cost accounting

Hannah Gilpin is the controller of Blakemore Auto Glass, a division of Eastern Glass and Window. Blakemore replaces and installs wind- shields. Her division has been under pressure to improve its divisional operating income. Currently, divisions of Eastern Glass are allocated corporate overhead based on cost of goods sold. Jake Myers, the president of the division, has asked Gilpin to reclassify $50,000 of installation labor, which is included in cost of goods sold, as administrative labor, which is not. Doing so will save the division $20,000 in allocated corporate overhead. The labor costs in question involve installation labor provided by trainee employees. Myers argues, “the trainees are not as efficient as regular employees so this is unfairly inflating our cost of goods sold. This is really a cost of training (administrative labor) not part of cost of goods sold.” Gilpin does not see a reason for reclassification of the costs, other than to avoid overhead allocation costs. 

1. Describe Gilpin’s ethical dilemma. 

2. What should Gilpin do if Myers gives her a direct order to reclassify the costs?