CMA Part-One Mini-Lesson: How to Calculate the Started and Completed Units?

Student Question

“Hi Nathan,

I’m having a problem understanding how to calculate the started and completed units.
I see in the problem below it says that there are 80,000 units in production.
To arrive at the started and completed units, are they subtracting the Ending WIP of 80K to arrive at 75K units?”

– Wanda.

MCQ – Process Costing

A.P. Hill Corporation uses a process-costing system. Products are manufactured in a series of three departments. The following data relate to Department Two for the month of February.

The beginning work-in-process was valued at $66,000, consisting $20,000 of transferred-in costs, $30,000 of material costs, and $16,000 of conversion costs.

Materials are added at the beginning of the process; conversion costs are added evenly throughout the process.

Costs added to production during February were

All preliminary and final calculations are rounded to two decimal places.

Under the weighted-average method, how much materials cost did A.P. Hill transfer out of Department Two doing February?

A. $112,500
B. $88,000
C. $93,500
D. $111,350 (correct)

Correct answer: (D) For materials, the equivalent-unit calculation under the weighted-average method is

The amount transferred out will include materials costs incurred during the current period plus any amount in beginning inventory.

The materials costs consisted of $30,000 in beginning inventory and $88,000 incurred during the month, for a total of $118,000.

The equivalent unit cost of materials is, therefore, $1.31 ($118,000/90,000 EU).

Total materials cost transferred is $111,350 (85,000 units transferred x $1.31).

1-on-1 CMA Coaching Support

To arrive at the started and completed units this period, we have to compute first for the total units to account for:

Remember to always reconcile the total of the units to account for in computing in EUP as follows:

Therefore, the started and completed unit of 75,000 units was computed by deducting the ending WIP (5,000 units) and beginning WIP (10,000 units) from the total units to account for of 90,000 units.

Exam Secrets Cheat Sheet

Pass the CMA exam the first time using the exam secrets no one talks about, until today!

First Name *

Email *

 

Download Cheat Sheet

No worries, your information is safe with me. I hate spam too!

My Complete Course students pass the CMA exam at double the global pass rate of 35%. This is possible due to the personalized 1-on-1 coaching support they receive throughout their exam prep program.

Below you’ll find an example of a mini-lesson that helped my student, Wanda, understand how to calculate the started and completed units.

Wanda didn’t have any study materials before finding CMA Exam Academy so she opted for my Complete Course to gain access to the ultimate toolkit for the CMA exam preparation.

Until our next lesson,

Hi, I’m Nathan Liao (aka the CMA Coach)! For the last 10 years, over 82,000 accounting and finance pros came knocking at my door seeking guidance and help. If you’re also aiming to conquer the CMA exam on your very first try—without wasting away time or money—you’ve found your ultimate guide. Dive in deeper to discover more about me and the dedicated team that powers CMA Exam Academy. Click here and let’s embark on this journey together!