Approaches to Allocating Joint Costs
Approach 1: Allocate costs using market based data such as revenues.
 Sales value at splitoff point
 Estimated net realizable value (NRV) method
 Constant gross-margin percentage NRV method
Approach 2: Allocate costs using physical-measure-based data such as weight or volume.
Example1: Farmers Dairy purchases raw milk from individual farms and processes it
until the splitoff point, where two products (cream and liquid skim) emerge. These two
products are sold to an independent company, which markets and distributes them to
supermarkets and other retail outlets.
 Raw milk processed 110,000 gallons. 10,000 gallons of raw milk are lost in the
production process due to evaporation, spoilage, and the like, yielding 100,000
gallons of good product.
Production Sales
Cream 25,000 gallons 20,000 gallons at Br. 8/gallon
Liquid skim 75,000 gallons 30,000 gallons at Br. 4/gallon
 Inventories
Beginning Inv Ending Inv
Raw milk 0 gallons 0 gallons
Cream 0 gallons 5,000 gallons
Liquid skim 0 gallons 45,000 gallons
 Cost of purchasing 110,000 gallons of raw milk and processing it until the splitoff
point to yield 25,000 gallons of cream and 75,000 gallons of liquid skim, Br.
400,000.
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 How much of the joint costs of Br.400,000 should be allocated to the cost of goods
sold (20,000 gallons of cream and 30,000 gallons of liquid skim) and to the ending
inventory (5,000 gallons of cream and 45,000 gallons of liquid skim)?
1. Sales value at splitoff point
 Allocates joint costs to joint products on the basis of a relative sales value
at the splitofff point of the total production of these products during the
accounting period.
Cream Liquid Skim Total
1. Sales value at splitoff point (cream, Br.200,000 Br.300,000 Br.500,000
25,000 gall.*Br.8; liquid skim, 75,000
Gall.*Br.4)
2. Weighting (Br.200,000/Br.500,000; 0.40 0.60
Br.300, 000/Br.500, 000)
3. Joint cost allocated (cream, 0.40* Br.160, 000 Br.240, 000 Br.400, 000
Br.400, 000; liquid skim, 0.60*Br.400, 000
4. Joint production cost per gallon (cream, Br. 6.40 Br.3.20
Br.160, 000/25,000 gall; liquid skim,
Br.240, 000/75,000 gall.)
Note that the method uses the sales value of the entire production of the accounting
period. The reason is that the joint costs were incurred on all units produced, not just
those sold in the current period.
2. Physical-Measure Method
 Allocates joint costs to joint products on the basis of the relative weight,
volume, or other physical measure at the splitofff point of the total
production of these products during the accounting period.
Cream Liquid Skim Total
1. Physical measure of production (gall.) 25,000 75,000 100, 000
2. Weighting (25,000gall/100,000 gall; 0.25 0.75
75,000gall/100,000gall)
3. Joint cost allocated (cream, 0.25* Br.100, 000 Br.300, 000 Br.400, 000
Br.400, 000; liquid skim, 0.75*Br.400, 000
4. Joint production cost per gallon (cream, Br. 4 Br.4
Br.100, 000/25,000 gall; liquid skim,
Br.300, 000/75,000 gall.)
3. Estimated Net Realizable Value (NRV) Method
 In many cases, products are processed beyond the splitoff in order to bring
them to a marketable form or to increase their value above their selling
price at the splitoff point.
 The estimated net realizable value is typically used in preference to the
sales value at splitoff point method only when market selling prices for one
or more products at the splitoff point are available.
Eample2: Assume the same situation as in Example 1 except that both cream and
liquid skim can be processed further:
 Cream Butter cream; 25,000 gallons of cream are further processed to yield
20,000 gallons of butter cream at additional processing (separable) costs of Br.280,

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 000. Butter cream, sold for Br.25 per gallon, is used in the manufacture of butter-
based products.
 Liquid skim Condensed Milk; 75,000 gallons of liquid skim are further
processed to yield 50,000 gallons of condensed milk at additional processing costs
of Br.520,000. Condensed milk is sold for Br.22 per gallon.

