Production Cost Variance Analyses Essay Example

Production Cost Variance Analyses Essay Typically, one number represents what actually happened, that is, measured performance. The other number is a performance standard, such as a standard cost, a budget, or historical performance (what happened in the past, such as last month or last year). A variance analysis involves the decomposition of the variance into the individual factors that caused the variance. There is no one way to do variance analyses; many types of variance analyses can be appropriate in certain situations. Some involve comparisons of actual and expected results for individual line items in the accounting records. For example, managers might be interested to know that actual expenses were greater than gutted expenses because travel expenses were higher than expected, or that sales were lower than expected because one large customer did not order its normal quantity of goods. Other variance analyses involve the simultaneous investigation of the effects of prices, volumes, production or sales mixes, and exchange rates. Managers perform these variance analyses because they provide important insights about problems (or opportunities) that might exist. This chapter describes techniques for analyzing production cost variances in a way that provides managers with useful insights in controlling the various organizational elements that affect the performance of the production function. Most manufacturing companies use the standard sets of production variance analyses that are described in this chapter. Chapter 21 discusses variance analyses for other income v. TTS s, Ii-r statement elements. 622 Part 2 Management Accounting Direct Material and Labor Variances TX Direct Material be. The standard direct material cost of one unit of product (I. E. , one unit of stout) is found by multiplying the quantity of material (input) that should be needed for producing one unit of put times the price that should be paid per unit of material input (e. G. , 9 pounds per remit of output at $4 per A standard cost represen ts what the cost should $36 per unit of output). We will write a custom essay sample on Production Cost Variance Analyses specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Production Cost Variance Analyses specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Production Cost Variance Analyses specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer T}nor total standard direct material cost for an accounting period is the standard material cost per unit of output multiplied by the number of units produced in that period (e. 9. , if 100 units are produced, the total standard material cost is $3,600). This total standard material cost ($3,600) also can be calculated by multiplying the total standard quantity of material (900 pounds) by the standard cost per unit of material $4 per pound). The total standard quantity of 900 pounds is 100 units produced times 9 pounds per unit. Similarly, the actual direct material cost of one unit of stout is the actual quantity of material input used in producing that unit times the canal price paid per unit of material. The total actual direct material cost for a period is the sum of these actual costs for all the units produced in the period The differ,once between the total standard material cost and the total actual material cost of the goods actually prà ©cised direct material cost variance. That means that dirt mated variances are based on the actual putout quantity of a period; planned or budgeted output less play no part in the Ana$Russ. Because both the standard and accrual material cost totals were computed by multiplying a physical input quantity (e. G. , if pounds) by a price per unit of input (e. G- $4 per pound), it is possible decomposability material costarring into aquantitycomponentandaprice component,NT Specifically, these component,ants are as felons: pound 1 . The fact that the actual quantity of material used for the stout produced offered from the standard quantity causes the material usage finance (also called the yield variance or simply the quantity variance). . Theft TNT the curia price of each unit of material input tittered from the standardize causes the materialistic variance The algebraic sum of these two variances is the total marital variance{hat is, the difference between total actual direct material costs for the period and total standard direct mated costs. Fifth companys standard cost eastern includes only one account -f for material variance, is sum is the mammoth that would appease in that count. Favorable and Unfavorable Wariness If actual cost is Lorene than standard cost, the variance is said to ; if the reverse, the variance? is said table unfavorable. As explained in Chapter 19, favorable variances layer as credits in variance accords whereas irremovable variances appear as debits. We shall use fees adjectives in the description that follows. Hewer, it should be recognized deferrable in this sense does not necessarily mean that performance was good; it means only that actual costs were laurel +Han standard costs. The As pointed out in Chapter 19, some compartmentalized cost $items have two material variance accounts. Such slotted identify material price variance when the. Inertial is received into materials inventory. When this is done, the material price variance is baaed on the quantity of materials received doing the period rather than the quantity that was USDA during the period. In these systems the material usage variance is developed when materials are sued to production, as shown in Illustration 19-2. 0 Unction Astringencys$sees 623 interpretation of these variances, once they have been identified, is discussed eater. Lower costs can even indicate a problem because they might be the result, for example, of using inferior quality materials. Formulas The commonly used rules for finding the two direct material variances are as follows: 1 . The material usage Viviane is the difference between total standard quantity and total actual quantity femoral input, with each total quantity partici pated standard price per unit of material. Both total quantities are based on the number of units of output actually produced. 2. The malarial price variance is the difference between the standard price ND the actual price per unit of material input, multiplied by the actual quantity of material used- Using the symbol A (delta) to stand for the difference between an actual amount and a standard amount, these rules can be stated as : A Quantity * Standard price price variance : A price * Actual quantity Usage variance Example Each unit of Product X is supposed to require 9 pounds of direct material costing $4 per pound.

