An accounting firm, provides consulting and tax planning services. A recent analysis found that 55% of the firm's billable hours to clients resulted from tax planning and for many years, the firm's total administrative cost (currently $270,000) has been allocated to services on this basis.
The firm, contemplating a change to activity-based costing, has identified three components of administrative cost, as follows:
A recent analysis of staff support found a strong correlation with the number of clients served. In contrast, in-house computing and miscellaneous office cost varied directly with the number of computer hours logged and number of client transactions, respectively. Consulting clients served totaled 35% of the total client base, consumed 30% of the firm's computer hours, and accounted for 20% of the total client transactions.
If the company switched from its current accounting method to an activity-based costing system, the amount of administrative cost chargeable to consulting services would:
A. decrease by $32,500.
B. increase by $32,500.
C. decrease by $59,500.
D. change by an amount other than those listed above.
E. change, but the amount cannot be determined based on the information presented