Flexible Budgeting and Variance Analysis

I Love My Chocolate Company makes dark chocolate and light chocolate. Both products require cocoa and sugar. The following planning information has been made available:

Standard Amount per Case Dark Chocolate Light Chocolate Standard Price per Pound Cocoa 12 lbs. 9 lbs. $5.00 Sugar 10 lbs. 14 lbs. 0.60 Standard labor time 0.4 hr. 0.5 hr.

Dark Chocolate Light Chocolate Planned production 3,700 cases 12,700 cases Standard labor rate $14.50 per hr. $14.50 per hr.

I Love My Chocolate Company does not expect there to be any beginning or ending inventories of cocoa or sugar. At the end of the budget year, I Love My Chocolate Company had the following actual results:

Dark Chocolate Light Chocolate Actual production (cases) 3,500 13,200 Actual Price per Pound Actual Pounds Purchased and Used Cocoa $5.10 161,600 Sugar 0.55 214,300 Actual Labor Rate Actual Labor Hours Used Dark chocolate $14.00 per hr. 1,270 Light chocolate 15.00 per hr. 6,760

Required:

1. Prepare the following variance analyses for both chocolates and the total, based on the actual results and production levels at the end of the budget year:

a. Direct materials price variance, direct materials quantity variance, and total variance.

b. Direct labor rate variance, direct labor time variance, and total variance.

Enter a favorable variance as a negative number using a minus sign and an unfavorable variance as a positive number. If there is no variance, enter a zero.

a. Direct materials price variance $ Direct materials quantity variance $ Total direct materials cost variance $ b. Direct labor rate variance $ Direct labor time variance $ Total direct labor cost variance $

2. The variance analyses should be based on the amounts at volumes. The budget must flex with the volume changes. If the volume is different from the planned volume, as it was in this case, then the budget used for performance evaluation should reflect the change in direct materials and direct labor that will be required for the production. In this way, spending from volume changes can be separated from efficiency and price variances.