Modelling data is concerned with representing real life situations Essay Example

Modelling data is concerned with representing real life situations Essay Example Modelling data is concerned with representing real life situations Essay Modelling data is concerned with representing real life situations Essay Modelling is concerned with representing real life situations. Variables can be changed with a model to find out different outcomes. Modelling has a number of advantages: * It is cheaper to set up a computer model than build the physical model. * The computer model can be changed modified quickly and easily to allow the user to view the effects of changing variables. * You can reset your test as often as you like. * Dangerous situations or conditions can be modelled safely. * Using a computer model speeds up the overall development process. Below are also some various disadvantages: * A computer model may not completely reflect real life situations. * Answers and results are only as good as the model. * Humans are unpredictable in nature so the model may be considered unreliable. The spreadsheet package has been adopted for this modelling situation. This is a package which models and processes numerical data. It is made up of a grid into which numbers are entered. The program contains many mathematical, statistical and financial calculations, which can be applied to the numbers. Spreadsheets can also present the numbers in the form of graphs. Spreadsheet packages come with a library of formulae and functions as part of the program. There are formulae for financial calculations, for handling dates and times, for mathematical and statistical work and for logical expressions. The spreadsheet may contain numbers, text, dates and formulas. Each cell, or a block cells may be formatted so that the contents of the cell is displayed in different ways. When a cell is selected, the contents of the cell are shown on the editing bar but the results of any calculation are displayed in the cell. The power of a spreadsheet comes from its ability to do calculations with numbers. The contents of one cell can be calculated from other cells in the sheet. SITUATION: The Tasty Bakery LTD is a small independent bakery operating in Finchley. Currently all sales information and prices are calculated and processed manually. The management has decided that this is not the most efficient way of keeping track of price increases, unit sales, total sales and total revenue. Currently the companys sales information and prices are calculated and processed manually. The disadvantages of the present method adopted by the company are numerous. Firstly, the manual method takes up valuable space, as files would be stored in filling cabinets. This method would prove difficult in locating specific files and records. Secondly, amendments to records cannot easily be done as they are written on paper, and the paper can easily be damaged or lost. Consequently transportation from place to place of the files would be difficult and tedious. I aim to solve the bakerys problem by constructing and designing a spreadsheet that shall assist the bakery in keeping track of price increases, unit sales, total sales, and the total revenue. The spreadsheet will allow the bakery to store data, such as items being sold, and the selling and buying price of products. It will also store daily and weekly sales and profits for each of the products and calculate the total revenue of the bakery. The spreadsheet will make it simplistic to update, change variables, and calculate profit and losses of the bakery efficiently. The results of the spreadsheet has made it simple for the Bakery to make decisions about which of their products are high in demand and yield the most profit for the bakery. From the results of the spreadsheet it can be seen that the bakery are buying their products for more than they are selling them. This loss can easily be spotted on the spreadsheet in contrast to bakerys previous manual method. Any decision to rectify this loss can be done on the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet contains many patterns, with various parts of the spreadsheet being related. The price relates to the cost; there is a constant proportionality rate between the cost of the product and its selling price. Hence, if the cost of a product is high, so too is its selling price. Another pattern would be the relationship between the revenue and sales. This means that the more sales that the company can make, the higher the revenue made. The revenue also relates to the cost to determine the bakerys profit. This profit can be obtained by subtracting the revenue from the cost. The model operates when the cost of the product has been ascertained. This then affects the selling price of the product, depending on the bakery management. The total sale of the products has to be entered in under the various days of the week. The sales are then cumulated together to give the total weekly sales. The spreadsheet calculates the Total cost by multiplying the cost of the product by its number of sales. This information is then cumulated together to ascertain the total weekly costs. A similar operation is done to obtain the total revenue. The multiplication of the products selling price and its number of sales, gives the total revenue. This is then cumulated to give the total weekly revenue. Finally, the spreadsheet calculates the profit by subtracting the revenue from the cost. This is the cumulated to ascertain the total weekly profit. Each cell has formulas, to which any data entered must comply. Changing the sales section in the spreadsheet to suit present requirements will cause an immediate change in the total cost, total revenue and total profit to comply with these changes. These automatic changes are due to the cells complying with their formula. I tried a number of What if scenarios on my spreadsheet. These were to increase the cost by 20, 40 and 60 per cent respectively. Before I carried out the What if scenarios I decided to make some predictions about what I thought the outcomes would be after the increases. * Because of the increases i 20% INCREASE: As can be seen from a 20% increase of the cost, in the total sales section, the spreadsheet has automatically altered the other sections accordingly. The new total weekly revenue is now à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½743.47 in contrast to the total weekly revenue prior to the increase, which was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½619.56. 40% INCREASE; From the 40% increase of the cost, in the sales section the new total weekly revenue is now à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½867.39, this is in contrast to the total weekly revenue prior to the increase, which was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½619.56. 60% INCREASE: As can be seen from a 60% increase of the cost, the total weekly revenue is now à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½991.30; this is in contrast to the total weekly revenue prior to the increase, which was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½619.56.

