1. Would Wilson Sporting Goods use job costing or process costing for its footballs?
Original blog posting (February 7, 2017)

2. Wilson Sporting Goods
Makes about 700,000 footballs for the NFL each year
Manufactured in small factory in Ada, Ohio
Equipment and processes have remained the same since the 1950s
Copyright:

3. Wilson Sporting Goods Steps to manufacture a football:
Stitch pieces of leather together inside out
Steam the football and turn right-side out
Insert the bladder into the football
Lace up the football
Mold to the correct shape and inspect for quality
Video of steps can be found at:
Copyright:

4. Question 1
Would the Ada Wilson factory be likely to use job costing or process costing when accounting for the cost of manufacturing its NFL footballs? Explain.

5. Question 2
Now imagine that the Wilson footballs from the Wilson Ada factory come in a variety of sizes (for souvenirs, for peewee football games, and other uses.) In addition to varying sizes, the quality of the leather (impacting durability) can be customized for each order. Would the Ada Wilson be likely to use job costing or process costing for manufacturing footballs under these assumptions? Explain.

6. Question Recap
Would the Ada Wilson factory be likely to use job costing or process costing when accounting for the cost of manufacturing its NFL footballs? Explain.
Now imagine that the Wilson footballs from the Wilson Ada factory come in a variety of sizes (for souvenirs, for peewee football games, and other uses.) In addition to varying sizes, the quality of the leather (impacting durability) can be customized for each order. Would the Ada Wilson be likely to use job costing or process costing for manufacturing footballs under these assumptions? Explain.

7. For additional news stories to use in the accounting classroom, see the Accounting in the Headlines blog at Questions or comments? Contact Dr. Wendy Tietz at