Backwoods Canada, Inc. produces expensive water-repellent, down-lined parkas. The company implemented a total quality-management program in 2008. Following are quality-related accounting data that have been accumulated for the five-year period after the program€™s start.

a. Compute the company€™s total failure costs as a percentage of total quality costs for each of the five years. Does there appear to be a trend to this result? If so, speculate on what might have caused the trend.
b. Compute prevention costs and appraisal costs, each as a percentage of total costs, during each of the five years. Speculate on what the company€™s quality strategy appears to be.
c. Compute quality sales indices and quality-cost indices for each of the five years. Is it possible to assess the effectiveness of the company€™s quality-management program from these index values?
d. List several examples of each quality-related cost€”that is, prevention, appraisal, and internal and external failure€”that might result from the production of parkas.

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Year 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 Quality Costs (000s) 42.6 Prevention $3.2 10.7 28.3 50.0 30.6 Appraisal 26.3 29.2 24.1 19.6 51.3 Internal failure 39.1 48.4 35.9 32.1 External failure 118.6 110.5 105.2 91.3 65.2 Accounting Measures (000s) $2,700.6 2,690.1 2,705.3 Sales 2,310.2 2,880.7 Manufacturing 423.4 420.9 424.7 436.1 435.5 cost