 Sales during the accounting period were 12,000 gallons of butter cream and 45,000
gallons of condensed milk.
Beginning Inventory Ending Inventory
Raw milk 0 gallons 0 gallons
Cream 0 gallons 0 gallons
Liquid skim 0 gallons 0 gallons
Butter cream 0 gallons 8000 gallons
Condensed milk 0 gallons 5,000 gallons

The estimated NRV method allocates joint costs to joint products on the basis of the
relative estimated NRV (expected final sales value in the ordinary course of business
minus the expected separable costs) of the total production of these products during the
accounting period. Joint costs would be allocated as follows:
Butter Condensed Total
Cream Milk
1. Expected final sales value of production
(Butter cream, 20000gall.*Br.25; condensed Br.500, 000 Br.1, 100,000 Br.1, 600,000
Milk, 50,000gall*Br.22)
2. Deduct expected separable costs to
Complete and sell Br.280, 000 Br.520, 000 800,000
3. Estimated NRV at splitofff point Br.220, 000 Br.580, 000 Br. 800,000
75,000gall/100,000gall)
4. Weighting (220,000/800,000; 580,000/
800,000) 0.275 0.725
5. Joint costs allocated (butter cream, 0.275*
400,000; condensed milk, 0.725*400,000) Br.110, 000 Br.290, 000 Br.400, 000
6. Production cost per gallon (butter cream,
[110, 000+280,000]/20,000 gall; condensed
Milk[290,000+520,000]/50,000gall) Br.19.50 Br.16.20
4. Constant Gross-Margin Percentage NRV Method
 Allocates joint costs to joint products in such a way that the overall gross
margin percentage is identical for the individual products. This method
requires three steps:
Step 1: Compute the overall gross-margin percentage.
Step 2: Use the overall gross margin percentage and deduct the gross margin from
the final sales values to obtain the total costs that each product will bear
Step 3: Deduct the expected separable costs from the total costs to obtain the joint-
cost allocation.
Step 1:
Expected final sales value of total production during the accounting period
(20,000gall.*Br.25) + (50,000gall*Br.22) Br.1, 600,000
Deduct joint and separable costs (Br.400, 000+Br.280, 000+
Br.520, 000) 1,200,000
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 Gross Margin Br. 400,000
Gross Margin percentage (400,000/1,600,000) 25%

Step 2:
Butter Condensed Total
Cream Milk
Expected final sales value of production

During the accounting period: (butter

Cream, 20000gall.*Br.25; condensed
Milk, 50,000gall*Br.22) Br.500, 000 Br.1, 100,000 Br.1, 600,000
Deduct gross margin, using overall
Gross margin percentage (25%) 125,000 275,000 400,000
Cost of Goods Sold 375,000 825,000 1,200,000
Step 3:
Deduct separable costs to complete and sell 280,000 520,000 800,000
Joint costs allocated Br.95, 000 Br.305, 000 Br.400, 000
Accounting for Byproducts
 Joint production process may yield not only joint and main products but
byproducts as well. Although byproducts have much lower sales value than do
joint or main products, the presence of byproducts can affect the allocation of
joint costs.
Example 3: The Meatworks Group processes meat from slaughterhouses. One of its
departments cuts lamb shoulders and generates two products:
Shoulder meat (the main product) – sold for Br.60 per pack.
Hock meat (the byproduct) - sold for Br.4 per pack.
Both products are sold at splitoff point without further processing. Data (number of
packs) for this department in July 2001 are as follows:
Production Sales Big. Inv. [Link].
Shoulder meat 500 400 0 100
Hock Meat 100 30 0 70
The joint manufacturing costs of these products in July 2001 were Br.25, 000
(comprising, Br.15, 000 for direct materials and Br.10,000 for conversion costs).
Method A: Byproducts Recognized at the Time Production is Completed
 This method recognizes the byproduct in the financial statements-the 100
packs of hock meat-in the month it is produced (July 2001). The estimated net
realizable value from the byproduct produced is offset against the costs of the
main (or joint) products. The following journal entries illustrate this method:
1. Work in process 15,000
Account Payable 15,000
(To record direct materials purchased and used in production during July)
2. Work-in Process 10,000
Various Accounts 10,000
(To record conversion costs in the production process during July; examples include
energy, [Link], all Manu. labor, and plant maintenance)
3. Byproduct Inventory-Hock Meat (100*Br.4) 400
Finished Goods –Shoulder Meat (Br.25, 000-400) 24,600
Work-in Process (Br.15, 000+10,000) 25,000
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 (To record cost of goods completed during July)
4a. Cost of Goods Sold [(400/500)*24,600 19,680
Finished Goods-Shoulder Meat 19,680
(To record cost of the main products sold during July)

b. Cash (Account Receivable) 400*Br.60 24,000

Revenues –Shoulder Meat 24,000
(To record the sales of the main product during July)
5. Cash (Account Receivable) 30*Br.4 120

