Case 7 Stafford Press
Case 7—3
Stafford Press*
Stafford Press was founded in 1993 as a one-man job-printing firm in a small southwestern town. Shortly after its founding, Lucas Stafford, the owner, decided to concentrate on one specialty line of printing. Because of a high degree of technical proficiency, the company experienced a rapid growth.
However, Stafford Press suffered from a competitive disadvantage in that the major market for its specialized output was in a metropolitan area over 300 miles away from the company’s plant. For this reason, in 2003, having accumulated some extra cash to finance a move, the owner decided to move nearer to his primary market. He also decided to expand and modernize his facilities at the time of the move. After some investigation, an attractive site was found in a suburb of his primary market, and the move was made.
A balance sheet prepared just prior to the move is shown in Exhibit 1. The transactions that arose from this move are described in the following paragraphs:
1. The land at the old site, together with the building thereon, was sold for $149,860 cash.
2. Certain equipment was sold for $35,200 cash. This equipment appeared on the books at a cost of $73,645 less accumulated depreciation of $40,890 for a net book value of $32,755.
3. A new printing press was purchased. The invoice cost of this equipment was $112,110. A 2 percent cash discount was taken by Stafford Press so that only $109,868 was actually paid to the seller. Stafford Press also paid $450 to a trucker to have this equipment delivered. Installation of this equipment was made by Stafford Press employees who worked a total of 60 hours. These workers received $15 per hour in wages, but their time was ordinarily charged to printing jobs at $30.50 per hour, the difference representing an allowance for Overhead ($12.15) and profit ($3.35).
4. Stafford Press paid $140,000 to purchase land on which the new plant was to be built. A rundown building, which Stafford’s
Stafford Press*
Stafford Press was founded in 1993 as a one-man job-printing firm in a small southwestern town. Shortly after its founding, Lucas Stafford, the owner, decided to concentrate on one specialty line of printing. Because of a high degree of technical proficiency, the company experienced a rapid growth.
However, Stafford Press suffered from a competitive disadvantage in that the major market for its specialized output was in a metropolitan area over 300 miles away from the company’s plant. For this reason, in 2003, having accumulated some extra cash to finance a move, the owner decided to move nearer to his primary market. He also decided to expand and modernize his facilities at the time of the move. After some investigation, an attractive site was found in a suburb of his primary market, and the move was made.
A balance sheet prepared just prior to the move is shown in Exhibit 1. The transactions that arose from this move are described in the following paragraphs:
1. The land at the old site, together with the building thereon, was sold for $149,860 cash.
2. Certain equipment was sold for $35,200 cash. This equipment appeared on the books at a cost of $73,645 less accumulated depreciation of $40,890 for a net book value of $32,755.
3. A new printing press was purchased. The invoice cost of this equipment was $112,110. A 2 percent cash discount was taken by Stafford Press so that only $109,868 was actually paid to the seller. Stafford Press also paid $450 to a trucker to have this equipment delivered. Installation of this equipment was made by Stafford Press employees who worked a total of 60 hours. These workers received $15 per hour in wages, but their time was ordinarily charged to printing jobs at $30.50 per hour, the difference representing an allowance for Overhead ($12.15) and profit ($3.35).
4. Stafford Press paid $140,000 to purchase land on which the new plant was to be built. A rundown building, which Stafford’s