Budget Managment Analysis

The main reason behind it is that the variance analysis of materials, labor, and overhead indicates the difference between original budget and actual sales/amount. It explains that the management should make changes in the budgets in order to diminish the chances of failure (Epstein & Jermakowicz, 2010). Moreover, the company should make changes in its all budgets like production budget, sales budget, manufacturing budget, selling budget and general & administrative. These changes would be helpful to reduce the difference between the actual and projected sales of the firm.

Budget management analysis is used by mangers as a tool and helps determine that all resources available are being used efficiently. The budgets are determined yearly and are based upon the previous year’s budget and variances. This paper will discuss specific strategies to manage budgets within forecast, compare five to seven expense results with budget expectations, describe possible reasons for variances, give strategies to keep results aligned with expectations, recommend three benchmarking techniques, and identify those that might improve budget accuracy, and justify the choices made.

Use of the flexible budget shows the budgeted operating income given the actual sales. When you compare the flexible budget to the actual budget you are able to compare the total sales and cost incurred given the same units sold. The sales price variance, which is the actual sales less the flexible budgeted sales, was $14,700 favorable. This means that actual sales were higher than budgeted sales at that usage. This is attributable to the increase in service price from $25 to $26.40. Price variance for material usage was $2,100 over the flexible budget projection. This could be attributed to overuse or waste of materials. As expected, the direct labor price variance was $3,375 lower than the flexible budget amount. This is attributed to the manager’s effective use of labor. Operating expenses were also higher than the flexible budget

Another concern identified, is the utilities expense budget for utilities in Year 9 which is $150,000. This amount is identified as a fixed amount and is unrelated to actually production activities and manufacturing efficiency. Considering that production levels and activity fluctuates throughout the year, the budget for utilities should be a variable item. An example; from Year 7 to Year 8, the utilities expenses increase by $15,000 and with this detection, ways to reduce this expense should be investigate. Another concern is a duplicated line item under the Selling, General, and Administrative Budget for Utilities and Utilities and Services. Another issue for concern, Total Variable Cost was reported to be lower; however was not enough for the lack of sales combined with an increase in advertising and transportation which resulted in an overall negative result. The low Net Sales directly impacted the Contribution Margin which decreased by $49,397. Overall, these concerns indicate the need for a flexible budget with variance analysis.

15. What are your thoughts of the importance of understanding the per patient day (PPD)

This research paper is a brief discussion of budget management analysis. Budgeting is the key to financial management, and is the key to translates an organization goals or plan into money. Budgeting is a rough estimate of how much a company will need to get their work done, and provides the basis for evaluating performance, a source of motivation, coordinating business activities, a tool for management communication and instructions to employees. Without a budget an organization would be like a driver, driving blinded without instructions or any sense of direction, that’s how important a budget is to every organization and individual likewise (Clark, 2005).

Advertising Expenses went over cost for an unfavorable variance of $3,754 from a standard budget of $28,412 and a flexible budget of $27,708. The extra money spent towards advertising may have been to help boost extra sales towards the end of the year. Transportation Out also went over its budget for an unfavorable variance by $5,607. However, there is more to the Transportation Out than what the budget says. The price of shipment is supposed to be $30 per unit and with 87 less units sold; there should be an extra $2,610 in the budget. This requires extra investigation.

Budgeting and Variance accounting presume that managers should fix problems, not bury or hide them. It also presumes that these problems are short-term problems, and can be effectively controlled in the future. Sometimes there is a change in actual costs that necessitates a change in standard costs. For instance, a new labor contract could increase total labor costs by a predictable amount. Standard labor costs should be re-calculated to reflect the new actual

I am choosing the City of Downey, California and the City of West Covina, California as my two cities for my Budget Analysis Assignment paper. I am going to utilize their budgets from Fiscal Year 2013-2014. As I was viewing their budgets from Fiscal Year 2013-2014, I found out that both cities have their first two pages of the report named, "Adopted Budget."

In terms of budgetary concerns, the hospital must constantly evaluate and assess the budgetary structure of the hospital and execution of that budget. Examples of things that should be looked out for include ordering supplies that are not needed, not ordering enough supplies, unnecessary and pointless tests being ordered, over-staffing and/or under-staffing, and so forth. If money and resources need to be allocated to get the job done effectively, then this should be the order of the day. However, waste should not be a part of the equation.

For D3, learners will build on the evidence provided for M4. They will evaluate the problems they have identified from poorly controlled budgets by looking at the potential consequences for organisation arising from the budget variances.

Upon reviewing the most recent budget at my place of employment, I did not note any significant variances in the budget. As a nurse manager discovering a large variance in the budget my first instinct would be to investigate. I would want to determine the following: Which category is my variance occurring in? What was the situation? How did it occur? Is this a trend? Is it possible to regain some control or recover any portion of this money? Upon answering these questions I would then review the situation at hand. I would continue to monitor the budget closely and watch for additional variances. Sometimes one may need to rewrite the budget to assist with the budget losses. According to the Healthcare Financial management Association you

The personnel budget, being the largest part of the operating budget, consists of multiple factors such as the average daily census, patient acuity, personnel required relating to full-time equivalents (FTEs), as well as productive and non-productive hours. The supplies include medical and office supplies, minor equipment, orientation and training, and travel expenses. Although budgets are based on assumptions, using the previous year’s expenses for personnel and supplies, helps the nurse manager/leader to accurately predict the next year’s budget.

It is harder to budget revenues because it requires a guess about what customers will respond, in what volume and at what prices. Expenses are generally known. You know what you are going to hire, at what rates and for what hours. You know the rent on the lease signed. There are some surprises in expenses but not nearly the level for

There are different costs that respond to the different activities like variable costs are directly associated with the products sold. The cost behavior patterns of selling, general, administrative, and other operating expenses are determined, and these expenses are budgeted accordingly. For example, sales commissions will be a function of the forecast of either sales dollars or units. The historical pattern of some expenses will be affected by changes in strategy that management may plan for the budget period. In a participative budgeting system, the manager of each department or cost responsibility center will submit the anticipated cost of the department 's planned activities, along with descriptions of the activities and explanations of significant differences from past experience. After review by higher levels of management, and perhaps negotiation, a final budget will be established. Because of the necessity to recognize cost behavior patterns for planning and control purposes, overhead costs will be classified as variable or fixed.