Byproduct Inventory- Hock Meat 120

(To record the sales of the byproduct during July)
This method reports the byproduct inventories of hock meat in the balance sheet at
their Br.4/pack selling price [(100-30)*Br.4 = Br.280].
Method B: Byproducts Recognized at Time of Sale
 This method makes no journal entries until sale of the byproduct occurs.
Revenues of the byproducts are reported as a revenue item in the income
statement at the time of sale.
In the Meatworks Group example, byproduct revenues in July 2001 would be Br.120
(30*Br.4) because only 30 packs of the hock meat are sold in
July (of the 100 packs produced). The journal entries would be:
1 and 2: Same as for Method A.
3. Finished Goods-Shoulder Meat 25,000
Work-in Process 25,000
(To record cost of goods completed during July)
4a. Cost of Goods Sold [(400/500)*Br.25, 000 20,000
Finished Goods-Shoulder Meat 20,000
(To record cost of the main products sold during July)
4b. Same as for Method A
5. Cash (Account Receivable) 120
Revenues- Hock Meat 120
To record the sales of the byproduct during July)

Method B is rationalized in practice primarily on grounds that the dollar amounts of

byproducts are immaterial. However, this method permits managers to “manage”
reported earnings by timing when they sell byproducts.

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Accounting for spoilage, defective units and scrap
1. Terminology
Spoilage is unacceptable units of production that are discarded or are sold for reduced
prices. Both partially completed or fully completed units of output can be spoiled.
Rework is unacceptable units of production that are subsequently repaired and sold as
acceptable finished goods. For example, defective units of products such as computers
detected during production or immediately after production but before units are shipped to
customers can sometimes be reworked and sold as good products.
Scrap is material left over when making a product(s). It has low sales value compared
with the sales value of the product(s).
2. Types of Spoilage
The key objectives in accounting for spoilage are determining the magnitude of the costs
of spoilage and distinguishing between the costs of normal and abnormal spoilage.
Normal Spoilage
Normal Spoilage is spoilage that is an inherent result of the particular production process
and arises even under efficient operating conditions. For a given production process,
management must decide the rate of spoilage it is willing to accept as normal. Costs of
normal spoilage are typically treated as component of the costs of good unit manufactured
because good units cannot be made without the simultaneous appearance of spoiled units.
Normal spoilage rates should be computed using total units completed as the base, not
total actual units started in production. Because total units started also include any
abnormal spoilage in addition normal spoilage. More over, the normal spoilage is the
amount of expected spoilage associated or related to the goods units produced.
Abnormal Spoilage
Abnormal Spoilage is spoilage that should not arise under efficient operating conditions. It
is not an inherent result of the particular production process. Abnormal spoilage is
regarded as avoidable and controllable. Line operators and other plant personnel can
generally decrease abnormal spoilage by minimizing machine break downs, accidents and
the like. Abnormal spoilage costs are written off as losses of the accounting period in
which detection of the spoiled units occurs.
3. Process Costing and Spoilage
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A key issue in accounting for spoilage in process-costing systems is how to count spoiled
units. Units of abnormal spoilage should be counted and recorded separately. But what
units of abnormal spoilage should be counted and recoded? Theses units can either be
counted (Approach A) or not counted (Approach B).
Approach A leads to more accurate product costs because it makes visible the costs
associated with normal spoilage and spreads it over good units.
Approach B is less accurate because it spreads the costs of normal spoilage over all units.
Example: Anzio Co. manufactures a wooden recycling container in its Forming
Department. Direct materials for this product are introduced at the beginning of the
production cycle. At the start of production, all direct materials required to make one
output unit are bundled in a single kit. Conversion costs are added evenly during the cycle.

Some units of this product are spoiled as a result defects only detectable at inspection of
finished units. Normally spoiled units are 10% of the goods output. Summary of data for
July 2004 are:
Physical Units for July 2004
Work in Process, beginning inventory (July 1) 1,500 units
Direct Materials (100% complete)
Conversion costs (60% complete)
Started during July 8,500 units
Completed and transferred out during July 7,000 good units
Work in Process, ending inventory (July 31) 2,000 units
Direct Materials (100% complete)
Conversion costs (50% complete)
Total Costs for July 2004
Work in process, beginning inventory
Direct materials (1,500 equivalent units * Br. 8) Br. 12,000
Conversion costs (900 equivalent units * Br.10) 9,000 Br. 21,000
Direct materials costs added during July 76,500
Conversion costs added during July 89,100
Total costs to account for Br.186, 600
Step 1: Summarize the Flow of Physical Units of Output. Identify units of both
normal and abnormal spoilage.

