A company manufactures leather products and has recently switched to the activity-based costing (ABC) method.

The correct answer is D. Identify overhead cost activities . In activity-based costing (ABC) , once direct materials and direct labor are known, the process begins by identifying the activities that cause overhead costs . Those activities become the basis for forming cost pools and selecting cost drivers. ACCA’s ABC overview explains the sequence as splitting overheads into activities or cost pools, then identifying what causes those costs, and finally allocating costs based on cost-driver usage.

Option B is incorrect because assigning overhead occurs after the relevant activities and drivers have been identified. Option A is incorrect because general and administrative costs are not the first ABC step for costing a specific manufactured product. Option C may be a sensible housekeeping action, but it is not the formal first step in the ABC method. Other ABC explanations also begin with identifying activities and cost pools before calculating rates and assigning overhead to products.

Therefore, when using ABC to calculate the cost of leather wallets after DM and DL are known, the first formal step is to identify overhead cost activities , making Option D the correct answer.