Colonial Cookies, Inc., bakes cookies for retail stores. The companys best-selling cookie is chocolate nut supreme which

Colonial Cookies, Inc., bakes cookies for retail stores. The company’s best-selling cookie is chocolate nut supreme which is marketed as a gourmet cookie and regularly sells for $8.00 per pound. The standard cost per pound of chocolate nut supreme, based on Colonial’s normal monthly production of 200,000 pounds, is as follows:

Colonial’s management accountant, Karen Blair, prepares monthly budget reports based on these standard costs. February’s contribution report, which compares budgeted and actual performance, is shown in the following schedule.

Justine Madison, president of the company, is disappointed with the results. Despite a sizable increase in the number of cookies sold, the product’s expected contribution to the overall profitability of the firm decreased. Madison has asked Blair to identify the reason why the contribution margin decreased. Blair has gathered the following information to help in her analysis of the decrease.

Required:
1. Prepare a new contribution report for February, in which:
• The static budget column in the contribution report is replaced with a flexible budget column.
• The variances in the contribution report are recomputed as the difference between the flexible budget and actual columns.
2. What is the total contribution margin in the flexible budget column of the new report prepared for requirement (1)?
3. Explain (i.e., interpret) the meaning of the total contribution margin in the flexible budget column of the new report prepared for requirement (1).
4. What is the total variance between the flexible budget contribution margin and the actual contribution margin in the new report prepared for requirement (1)? Explain this total contribution margin variance by computing the following variances. (Assume that all materials are used in the month of purchase.)
a. Direct-material price variance.
b. Direct-material quantity variance.
c. Direct-labor rate variance.
d. Direct-labor efficiency variance.
e. Variable-overhead spending variance.
f. Variable-overhead efficiency variance.
g. Sales-price variance.
5. a. Explain the problems that might arise in using direct-labor hours as the basis for applying overhead.
b. How might activity-based costing (ABC) solve the problems described in requirement (5a)?
(CMA,adapted)

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Standard Unit Cost Cost Itemm Ouantity Total Cost Direct material: Cookie mix Milk chocolate Almonds 10 02 5 02. 02. $.02 per oz. 15 per oz 50 per oz S.20 75 50 $1.45 Direct labor Mixing Baking 1 min. 2 min. 14.40 per hr 18.00 per hr S.24 60 Variable overheadf 32.40 per direct-labor hr. $1.62 $3.91 Total standard cost per pound Direct-labor ratis include emplayee benllts Appliad on the basis of drect-labor hours. Contribution Report for February Static Budget 200,000 $1,600,000 $290,000 168,000 324,000 782,000 818,000 Actual Variance Units (in pounds) Revenue Direct material Direct labor Variable over head 225,000 1,777,500 S 432500 174,000 375,000 981,500 S 796,000 25,000 F $177,500 F $142,500 U 6,000 U 51,000 U $199,500 L 22,000 U Total variable costs. Contribution margin Usage Report for February Cost Item Quantity Actual Cost Direct materials: Cookie mix Milk chocolate Almonds 2,325,000 oz. 1,330,000 oz. S46,500 266,000 120,000 240,000 0z Direct labor: Mixing Baking 225,000 min. 400,000 min 54,000 120,000 375,000 $981,500 Variable overhead Total variable costs