Spoiled Units= (Beginning units + Units started)-(Goods units transferred out + ending units)
= (1,500+8,500) – (7,000 + 2,000)
= 1,000 units
Normal Spoilage is 10% of the 7,000 units of good output, or 700 units. Thus,
Abnormal Spoilage = Total Spoilage – Normal Spoilage
= 1,000-700
= 300units
Step 2: Compute output interims of Equivalent Units.

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Step 3: Compute Equivalent unit costs.
Step 4: summarize Total Costs to Account for.
Step 5: Assign Total Costs to units completed, to spoiled units, and to units in ending
work-in process.
A. Weighted Average

Physical units and Equivalent units (Step 1&2)

Equivalent Units
Flow of Production Physical Direct Conversion
Units Materials costs
Work in process, beginning 1,500
Started during current period 8,500
To account for 10,000
Goods units completed and transferred out
during current period: 7,000 7,000 7,000
Normal Spoilage 700 700 700
700*100%; 700*100%
Abnormal Spoilage 300 300 300
300*100%; 300*100%
Work in process, ending 2,000 2,000 1,000
2,000*100%; 2,000*50%
Accounted for 10,000
Work done in current period 10,000 9,000
Calculation of Product Costs (Steps 3, 4, and 5)
Total Direct Conversion
Production Materials costs
Costs
(Step 3) Work in process, beginning Br.21,000 Br.12,000 Br.9,000
Costs added during the current period 165,600 76,500 89,100
Costs incurred to date divided by Br. 88,500/ Br. 98,100/
Equivalent units of work done to date 10000 9000
Cost per equivalent unit of work done Br.8.85 Br.10.90
(Step 4) Total costs to account for
(Step 5) Assignment of Costs Br.186,600
Goods units completed and transferred
out (7,000 units)
Costs before adding normal spoilage
Normal Spoilage (700 units) 138,250 (7,000*8.85) (7,000*10.9)
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 Total cost of goods completed and transferred 13,825 700*8.85 700*10.9
out 152, 075
Abnormal Spoilage(300 units)
5,925 300*8.85 300*10.90
Work in process, ending (2,000 units)
Direct Materials 17,700 2,000*8.85
Conversion costs 10,900 1,000*10.90
Total work in process 28,600
Total costs accounted for Br186,600

B. FIFO Method
Equivalent Units
Flow of Production Physical Direct Conversion
Units Materials costs
Work in process, beginning 1,500
Started during current period 8,500
To account for 10,000
Good units completed and transferred out
during current period
From beginning work in process 1,500
0 600
5,500
5,500 5,500
1,500*(100%-100%); 1,500*(100%-60%) 700
700 700
Started and Completed 300
5,500*100%, 5,500*100% 300 300
Normal Spoilage 2,000
700*100%;700*100% 10,000 2,000 1,000
Abnormal Spoilage 8,500 8,100
300*100%; 300*100%
Work in process, ending
2,000*100%; 2,000*50%
Accounted for
Work done in current period

Calculation of Product Costs (Steps 3, 4, and 5)

Total Direct Conversion
Production Materials costs
Costs
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(Step 3) Work in process, beginning Br.21,000
Costs added current period 165,600 76,500/ 89,100/
Divided by equivalent units of work 8,500 8,100
done in current period
Costs per equivalent unit of work done in the Br. 9 Br. 11
current period
(Step 4) Total costs to account for Br.186,600
(Step 5) Assignment of Costs
Good units completed and transferred out
(7,000 units)
Work in process, beginning (1,500 units) Br. 21,000
Direct Materials added in current period 0 0*9
Conversion costs added in current period 6,600 600*11
Total from beginning inventory before 27,600
spoilage
Started and completed BNS(5,500units) 110,000 5,500*9 5,500*11
Normal Spoilage (700 units) 14,000 700*9 700*11
Total costs of goods units transferred out 151,600
Abnormal Spoilage (300 units) 6,000 300*9 300*11
Work in process, ending (2000 units)
Direct Materials 18,000 2000*9
Conversion costs 11,000 1,000*11
Total work in process, ending 29,000
Total costs accounted for Br.186,600

