Deck 15: Cost Control

Question 1

A performance report for direct labor shows a variance between the budget and actual amounts. This difference is a:

A) budget variance.
B) direct labor efficiency variance.
C) direct labor spending variance.
D) direct labor rate variance.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

An example of a cost that is noncontrollable in the short run is:

A) direct labor.
B) property taxes.
C) raw materials.
D) supervisors salaries.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

When an appropriately established and effective standard cost system is used to value inventory:

A) cumulative variances are deferred.
B) a significant unfavorable net variance may be reported as an expense of the current period.
C) a significant favorable net variance may be reported as an expense of the current period.
D) the explanatory notes to the financial statements will explain the disposition of the net variance.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

When an income statement shows data for segments of the organization, and data for each segment are added together to get totals for the whole organization:

A) all expenses should be allocated to the segments.
B) common fixed expenses should be allocated to the segments.
C) only direct revenues and direct expenses should be assigned to segments.
D) direct fixed expenses should be subtracted as one amount in the "total" column.

Question 5

A variance is the difference between actual costs and:

A) selling price.
B) expected costs.
C) activity-based costs.
D) historical costs.

Question 6

The total variance for any particular cost component is referred to as the:

A) price variance.
B) efficiency variance.
C) budget variance.
D) none of these.

Question 7

The total budget variance is caused by two factors:

A) quantity and price.
B) time and materials.
C) direct and indirect relationships.
D) fixed and variable cost behavior.

Question 8

The term noncontrollable cost:

A) implies that there is really nothing the manager can do to influence the amount of cost.
B) only applies to long-term costs.
C) never applies to short-term costs.
D) is another term for discretionary cost.

Question 9

The purchasing agent of an organization acquired some raw materials at a bargain price, even though she knew that their quality was lower than that of the materials customarily used. This action resulted in a favorable raw materials purchase price variance that might very well have been more than offset by:

A) an unfavorable raw materials usage variance.
B) a favorable direct labor efficiency variance.
C) an unfavorable variable overhead spending variance.
D) an unfavorable direct labor rate variance.

Question 10

The key difference between a controllable cost and a noncontrollable cost is:

A) the large amount of the cost.
B) the frequency of cost incurrence.
C) the short term ability to influence the cost by the manager.
D) whether the cost is fixed or variable.

Question 11

If it is to be most useful for control purposes, what variance should be reported to the supervisor responsible for the number of pounds of corn syrup used in the manufacture of a candy bar?

A) Raw material price variance, expressed in cents per pound.
B) Raw material usage variance, expressed as a total cost for the month.
C) Raw material usage variance, expressed in total pounds for the month.
D) Raw material usage variance, expressed in total pounds for the week.

Question 12

The principal objective of a performance report is to:

A) highlight activities than need management attention.
B) direct blame to those managers who did not meet goals.
C) provide a basis for rewarding effective managers.
D) highlight budgets that have been incorrectly established.

Question 13

The best reason for flexing a budget is to:

A) permit a more accurate determination of variances.
B) revise a budget at the beginning of a period.
C) adjust actual results so they are closer to budgeted amounts.
D) recognize the cost behavior pattern of budgeted amounts.

Question 14

________________ is a technique used to filter cost information contained in performance reports to each manager within the organization at an appropriate level of detail or summarization:

A) Managerial reporting
B) Responsibility reporting
C) Financial reporting
D) Segment reporting

Question 15

For performance reports to be most effective for management by exception, they should:

A) be issued at the same time for all responsibility centers.
B) be held until the financial statements for the month have been issued.
C) be issued as soon after the activity or period covered as possible.
D) show all of the costs associated with the responsibility center being reported about.

Question 16

The difference between standard and actual cost per unit of input is measured by:

A) the raw materials price variance.
B) the direct labor rate variance.
C) the variable overhead spending variance.
D) all of these.

Question 17

When analyzing end of period production cost variances, which of the following product cost components will not need "flexing"?

A) Direct material.
B) Direct labor.
C) Variable manufacturing overhead.
D) Fixed manufacturing overhead.

Question 18

A budget adjusted to reflect a budget allowance based on actual activity achieved rather than the planned level of activity in the original budget is a:

A) static budget.
B) rolling budget.
C) controllable budget.
D) flexible budget.

Question 19

If the actual level of activity is different from the budgeted level, a _________ budget is prepared for the actual level of activity:

A) continuous
B) zero-based
C) master
D) flexible

Question 20

If they are to be useful to managers, variances should be reported:

A) simultaneously to all managers within a week after the end of the month.
B) in dollar amounts as soon as all costs are known.
C) in physical terms or dollar amounts as promptly as feasible.
D) in physical terms and dollar amounts if the variance exceeds 10% of the budget.

Question 21

How is performance evaluated for an investment center?

A) Actual costs incurred compared to budgeted costs.
B) Actual segment margin compared to budgeted segment margin.
C) Comparison of actual and budgeted return on investment (ROI) based on segment margin and assets controlled by the segment.
D) None of these.

Question 22

The preferred format for a segmented income statement emphasizes:

A) direct and common fixed costs.
B) variable and fixed costs.
C) operating expenses and fixed costs.
D) variable costs and operating expenses.

Question 23

Patrick Company manufactures a single product. The original budget for April was based on expected production of 12,000 units; actual production for April was 10,600 units. The original budget and actual costs for the manufacturing department are shown below:

Question 24

_____________ allows managers to focus their attention on maximizing an amount of earnings above a minimum required ROI:

A) Optimization
B) The DuPont model
C) Residual income
D) Transfer pricing

Question 25

ROI used to evaluate the performance of an investment center manager can sometimes lead to suboptimization. A performance measure designed to avoid the risk of suboptimization is:

A) operating income.
B) residual income.
C) segment income.
D) the DuPont model.

