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There are many acceptable methods of determining a transfer price. The best method for a particular situation depends upon the circumstances. This question asks what is the best course of action from the perspective of the company as a whole. Whenever the variable costs plus the opportunity cost of lost outside sales for the internal supplier are lower than the price of the external supplier, the company as a whole is better off if the buying department buys internally, even if the transfer price is higher than an outside supplier's price. In this case, there is no opportunity cost of lost sales, because the question tells us that purchasing from outside would idle A's facilities now committed to producing units for B, and Division A cannot increase its sales to outsiders. Therefore, the total cost of producing the units internally is the variable cost of $30, which is lower than the outside price of $40. Thus, in this situation, the transfer cost used is not relevant to the decision.
Purchasing from outside in this situation will cause the company to pay more for each unit and to lose some contribution to its fixed costs from the internal sales. When the variable costs plus the opportunity cost of lost outside sales for the internal supplier are lower than the price of the external supplier, the company as a whole is better off if the buying department buys internally, even if the transfer price is higher than an outside supplier's price. In this case, there is no opportunity cost of lost sales, because the question tells us that purchasing from outside would idle A's facilities now committed to producing units for B, and Division A cannot increase its sales to outsiders. Therefore, the total cost of producing the units internally is the variable cost of $30, which is lower than the outside price of $40.
When the variable costs plus the opportunity cost of lost outside sales for the internal supplier are lower than the price of the external supplier, the company as a whole is better off if the buying department buys internally, even if the transfer price is higher than an outside supplier's price. That is because the income to the selling division is equal to the cost to the buying division. These are called intercompany sales , and the two items are cancelled out when the company's financial statements are consolidated. So the only cost to the company is the variable cost to produce the item being sold internally, if the selling division has the capacity to produce it. If the selling division has another, outside buyer, the cost to sell to the buying division instead of to the outside buyer will also include the lost contribution margin that could have been earned by selling to the outside buyer. In this case, there is no opportunity cost of lost sales, because the question tells us that purchasing from outside would idle A's facilities now committed to producing units for B, and Division A cannot increase its sales to outsiders. Therefore, the total cost of producing the units internally is the variable cost of $30, which is lower than the outside price of $40. Thus, from the perspective of the company as a whole, Division B should continue purchasing from Division A, despite the increased transfer price, because the cost to the company as a whole will be only $30 versus the $40 it would cost to purchase outside. In reality, Department B should not simply accept the new transfer price of $50. The managers of the two divisions should agree on a transfer price that is acceptable to both of them. It may be that senior management will need to get involved in order to make that happen, if the two division heads cannot agree. However, that is not given as an answer choice, and of the answer choices given, this is the best choice.
The fixed costs are not relevant, since they will be the same regardless of where Division B gets the parts.