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How will the management improve its budget planning and controlling to
eliminate unfavorable variances?
The Engineers Education Association president, Mr. Daniel Riley and all the
department heads of the organization
IV- OBJECTIVES
V- RELEVANT FACTS
The Actual revenue falls short of the budgeted amount. Hence, net income is
below what management originally expected. The income statement shows
material variances, they must be investigated to determine the cause.
Some positive variances are really not favorable. Thus, all significant variances
must be analyzed to eliminate unfavorable variances.
Positive as well as negative variances can be unfavorable as the absence of
expenditures may indicate that important activities have not been
accomplished. Focusing solely on unfavorable variances, the management
might overlook problems that may result from favorable variances. For instance,
the income statement shows a 46.6% positive variance for promotion and
advertising expense. This reduction in the level of expenditures could be
directly linked to declining membership resulting to lower subscription
revenues. The variance may also be caused by good planning and efficiencies
within the department, but this is not clear until the variance has been analyzed.
The total annual budget is divided by 12 To derive monthly figures, which is not
really ideal because there are months with less revenue or expenses.
An effective budgeting system facilitates control. The budgeting system must fit the
company's operational control needs. Budgeting when done properly, can serve as a
planning and controlling system.
Advantages
1. Provides a tool through which managerial policies and goals are periodically
evaluated, tested and established as guidelines for the entire organization.
2. Compels and motivates management to make an early and timely study of its
problems. It generates a sense of caution and care, and adequate study among
managers before decisions are made by them.
3. Budgeting enables management to decentralize responsibility without losing
control of the business. It reveals weaknesses, inefficiencies, deviations in the
organization very promptly which can be checked immediately to achieve a
desired goal.
4. Helps management become aware of the problems faced by lower levels within
the organization. It promotes labor relation.
5. Encourages delegation of responsibilities and enables managers to focus more
on the specifics of their plans and how realistic the plans are, and how such
plans may be effectively achieved.
Disadvantages
Standard costing is the practice of substituting an expected cost for an actual cost
in the accounting records. Subsequently, variances are recorded to show the
difference between the expected and actual costs. This approach represents a
simplified alternative to cost layering systems, such as the FIFO and LIFO methods,
where large amounts of historical cost information must be maintained for inventory
items held in stock.
Standard costing involves the creation of estimated (i.e., standard) costs for some or all
activities within the organization. The core reason for using standard costs is that there are a
number of applications where it is too time-consuming to collect actual costs, so standard
costs are used as a close approximation to actual costs.
Since standard costs are usually slightly different from actual costs, the cost accountant
periodically calculates variances that break out differences caused by such factors as labor
rate changes and the cost of materials. The cost accountant may periodically change the
standard costs to bring them into closer alignment with actual costs.
Advantages
Advantages
Disadvantages
VII. CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, to get rid of all material unfavorable variances, all variances whether
positive or negative must be investigated. Adherence to an effective and appropriate
planning and control is also significant in preventing such variances.
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS
In the Alternative Courses of Action listed above, we have come into an evaluation
and came up with a decision to choose the main and primary course of action which
is the Implementation of Effective Budgeting System. It is because this alternative
course of action not only facilitates value creation process, but it is also an invaluable
component of a company's planning and control efforts. The system forces managers
to plan and promotes coordination. The system supports responsibility accounting and
reporting. The master budget, accompanied by detailed plans, documents the
company's goals and objectives. Linking the master budget to the company's long-
range and strategic planning enhances the overall planning effort.