Research Case – Kitchen Aid
Kitchen Aid (KA) manufactures cordless mixers for residential use. KA sells to retailers (such as William
Sonoma, Sur La Table, etc.) who sell the mixers to individual consumers. One of KA’s retail customers is
Jones Kitchenware (JK). On January 1, KA sells to and receives payment from JK for 100 cordless mixers
with a one-year warranty for $50 each. The mixers are delivered by KA to JK upon receipt of payment
and the warranty is initiated at that time. This warranty provides for a replacement of the mixer if the
mixer fails to function. KA also provides the standalone selling price of its mixers with no warranty at
$40 per unit. The cost to manufacture each mixer is $32.
KA also provides its retail customers with sales incentives in the form of volume discounts on purchases
of mixers with warranties paid at the end of an annual period. The agreement between KA and JK
provides for the following volume discounts. Additionally, the probability of purchases for each volume
level as estimated by KA is provided based on historical experience and forecasted sales.
Number of mixers purchased Discount Probability
Less than 1,000 0.00% 35.00%
1,000 through 1,999 3.75% 40.00%
2,000 or more 10.00% 25.00%
The discounts are retroactive, meaning if JK purchases a total of 2,000 mixers during the year, a discount
of 10% will be applied to all 2,000 mixers at year-end.
Requirements
► Prepare a memo addressed to KA’s CFO discussing how KA should recognize revenue related to the
above sale. Discuss each of the 5 steps of revenue recognition. Specifically, is there a valid contract?
How many performance obligations are there? How does KA determine the transaction price? If
necessary, how do we allocate the transaction price? Lastly, when and how much does the seller
recognize revenue for one or multiple performance obligations? Please include an appendix with all
necessary journal entries for KA (seller) in the month of January. Provide calculations to support your
work if necessary.
Please include references to the FASB Codification, such as “According to ASC 606-10-25-20…”.
To obtain access to FASB Codification, please use the following link.
https://asc.fasb.org/Login
Do not exceed a maximum of 4 pages (double-space 12 sized font), which include an appendix and
references.
