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 $1,125,000 Utilities 90,000 Depreciation 50,000 $1,265,000 amount spent and the actual units produced in the first three months in the Machining Department were as follows: Amount Spent Units Produced January $1,100,000 80,000 February 1,200,000 90,000 March 1,250,000 95,000 The Machining Department supervisor has been very pleased with this performance because actual expenditures for January March have been less than the monthly static budget of $1,265,000. However, the plant manager believes that the budget should not remain feed for every month but should flex or adjust to the volume of work that produced in the Machining Department. Additional budget information for the Machining Department is as follows: Wages per hour $15.00 Utility cost per direct labor hour $1.20 Direct labor hours per unit 0.75 Planned monthly unit production 100,000 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? The Machining Department has performed better than originally thought. The department is spending more than would be expected