Question Tag: Profit Centre

DASET DRINKS NIGERIA PLC.
(30 MARKS)
Daset Drinks Nigeria Plc. has been operating in the Nigerian food and beverages
industry as an entity with three distinct factories across the country. One of the
factories bottles soft drink while the other two produce bottles and crown corks for
the soft drink factory.
The company has recently been experiencing problems with its performance
evaluation system across the three factories. Each factory manager is of the
opinion that his factory is the one contributing the most to the overall performance
of the company.
In a recent management retreat, the guest speaker, a performance management
expert, emphasised the need to develop Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for each
of the factories and departments in the company. According to him, this will
enhance performance evaluation of all the managers in the company and will also
make performance management easier. He suggested that the company should
adopt a divisional structure whereby each of the factories will become an
autonomous division with responsibilities for investment, revenues, profits and
costs.
At the last Executive Management meeting, after the retreat, the company‟s top
management decided to adopt the recommendations of the guest speaker. The top
management agreed transfer prices acceptable to each of the divisional managers
and also the needs to decide whether the two factories manufacturing bottles and
corks cocks could sell to external markets.
The top management has mandated you, as the company‟s management
accountant, to supply necessary data that will assist them in taking appropriate
decisions.

Financial data collected about the company‟s operations are as follows:
The costs and selling prices of the divisions are:

This includes costs of bottle and crown cork. To produce one bottle of soft drink
requires one bottle and one crown cork.
The bottling division has the choice to buy its bottle and crown cork requirements
from the external market.
The variable costs of production for external sales and internal transfers are the
same and bottles and crown corks are being transferred to the bottling division at
these costs.
For brand protection, the soft drink factory is not willing to buy bottles and crown
corks from any external supplier.
Required:
a. Differentiate among an investment centre, a profit centre, a revenue centre
and a cost centre, in a divisional organisation giving one example of each.
(8 Marks)

b. Explain a divisional structure, stating the problems associated with this type
of structure in an organisation. (8 Marks)

c. Advise the top management on the transfer prices that will maximise the
company‟s profit and be acceptable to the factory managers.
(10 Marks)
d. Discuss TWO qualitative factors that the top management needs to consider
in taking these decisions. (4 Marks)