Journal Entries
Weighted Average FIFO
Finished Goods 152,075 151,600
Work-in Process-Forming 152,075 151,600
(To transfer good units completed in July)
Loss from Abnormal Spoilage 5,925 6,000
Work-in Process-Forming 5,925 6,000
(To recognize abnormal spoilage detected in July)
Inspection Points and Allocating Costs of Normal Spoilage
The above illustration assumes inspection upon completion. Spoilage might actually occur
at various stages of the production cycle, but it typically detected only at one or more
specific inspection points.
An inspection point is the stage of the production cycle where products are checked to
determine whether they are acceptable or unacceptable units. The cost of spoiled units is
assumed to be all costs incurred by spoiled units prior to inspection. When spoiled units
have a disposal value, the net cost spoilage is computed by deducting disposal value from
the costs of the spoiled goods accumulated to the inspection point
4. Job Costing and Spoilage
The concepts of normal and abnormal spoilage also apply to job-costing systems.
Abnormal spoilage is usually regarded as controllable by the manager. Costs of abnormal
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spoilage are not considered as inventor able costs and are written off as costs of the period
in which detection occurs.
Normal Spoilage costs in job-costing systems just as in process costing systems are
inventor able costs, although managements are tolerating only small amounts of spoilage
as normal. When assigning costs, job-costing systems generally distinguish between
normal spoilage attributable to a specific job and normal spoilage common to all jobs.
Normal spoilage attributable to a specific job is assigned to that job, a step unnecessary in
process costing since masses of identical or similar units are manufactured.
Example: In a Machine Shop 5 aircraft parts out of a job lot of 50 aircrafts parts are
spoiled. Costs assigned prior to inspection point are $2,000 per part. The current disposal
price of the spoiled parts is estimated to be $600 per part. When the spoilage is detected,
the spoiled goods are inventoried at $600 per part.
Normal Spoilage attributable to a specific job: When normal spoilage occurs because of
the specifications of a particular job, that job bears the cost of the spoilage reduced by the
current disposal value of the normal spoilage is:

Materials Control (5*$600) 30001

Work-in Process Control (specific job) (5*$600) 3000
Note that the Work-in Process Control (specific job) has already been debited $10,000 for
the spoiled parts (5 spoiled parts * $2,000 per part). The effect of the $3,000 entry is that
the net cost of the normal spoilage, $7,000 ($10,000-$3,000) becomes an additional cost
of the 45(50-5) good units produced. The total cost of the 45 good units is $97,000.
$90,000 (45units*$2,000 per unit) incurred to produce the good units plus the $7,000 net
cost of normal spoilage.
Normal Spoilage common to all jobs: In some cases, spoilage may be considered a
normal characteristics of a given production cycle. The spoilage inherent in production
only coincidently occurs when a specific job is being worked on. The spoilage is not then
attributable, and hence is not charged, to the specific job. Instead it is considered as
manufacturing overhead. The journal entry is:
Materials Control (spoiled goods at disposal value 5*$600) 3000
MOH Control (normal spoilage $10,000-$3,000) 7000
Work-in Process Control (specific job 5*$2,000) 10000
When normal spoilage is common to all jobs, the budgeted MOH rate includes a provision
for normal spoilage cost. Therefore, normal spoilage cost is spread, through overhead
allocation, over all jobs rather than loaded on particular jobs only. The total cost of the 45
good units is $90,000 (45 units*$2,000 per unit) plus a prorated share of the $7,000 of
normal spoilage overhead costs.
Abnormal Spoilage: if the spoilage is abnormal, the net loss highlighted and always
charged to an abnormal loss account. Unlike normal spoilage costs, abnormal spoilage

1
Spoiled goods at current disposal value.
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costs are not included as apart of the cost of goods unit produced. The total cost of the 45
good units is $90,000 (45 units*$2,000 per unit).
Materials Control (spoiled goods at current disposal value: 3000
Loss from Abnormal Spoilage 7000
Work-in Process Control (specific job) 10000
5. Rework
Rework is unacceptable units of production that are subsequently repaired and sold as
acceptable finished goods.
Example: Consider Hull Machine Shop; assume that the 5 spoiled parts used in the
illustration are reworked. The journal entry for the $10,000 of total cost assigned to the 5
spoiled units before considering rework costs are as follows:
Work-in Process Control (Specific Job) 10000
Materials Control 4000
Wage payable Control 4000
MOH Allocated 2000
Normal Rework common to all jobs: When rework is normal and not attributable to any
specific job, the costs of rework are charged to MOH and spread through overhead
allocation, over all jobs.

