Cherry Valley Lumber's (CVL) lumber mill produces boards of various sizes and quality specifications for the home construction industry. CVL incurs joint costs in the initial phases of processing raw timber, such as transporting the logs to the mill, removing the bark from the logs, and cutting rough-cut boards. After the split-off point, CVL incurs costs in the Planing Department to finalize the finished boards of various grades and sizes. Which of the following statements regarding the costs at CVL is true?

a. The costs to finish the boards after the split-off point will not be traced directly to the finished boards according to the various grades and sizes produced. The costs for transporting the logs, removing bark, and cutting the rough-cut boards before the split-off point will be traced to the final finished boards.
b. The costs for transporting the logs, removing bark, and cutting the rough-cut boards before the split-off point will not be directly traced to the final finished boards. All costs to finish the boards after the split-off point will be traced directly to the finished boards according to the various grades and sizes produced.
c. It will be impossible for CVL to directly trace any costs to the finished boards of various grades and sizes.
d. CVL will be able to directly trace all costs before and after the split-off point to the finished boards of various grades and sizes.

b. The costs for transporting the logs, removing bark, and cutting the rough-cut boards before the split-off point will not be directly traced to the final finished boards. All costs to finish the boards after the split-off point will be traced directly to the finished boards according to the various grades and sizes produced.

Explanation:

This is why the costs at split-off are usually apportioned to the different categories of products based on some chosen criteria, e.g. sales value, size, etc. However, after split-off, costs that are incurred can easily be traced to the various grades and sizes of boards produced. This simply means that after split-off, costs become traceable and direct to each board category.