Question 26

Which of the following variances is not determined during an overhead variance analysis?

A) Volume variance.
B) Budget variance.
C) Spending variance.
D) Price variance.

Question 27

The term transfer price refers to:

A) The price at which a product or service is sold to a government entity.
B) The price at which a product or service is sold by one segment to another related segment.
C) The price at which a product or service is sold by a segment to an outside party.
D) None of these.

Question 28

The fixed manufacturing overhead variance caused by actual activity being different from the estimated activity used in calculating the predetermined overhead application rate is called the:

A) spending variance.
B) budget variance.
C) efficiency variance.
D) volume variance.

Question 29

If the net of all variances is immaterial relative to the total production costs incurred during the period, the net variance is:

A) treated as an adjustment to cost of goods sold.
B) ignored.
C) treated as an adjustment to work in process, finished goods, and cost of goods sold.
D) treated as an adjustment to manufacturing overhead.

Question 30

How is performance evaluated for a cost center?

A) Actual costs incurred compared to budgeted costs.
B) Actual segment margin compared to budgeted segment margin.
C) Comparison of actual and budgeted return on investment (ROI) based on segment margin and assets controlled by the segment.
D) None of these.

Question 31

Which of the following is a true statement pertaining to segment income statements?

A) Only present the individual segments' net income, not total company net income.
B) Only include variable costs.
C) Do not present a segment margin.
D) Do not include arbitrarily allocated common fixed expenses when calculating segment margin.
E) All of these.

Question 32

What should the decision rule be to determine what budget variances to investigate?

A) Investigate unfavorable variances only.
B) Investigate favorable variances only.
C) Investigate if the variance is significant.
D) Investigate all variances.

Question 33

If the net variance of a business using standard costing is significant relevant to total production cost, the net variance should be:

A) assigned to cost of goods sold.
B) allocated between WIP and FG inventories and cost of goods sold.
C) carried forward to the next accounting period.
D) None of these.

Question 34

The part of the variable overhead budget variance due to the difference between actual hours required and standard hours allowed for the work done is called the:

A) variable overhead spending variance.
B) variable overhead budget variance.
C) variable overhead efficiency variance.
D) variable overhead volume variance.

Question 35

A favorable materials quantity variance would occur if:

A) more material is purchased than is used.
B) actual pounds of materials used were less than the standard pounds allowed.
C) actual labor hours used was greater than the standard labor hours allowed.
D) actual pounds of materials used was greater than the standard pounds allowed.

Question 36

The part of the variable overhead budget variance due to the difference between actual variable overhead cost and the standard cost allowed for the actual inputs used is called the:

A) variable overhead spending variance.
B) variable overhead budget variance.
C) variable overhead efficiency variance.
D) variable overhead volume variance.

Question 37

A set of integrated financial and operating performance measures that communicate an organization's priorities associated with achieving strategic goals is known as a:

A) balanced scorecard.
B) segment report.
C) responsibility report.
D) master budget.

Question 38

The cost formula for the maintenance department of the Eifel Co. is $6,500 per month plus $3.50 per machine hour used by the production department.
a. Calculate the maintenance cost that would be budgeted for the month of May in which 5,700 machine hours are planned to be used.
b. Prepare an appropriate performance report for the maintenance department assuming that 5,860 machine hours were actually used in the month of May, and the total maintenance cost incurred was $28,010.

Question 39

April Corporation developed the following per-unit standards for its product: 2 pounds of direct materials at $3.75 per pound. Last month, 2,000 pounds of direct materials were purchased for $7,600. The direct materials price variance for last month was:

A) $3,800 favorable.
B) $200 favorable.
C) $100 unfavorable.
D) $200 unfavorable.

Question 40

How is performance evaluated for a profit center?

A) Actual costs incurred compared to budgeted costs.
B) Actual segment margin compared to budgeted segment margin.
C) Comparison of actual and budgeted return on investment (ROI) based on segment margin and assets controlled by the segment.
D) None of these.

Question 41

The standards for one case of Peardrax are:

Question 42

The Eastern Division of XYZ, Inc., has operating income of $32,000 on sales revenue of $320,000. Divisional operating assets are $160,000 and management of XYZ has determined that a minimum return of 10% should be expected from all investments.
(a.) Using the DuPont model, calculate the Eastern Division's margin, turnover, and ROI.
(b.) Calculate the Eastern Division's residual income.

Question 43

GrandGlaze Co. is divided into three segments and is interested in preparing a segmented income statement in order to better understand the operating performance of each segment. Fixed expenses in each division currently include an allocation of general corporate expenses equal to 20% of the division's sales.

Question 44

The standards for one carton of Wonder Wax are:

Question 45

The Diamond Manufacturing Company uses a standard cost system for and applies overhead based on machine hours. The following information is available for June:

Question 46

Selected information about American Industries is presented below. American has three operating divisions and requires a 12% return on all investments:

Question 47

ABC, Inc., is segmented into three divisions and the company is concerned about the performance of Division Y. During your analysis of Division Y, you learn that $42,000 of the fixed expenses relate to general corporate expenses and had been allocated equally between the three divisions.

Question 48

The standards for one carton of Flavor Rite are:

Question 49

The standards for one case of Saycheles are: