Several years ago, Westmont Corporation developed a comprehensive budgeting system for planning and control purposes. While departmental supervisors have been happy with the system, the factory manager has expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the information being generated by the system. A report for the company's Assembly Department for the month of March follows: Assembly Department Cost Report For the Month Ended March 31 Machine-hours Variable costs: Supplies Scrap Indirect materials Fixed costs: Wages and salaries Equipment depreciation Total cost Actual Results 25,000 Planning Budget Variances 30,000 $ 8,400 28,000 $ 9,000 $ 600 F 30,000 2,000 F 83,000 97,500 14,500 F 73,900 100,000 $ 293,300 70,000 100,000 3,900 U 0 $306,500 $ 13,200 F After receiving a copy of this cost report, the supervisor of the Assembly Department stated, "These reports are super. It makes me feel really good to see how well things are going in my department. I can't understand why those people upstairs complain so much about the reports." For the last several years, the company's marketing department has chronically failed to meet the sales goals expressed in the company's monthly budgets. Required: 1. The company's president is uneasy about the cost reports, identify at least two reasons. 2. What kind of reports should be used to give better insight into how well departmental supervisors are controlling costs? 3. Complete the new performance report for the quarter, based on Flexible Budget Performance approach. 4. Were costs well controlled in March? Answer is not complete. Complete this question by entering your answers in the tabs below. Required 1 Required 2 Required 3 Required 4 Complete the new performance report for the quarter, based on Flexible Budget Performance approach. (Do not round your intermediate calculations. Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "F" for favorable, "U" for unfavorable, and "None" for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.) Westmont Corporation Assembly Department Flexible Budget Performance Report For the Month Ended March 31 Actual Results Flexible Budget Planning Budget Machine-hours (q) 25,000 30,000 Supplies Scrap Indirect materials $ 8,400 $ 9,000 28,000 30,000 83,000 97,500 Wages and salaries 73,900 70,000 Equipment depreciation 100,000 100,000 Total $293,300 $306,500 < Required 2 Required 4 >