Critiquing a Variance Report:Several years ago, Westmont Corporation developed a comprehensive budgetingsystem for profit planning and control purposes. While departmental supervisorshave been happy with the system, the factory manager has expressedconsiderable dissatisfaction with the information being generated by the system.A typical departmental cost report for a recent period follows:Assembly DepartmentCost ReportFor the month ended March 31PlanningBudgetActualResultsVariancesMachine-hours40,00035,000Variable costs:Supplies$ 32,000$ 29,700$ 2,300FScrap 20,000 19,500 500FIndirect materials56,00051,8004,200FFixed costs:Wages and salaries80,00079,200800FEquipmentdepreciation60,00060,000-FTotal cost$248,000$240,200$7,800FAfter receiving a copy of this cost report, the supervisor of the AssemblyDepartment stated, "These reports are super. It makes me feel really good to seehow well things are going in my department. I can't understand why those peopleupstairs complain so much about the reports."For the last several years, the company's marketing department has chronicallyfailed to meet the sales goals expressed in the company's monthly budgets.Answer the following questions:

1. Requirement 1:

a. Is the report useful?

Why or why not by discussing three points?

2. Requirement 2:

a. Identify and explain the change.