Mastery Problem: Manufacturing Cost Variance (Actual Costs Compared to Standard Costs)

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Manufacturing cost variances may come from material costs that are higher or lower than expected, material usage that is not what was expected, higher or lower labor costs than expected, or more or less time spent to produce an item than expected. Overhead cost and volume variances are another cause for costs to be higher or lower than what was expected. The total manufacturing variance can be broken down by cost type (materials, labor, overhead) and further by cost variances within cost types and usage or efficiency variances within cost types:

		Direct Materials Cost Variance		Direct Materials Price Variance
	Direct Materials Quantity Variance
Total Manufacturing Cost Variance		Direct Labor Cost Variance		Direct Labor Rate Variance
	Direct Labor Time Variance
Factory Overhead Cost Variance		Variable Factory Overhead Controllable Variance
	Fixed Factory Overhead Volume Variance

Manufacturing cost variances are determined using a standard costing system. Standard costs are

predetermined

costs that should be incurred under efficient operating conditions. Standard costing is most suited to

manufacturing

organizations, where activities consist of common or repetitive operations and the direct costs required to produce each item are defined.

In a standard costing system, it is important to understand that costs are compared to budget based on a flexible budget rather than a fixed budget. Flexible budgets use

standard

costs and

actual

production volume. This means that the actual costs in the period are compared to the number of units produced in the period at the standard cost.

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Standards are set up as part of the budgeting process and are used when per unit costs can be estimated under efficient operating conditions. Remember that flexible budgets account for changes in volume.

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If actual costs are greater than standard costs, the variance is

unfavorable

, alternatively, if actual costs are less than standard costs, the variance is

favorable

.

Direct Materials Cost Variance

Calculating Direct Materials Cost Variance, you can see that the actual costs are

higher

than standard and the actual quantity purchased and used is

less

than standard. The two variances are combined for a total

favorable

direct material cost variance of $fill in the blank

Direct Labor Cost Variance

Calculating Direct Labor Cost Variance, you can see that the actual costs are

higher

than standard and the actual hours are

less

than standard. The two variances are combined for a total

favorable

direct labor cost variance of $fill in the blank

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The illustrations provide the information to complete the problem.

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The standard cost sheet for a product is shown.

Manufacturing Costs	Standard price	Standard Quantity	Standard Cost per unit
Direct materials	$4.40 per pound	5.60 pounds	$	24.64
Direct labor	$12.18 per hour	2.00 hours	$	24.36
Overhead	$2.30 per hour	2.00 hours	$	4.60
			$	53.60

The company produced 3,000 units that required:

17,300 pounds of material purchased at $4.25 per pound

5,940 hours of labor at an hourly rate of $12.58 per hour

Actual overhead in the period was $14,110

Fill in the Budget Performance Report for the period. Some amounts are provided. Round your answers to the nearest dollar. However, do not round your intermediate calculations.

Budget Performance Report
Manufacturing Costs: 3,000 units	Actual Costs	Standard Costs	Variance (Favorable)/ Unfavorable
Direct materials	$73,525	73920	-395
Direct labor	74725	73,080	1645
Overhead	14,110	13800	310
	162360	160800	$1,560

Split the direct materials cost variance into the materials price varaince and the Direct materials quantity variance. Remember that you want to isolate the price variance from the quantity variance so be sure to use factors that do not overlap. Also remember that the two variances should equal the total direct material cost variance.

Direct materials price variance:	Direct materials quantity variance:
(Actual price - Standard price) x actual quantity	(Actual quantity - Standard quantity) x standard price
$2595 favorable	$2200 unfavorable

Split the direct labor cost variance into the direct labor rate variance and the direct labor time variance. Remember that you want to isolate the price variance from the efficiency variance so be sure to use factors that do not overlap. Also remember that the two variances should equal the total direct labor cost variance.

Direct labor rate variance:	Direct labor time variance:
(Actual rate - Standard rate) x actual hours	(Actual hours - Standard hours) x standard labor rate
$2376 unfavorable	$731 favorable

Manufacturing variances are period costs that are rolled into

cost of sales

and reported on the

income statement

. A favorable variance is recorded as a

credit

and an unfavorable variance is recorded as a

debit

What is the total direct material cost variance?

What is the total direct labor cost variance?

.