Employees worked 1,500 hours and were paid $11.00 per hour. Read the requirements. Requirements Requirement 1. What are the benefits of setting cost standards? Standard costing helps managers do the following: [ Requirement 2. Calculate the direct materials cost variance and the direct materials efficiency variance as well as the direct labor cost and efficiency variances. (Abbreviations used: AC= actual cost; AQ= actual quantity; FOH = fixed overhead; SC= standard cost; SQ= standard quantity.)