Question

1. Flexible Budgeting and Variance Analysis

   I Love My Chocolate Company makes dark chocolate and light chocolate. Both products require cocoa and sugar. The following planning information has been made available:

   Standard Amount per Case
   	Dark Chocolate		Light Chocolate		Standard Price per Pound
   Cocoa	10 lbs.		7 lbs.		$4.20
   Sugar	8 lbs.		12 lbs.		0.60
   Standard labor time	0.3 hr.		0.4 hr.

   	Dark Chocolate		Light Chocolate
   Planned production	5,200 cases		13,700 cases
   Standard labor rate	$13.00 per hr.		$13.00 per hr.

   I Love My Chocolate Company does not expect there to be any beginning or ending inventories of cocoa or sugar. At the end of the budget year, I Love My Chocolate Company had the following actual results:

   	Dark Chocolate		Light Chocolate
   Actual production (cases)	4,900		14,200
   	Actual Price per Pound		Actual Pounds Purchased and Used
   Cocoa	$4.30		149,100
   Sugar	0.55		204,400
   	Actual Labor Rate		Actual Labor Hours Used
   Dark chocolate	$12.50 per hr.		1,340
   Light chocolate	13.50 per hr.		5,820

   Required:

   1. Prepare the following variance analyses for both chocolates and the total, based on the actual results and production levels at the end of the budget year:

        a. Direct materials price variance, direct materials quantity variance, and total variance.

        b. Direct labor rate variance, direct labor time variance, and total variance.

   Enter a favorable variance as a negative number using a minus sign and an unfavorable variance as a positive number.

   a.	Direct materials price variance	$
   	Direct materials quantity variance	$
   	Total direct materials cost variance	$
   b.	Direct labor rate variance	$
   	Direct labor time variance	$
   	Total direct labor cost variance	$

   2. The variance analyses should be based on the amounts at volumes. The budget must flex with the volume changes. If the volume is different from the planned volume, as it was in this case, then the budget used for performance evaluation should reflect the change in direct materials and direct labor that will be required for the production. In this way, spending from volume changes can be separated from efficiency and price variances.

Answer 1