The production supervisor of the Machining Department for Niland Company agreed to the following monthly static budget for the upcoming year: Niland Company Machining Department Monthly Production Budget Wages $392.000 Utilities 29,000 Depreciation 49,000 Total $470,000 The actual amount spent and the actual units produced in the first three months in the Machining Department were as follows: Amount Spent Units Produced January $445,000 90,000 February 425,000 82.000 March 408,000 74,000 The Machining Department supervisor has been very pleased with this performance because actual expenditures for January March have been significantly less than the monthly static budget of 470,000. However, the plant manager believes that the budget should not remain fixed for every month but should "flex or adjust to the volume of work that is produced in the Machining Department. Additional budget information for the Machining Department is as follows: Wages per hour $16 Utility cost per direct labor hour $1.2 Direct labor hours per unit 0.25 Planned monthly unit production 98.000 a. Prepare a flexible budget for the actual units produced for January February, and March in the Machining Department. Assume depreciation is a fixed cost of required, use per unit amounts carried out to two decimal places Niland Company Machining Department Budget For the Three Months Ending March 31 January February March Units of production 90.000 82,000 74.000 Total Supporting calculations: Units of production Hours per unit 90,000 32.000 74,000 Total hours of production Wages per hour XS Total wages Total hours of production Utility costs per hour Units of production 90,000 82,000 74,000 Hours per unit Total hours of production Wages per hour Total wages Total hours of production Utility costs per hour X $ Total utilities b. Compare the flexible budget with the actual expenditures for the first three months. January February Total flexible budget March Actual cost Excess of actual cost over budget What does this comparison suggest