Variance Analysis Case

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Part B
Variance analysis is the quantitative investigation of the difference between actual and planned behavior. (Drury, C., 2012) It is used to maintain business control. Firstly, this essay will make an analysis that the reason of variance of sales, materials, labor and overhead separately, and the second part is the interrelationship between these variances.
1. Sales Variance
Sales volume variance is the difference between the budgeted and standard quantity multiplied by standard margin. (Collier, P.M, 2006) The variance is unfavourable because there are 200 units budgeted have not been sold out. When the variance is favourable which means there is a short supply of stock before the end of this period.
Sales price variance is the difference …show more content…

(Collier, P.M., 2006) The advantages of ABC are;
1. Extend the concept of cost behavior. ABC uses cost driver to interpret the cost behavior and classify costs as short-term variable cost, long-term variable cost and fixed cost.
2. Increase accuracy in the product cost calculating. While using ABC, direct materials and direct labors can be classified into products, manufacturing overhead will be classified into the homogeneous cost pool. Then, apportioned the manufacturing overhead into products according to reasonable distribution cost standard. The standard of cost allocation becomes more direct and specific, leading to many traditional uncontrollable indirect cost changes into controllable direct cost. And this provides more accurate information to cost control.
3. It helps manager to make decisions. ABC provides more real and plentiful measuring information which helps manager to make decision with relevant cost. (Drury, C., …show more content…

Hannah make the decision, the comparison between ABC and traditional method is very important. First of all. ABC is the best setting with no asymmetric information not like the traditional method. (Mishra, B. and Vaysman, I, 2001) Cost under a ABC approach are classified as different activities. However, indirect overhead under a traditional method is distributed to cost object according to some percentage. (Collier, 2006) ABC uses company’s actual reachable level as standard, so that this standard is reachable and stable. While the traditional method uses the optimal cost as standard, which does not consider the actual low rate or technical fault or many other reasons. Then talk about the incentive system. As the standard of ABC is reachable, it is more possible to get an award and will encourage the employee. However, the standard of traditional method is optimal cost which means unreachable, manager need to continue to eliminate the waste in order to achieve near-optimal level as a performance standard. ABC compares to the traditional method is more suitable to these companies that have a large percent of indirect overhead, various products, and complex production and operation activities. There is affection in part a while using ABC method. As ABC classified the cost as different activities and it is more accurate than using traditional method. This leading to the calculated product cost more

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