Places Named After Old Country Geographic Locations

Places Named After Old Country Geographic Locations What is the geographic connection between the province Nova Scotia in Canada and French New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean? The connection is actually in their names. Have you ever wondered why in many of the worlds centers of immigration like the United States, Canada, and Australia there are plenty of settlements with names like New Denmark, New Sweden, New Norway, New Germany, etc.? Even one of the Australian states is named New South Wales. These many new geographical places - New York, New England, New Jersey and many others in the New World are actually named after the original ones in the Old World. After the discovery of the Americas a necessity for new names appeared. The blank map needed to be filled in. Very often the new places were named after European geographical locations by just adding new to the original name. There are possible explanations for this choice a desire for commemoration, a feeling of homesickness, for political reasons, or due to the presence of physical similarities. It often turns out that the namesakes are more famous than the original ones, yet there a few new places that have disappeared in history. Famous "New Places New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico are the four new states in the United States. New York City, which gave the name to the state, has an interesting story. The English city of York is the father of its more famous new version. Before becoming part of the British North American colonies, New York was the capital of the colony known as New Netherland and bore the thematic name New Amsterdam. The small county Hampshire in the south of England gave its name to New Hampshire, in New England. The British crown dependency Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, is the original of New Jersey. Only in the case of New Mexico, there is no transatlantic connection. Its name has an easily explained origin related to the history of the U.S. and Mexico relations. There is also the case of New Orleans, the largest city in Louisiana, which historically has French origins. Being part of New France (present-day Louisiana) the city was named after an important man - the Duke of Orleans, Orleans is a city in the Loire valley in Central France. Famous Old Places Speaking of Spain, we have to mention the idea of New Spain, another example of a former overseas territory named after a country. New Spain consisted of the present-day Central American countries, some Caribbean islands and southwestern parts of the U.S. Its existence lasted exactly 300 years. Officially, it was established immediately after the collapse of the Aztec Empire in 1521 and ended with Mexicos independence in 1821. Other "Old" and "New" Connections The Romans labeled Scotland as Caledonia so the present French New Caledonia island in the Pacific is the new version of Scotland. New Britain and New Ireland are islands in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. The name New Guinea itself is chosen because of the natural similarities between the island and the Guinea region in Africa. The outdated British colonial name of the Pacific nation Vanuatu is New Hebrides. The old Hebrides are an archipelago off the west coast of Great Britain. Zealand is the largest Danish island on which the capital city Copenhagen is located. However, the country of New Zealand is definitely a more famous place than the European original. New Granada (1717-1819) was a Spanish viceroyalty in Latin America encompassing the territories of modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. Granada is a city and an important historical place in Andalusia, Spain. New Holland was Australias name for almost two centuries. The name was suggested by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman in 1644. Holland is presently part of the Netherlands. New Australia is a utopian settlement established in Paraguay by Australian socialists at the end of the nineteenth century.

