“D3: Evaluate the problems they have identified from unmonitored costs and budgets”
Introduction:
For this task I will be discussing the effects of un-monitoring cost and budgets, and seeing how business could suffer if they are not look after responsibly. I will show disadvantages of not using this method properly.
A cost of goods is what it should spend to make products. At the start of each period budget of production will be ready, using cost of goods and predicted production quantities. At the end of each period a variance report is prepared to compare the budget costs with the actual costs.
The variance report can tell how well Gardiner Store PLC did at carrying out their budget aims. A favorable variance shows that actual costs
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They will have to make people redundant: People redundant can help the business to cut costs, but there will be not enough staff to work in the supermarket, which some service can’t be carried out to customers. But because firing some staffs can help cut a lot, so they may need to take action.
Other competitors will sell more products: Because the supermarket of Gardiner Stores PLC doesn't have that much money for input because they need to cut costs to cover the loss of profit on April, also they make people redundant (explained above), so their competitors will take advantages on them, so therefore they will sell more product.
Changes in costs
Variances can arise for a large number of reasons:
Errors in estimating
Poor management of resources
Unforeseen price changes
Equipment breakdown
Labor problems
Poor planning
Shortage of raw materials
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
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Compares five to seven expense results with budget expectations and describes possible reason for variances and strategies to keep results aligned with expectations
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
If the estimations in a budgeting process are poor, the organisation and the customers may suffer.
The National Health Service (NHS) is an organisation in the Public sector, this means that it is provided and funded by the government through taxes, and it provides a service. It is health care system, provided to anyone regardless of age, race and income; free of charge to prevent diseases and illnesses. It was founded in 1948 with the aims to improve the quality and length of life of local people; to provide better services where they are needed most; and to help people to take more control of their health. Although one of its aims is to provide a service to the local people, the NHS is a national
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.
In this task I’m going to analyse the figures on cash flow that I created in P3 and justify why you think the business might have problems also provide range of solutions.
Since a company’s’ budget is typically based on knowledge from their financial history therefore, if a budget variance occurs, it can be because inaccurate estimates were done, or one or more factors have changed unexpectedly, and the company need to make some type of adjustments to their budget. Once a company discovered a significant budget variance, they will need to identify the cause, and address it accordingly. For example,
The company had a budget of $5,247,250, with the flexible budget being $5,117,385, however the final numbers were $5,096,847, which gives the company an unfavorable variance of -$130,065. Total Variable Cost however was a favorable expense. With a planned budget of $3,967,962 and a flexible budget of $3,869,612 the actual output was $3,805,400 the favorable variance came out to $98,349. Contribution margin was also an unfavorable variance (-$31,716).
19. A cost variance equals the sum of the quantity variance and the price variance.
In this assignment, I will evaluate the reliability of break-even analysis in estimating budgeted activity levels for a selected organisation.
A company's budget serves as a guideline in planning and committing costs in order to meet tactical and strategic goals. Tactical goals such as providing budgetary costs for daily operations, and strategic objectives that include R&D, production, marketing, and distribution are all part of the budgeting process. Serving as a guideline rather than being set in stone, the budget is a snapshot of manager's "best thinking at the time it is prepared." (Marshall, 2003, p.496) The budget is a method in which to reign-in discretionary spending, and will likely show variances between what costs have been anticipated and what costs are actually incurred.
Overhead costs include rent, office staff, depreciation, and other. Once the flexible budget was complete, variances between the actual and flexible budget could be calculated (Exhibit B). The variance for frame assembly was favorable with actual costs being $82,663 less than in the flexible budget. The variances for wheel and final assembly however were both unfavorable. Wheel assembly had an unfavorable variance of $50,650, while final assembly variance was the highest at an unfavorable variance of $231,200. Taking into account these three aspects of direct cost, direct cost has an unfavorable variance $199,187. Although most overhead costs are fixed, 2/3 of other costs are variable and increase with the increased production. As shown in Exhibit B, overhead variance is unfavorable at $60,000. The direct cost variance and overhead variable together lead to a total unfavorable variance of $259,187.
Companies will have set guidelines to trigger the need for a variance report such as variances over a specific percentage or dollar amount. (Cleverly, Song, & Cleverly, 2011, Pg. 381) In an analysis of revenues, a negative variation is unfavorable; in an analysis of costs, a negative variation is favorable. (Dove & Forthman, 1995) Variation is calculated by subtracting the expected or budgeted figure from the actual figure for each variable. The variable figure is then divided by the expected figure in order to establish a percentage of the variance. Wages that are over the budgeted amount would be an unfavorable variance and would be an indication that there is a need for a variance report. (Dove & Forthman, 1995) Supply costs being less than the budgeted amount would be a favorable variance, however it could result in the supplies budget being reduced if there is not a reasonable explanation as to the cause for the variance. Therefore, a variable department manager would ask for a variance report detailing the reason for the variance to be completed, otherwise it appears as if the budget is overstated and needs to be reduced.
Fixed costs forecast plays an essential role in this process, because it defines the minimum quantity of goods to be sold so to avoid financial distress. If this amount is predicted to be high, it makes more pressure on the selling quantities. After preparing these operational budgets, each division will be able to produce a budgeted profit and loss statement, as well as a balance sheet and budgeted cash. These statements will provide the necessary information for the company to make its decisions concerning the operational activity but also investment and financing, based on expected return rates. The budget constitution represents a very important step for the organization as whole, allowing it to be aware of the following year’s expected outcomes and to plan them properly, so that the company achieves the projections and avoids possible predicted costs, by anticipating changes and giving clear direction to the organization. Each unit is now conscious of its goals for the year, as they are specifically quantified. Where everyone is working to get that particular objective, coordination and communication among managers and employees (Borealis have actually created the Corporate Cooperation Council) get a significant role in this process, not only between the same divisions but also across them. Since the employees are those who are daily in direct contact with the operational activity, they must be aware of the budgets to know what to focus on and not