MOH Control (rework costs) 3800

Materials Control 800
Wage payable control 2000
MOH Allocated 1000
Abnormal rework: if the work is abnormal, it is recorded by charging abnormal rework
to a separate loss account.
Loss from Abnormal Rework 3800
Materials Control 800
Wage Payable Control 2000
MOH Allocated 1000
Accounting for rework in a process costing system also requires abnormal rework to be
distinguished from normal rework. A process costing system accounts for abnormal
rework in the same way as a job-costing system. Accounting for normal rework follows
the accounting described for normal rework common to all jobs because masses of
identical or similar units are manufactured in process costing systems.
6. Accounting for Scrap
Scrap is a material left over when making a product(s); it has low sales value compared
with the sales value of the product(s). There are no distinctions of normal and abnormal
scrap, but scrap attributable to a specific job is distinguished from scrap common to all
jobs.
There are two major aspects of accounting for scrap:
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 1. Planning and control, including physical tracking.
2. Inventory costing, including when and how to affect operating income
The question here is:
 When should the value of scrap be recognized in the accounting records at the time
scrap is produced or at the time scrap is sold?
 How should revenue from scrap be accounted for?
To illustrate: In Hull co. assuming that the manufacturer of aircraft parts generates scrap.
We further assume that the scrap from a job has a total sales value $900.
6.1. Recognizing Scrap at the Time of its Sale: When the dollar amount of scrap is
immaterial, the simplest accounting is to make a memo of the quantity of scrap returned to
the storeroom and to regard scrap sales as a separate line item of other revenues. The only
journal entry is:
Cash or A/R 900
Sales of Scrap 900
(Sale of Scrap)
When the dollar amount of scrap is material and the scrap is sold quickly after it is
produced, the accounting depends on whether the scrap is attributable to a specific job or
common to all jobs.

 Scrap attributable to a specific job: Job costing system sometimes trace the sales
of scrap to the jobs that yielded the scrap. This method is used only when the
tracing can be done in an economical feasible way. The journal entry is:
For scrap returned to storeroom: No journal entry2
Sale of Scrap: Cash or A/R 900
Work-in Process Control 900
Unlike spoilage and rework, there is no cost attached to the scrap, and hence no distinction
is made between normal and abnormal scrap. All scarp sales, whatever the amount, are
credited to the specific job. Scrap sales reduce the costs of the job.
 Scrap common to all jobs: The journal entry in this case is:
Scrap returned to storeroom: No journal entry.
Sale of scrap: Cash or A/R 900
MOH Control 900
This method does not link scrap with any particular job or product. Instead, all
products bear regular production costs without any credit for scrap sales except in
an indirect manner. The expected sales are considered when setting he budgeted
MOH rate. Thus, the budgeted OH rate is lower than it would be if the OH budget
had not been reduced by the expected sales of scrap. This accounting for scrap is
both in process costing and job costing systems.
2
Memo of quantity received and related job is entered in the inventory record.
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6.2. Recognizing Scrap at the Time of its Production
In the preceding illustration the assumption is that scrap returned to the storeroom is sold
quickly and hence not assigned an inventory cost figure. Sometimes however, the value of
scrap is not immaterial, and the time between storing it and selling or reusing it can be
quite long.
Under conditions, the company is justified in inventory scrap at a conservative estimate
conditions of net realizable value so that production costs and related scrap recovery are
recognized in the same accounting period. Some companies tend to delay sales of scrap
until the market price is most attractive.
 Scrap attributable to a specific job: The journal entry in the example is:
Scrap returned to storeroom: Materials Control 900
Work-in Process Control 900
 Scrap common to all jobs: The journal entry in this case is
Scrap returned to storeroom: Materials Control 900
MOH Control 900
Observe that Materials Control account is debited in place of Cash/A/R. When the
scarp is sold, the journal entry is:
Sale of Scrap: Cash or A/R 900
Materials Control 900

Scrap is sometimes reused as direct materials rather than sold as scrap. In this case,
it should be debited to Materials Control as a type of direct materials and carried at
its estimated net realizable value. For example, the entries when the scarp
generated is common to all jobs are:
Scrap returned to storeroom: Materials Control 900
MOH Control 900
Reuse of Scrap: Work-in Process Control 900
Materials Control 900
The accounting for scrap under process costing is like the accounting under jobs
costing when scrap is common to all jobs because process costing applies to the
manufacture of masses of identical or similar units. The high cost of scrap focuses
manager’s attention on ways to reduce scrap and to use it more profitably.

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