The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business Master Essay

The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business Master - Essay Example As explained by the United States Supreme Court in Atlanta Motel v. United States, the purpose of the Act was that, All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, or national origin (1964: np). The main issue was whether there was a valid Congressional interest in preventing the disruption of interstate commerce. The Supreme Court found that transient guests needed accommodations and that the restriction of accommodations to blacks was a very real disruption to the interstate travel of black citizens and therefore of interstate commerce. Our casino offers accommodations, indeed it is part of a larger group which is dependent on interstate commerce in order to sell our products and services, and it therefore falls within the scope of interstate commerce. In addition, many of our Arab customers are, in fact, transient guests. Any recommendation that encourages discrimination or segregation would almost certainly violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Even our restaurants are covered by these prohibitions. In Katzenbach v.

Law of Investment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Law of Investment - Assignment Example Issues under the Relevant Legislation and the Law Relating To Negligence, Contract and Fiduciary Duty It is clear that there are legal issues in this case that concern fiduciary duty and negligence law. In the first place, the case states expressly that there is a contract between Charlie and Denise, or Bandito Financial Advisors and Planners. The agreement meets all the legal elements and felicity conditions needed to make a contract. Specifically, there is an offer being advanced for an acceptance. On the one hand, Denise and her financial advisory company are extending an offer to Charlie, the offer being the issuance of financial advice. Charlie, on the other hand, remits 300,000 dollars to Denise, thereby signifying his acceptance of the offer. The advisory services offered by Denise and the money exchanged signify the cooperation, as both Denise and Charlie are of legal age and sound mind. The latter means that they have entered a legal relation. There are formalities in the ag reement, and both parties entered the agreement intentionally. Again, there is a profound aspect of certainty. The Sales of Goods Act of 1896 clearly specifies all these conditions, thereby making the agreement between Charlie and Denise a full-fledged contract. ... A prudent and reasonable legal person could have ensured that it meets all the aspects of the bargain that were in the contract. Again, according to the Australian tort law, Denise and her company will be found guilty of having used misrepresentation. Misrepresentation may, in turn, emanate from the use of deceit, defamation, negligent advice, innocent misrepresentation, passing off and injurious falsehood. In the case at hand, it is clear that Denise used injurious falsehood since she presented herself as a licensed and qualified financial advisor, yet she is not. Australian tort law is strict in relation to negligence, since it acts on both willful failure and failure that stems from an oversight (Marshal 525). In the determination of negligence, the case Jaensch v Coffey set precedence that has been followed heretofore. In this case, there must be the determination of proximity between the defendant and the plaintiff as being sufficient enough to cause injury or loss to the plaint iff. In this case, it is obvious that Charlie and Denise interacted (in order to enter a contract of financial nature). It is this interaction that directly led to Charlie’s forfeiture of his 300,000 due to Denise’s injurious falsehood. In this case, the forfeiture of the money amounts to harm. Denise also uses negligent advice to rid Charlie of his money. She, for instance, wrongly advises Charlie that upon investing 300,000 dollars he will be able to make 10% profit during the first year and 25% profit by the third year. The culpability of Denise and her advisory agency is further compounded when the concept of fiduciary is introduced. By the term fiduciary duty, it is meant that the

