A Comparison of Cost Allocation Methods by Colleen Muldoon
by Colleen Muldoon
This podcast compares and contrasts the three cost allocation methods - direct, sequential, and reciprocal. An example exploring cost allocation in a furniture manufacturing problem gives an in-depth look into the pros and cons of using each of the three techniques.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
*3 stars*
This podcast explaining cost allocation methods does a very good job of explaining the process of each method in a step-by-step manner. It also does an excellent job of pointing out both the pros and cons of each method. I have four criticisms of this podcast. First, there were very few images to go along with the podcast, though I understand that this is a hard topic to find relevant images for. Second, at the beginning of the podcast, I think the music did not end soon enough because it was distracting behind the speaker’s voice. Third, the speaker sounded like she was speaking in a rushed manner the entire time, which makes it hard to keep up with the walk-through of the allocation methods. Finally, once the podcast ended, there was still a considerable length of playing time where nothing happened. Overall, the information was thorough and well explained, but there were several technical issues that distracted from the information being provided.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:48 am
I rate this podcast three stars. The information was very descriptive, including both instructions on how to calculate the three cost allocation methods, and examples in each. It also did a good job at comparing and contrasting the methods, stating the pros and cons for each. Though the information in the podcast is probably worth a four star rating, I gave the podcast as a whole three because of several details regarding its execution. The speaker spoke very fast, which made some of the calculations hard to follow. Along with speaking slower, I would recommend changing some of the visuals. Many of the charts were small, and therefore hard to read. Some of them also cut off at the sides. More interesting visuals should be included, which would help to keep the watcher’s attention throughout the podcast. At the end of the podcast, there was a long pause, in which nothing was said, and the picture didn’t change. Overall, the speaker did well at explaining the allocation methods, but several changes made to the audio and visuals would make it a much more successful podcast.