Piagets Developmental Psychology Essay Example for Free

Piagets Developmental Psychology Essay Piaget (1896-1980) believed that there was a quantitative difference between the intelligence of adults, young children and older children. He believed adults have better knowledge of the world and because children do not use the same logic in there thinking. He believed that childrens logic changed as they developed through their four stages of life Piaget came to this conclusion after completing his cognitive development test. Unlike psychologist Siegler and Huges, Piaget is a theoretical psychologist and carried out many experiments to illustrate his theories. These stages have been critisied by many psychologist including Hughes, Siegler, Rose, Blank. Sensorimotor Stage Piaget believed that a new born had basic biological motivations, and acquired knowledge by accommodation and assimilation, and once a child has acquired these schemas it would be at equilibration. It has been argued that Piaget underestimated the intelligence of a newborn. Piagets sample did not illustrate a wide variety of children therefore his experiment cannot be related to every child at that relevant age. His study was also only preformed on his own children therefore results could have been bias. Similar experiments were devised by other psychologist giving different conclusions, indicating Piagets results were not always reliable. Piagets first stage stated that a baby (0-2) first explores the world using motor and reflex actions. For example a child reaches towards an object and after many attempts will be able to eventually grasp the object and then bring the object to its mouth and will continue to explore it uses the senses of taste and smell. A child is said to have completed this stage of development once they have obtained object permanence (a child understands that an object still exists even when it is not visible). This theory was tested by giving a 5-6 months old child a toy to play with, the toy was covered with a cloth and the babys behavior observed. Results showed that a baby immediately lost interest as if the object never existed. However when tested with a 10 month old child it would continue to reach for the toy although it could not see it. Another explanation is that the child did not think the toy had seized to exist but was distracted by the movement of the cloth, which is why the child looks away and appears to have forgot the toy. Bower and Wishart (1972) argued that it does still exist in a babies mind even when it may not be visible. There experiment was done on a baby less than four months; the baby was offered a toy but as it reached for the toy the lights were switched off this showed that even when the lights were off the child continued to reach for the toy. It can be argued that the child was not reaching out for the toy but was just reaching due to the discomfort of the sudden darkness. This study could also go against the ethics as the child could have been experiencing fear from the sudden loss sight. Pre-operational Stage At this stage a child develops symbolic thinking; another characteristic of this stage is egocentrism. Piaget devised a three mountain task to test this theory. A child was sat in front of a three mountains model, a doll was then placed at varies positions in the modeled mountains and pictures were presented, they were asked to pick the picture that represented what the doll could see. Four and five year olds selected the picture showing what they could see, this suggested that they thought the doll could see what they could identifying egocentrism. However most seven years old were able to identify the correct picture. Due to Piagets selection of children it was very difficult to apply his findings to others, his own children were used throughout most of his experiment and any others were from well educated backgrounds. It can be argued that this experiment lacked ecological validity as the child could not relate to the situation they were presented with. Hughes devised a task to test egocentrism in a child but relating to an everyday situation, children as young as three and a half answered the question correctly, and 90% of children tested altogether were able to give the correct answer. Concrete operational stage A child enters this stage when they understand the appearance of something may change although the item itself remains the same. Piaget tested this stage by setting out a row of counters in front of each child, than asking the child to make another row the same as the first one. Piaget would than spread out his row of counters and ask the child if there were still the same amount of counters. This experiment tested a childs conservation of numbers. Most seven year olds were able to answer this question correctly concluding by the age of seven children are able to conserve numbers. To test the conservation of liquid Piaget collected two identical glasses A + B and a taller thin container C and asked the child which container held more, he then transferred the liquid from A+B to C and asked the child again. When a child was able to identify that both containers held the same amount of liquid they had achieved the concrete operational stage. Many aspects of this test have been criticized, including the social context of the childs understanding. Rose and Blank argued that when a child is asked the same question twice they assumed there first answer was incorrect and changed their answer. When Rose and Blank replicated this experiment and only asked the question once most six years olds gave the correct answer. McGarriglr and Donaldson (1974) argued that as the adult changed the appearance children would assume this was significant so devised an experiment were the appearance of the items were changed accidently. Children tested were between four and six, results showed that more than half tested gave the correct answer. Confirming children conserve at a younger age than Piaget claimed. Formal Operational Stage A child shows logical thinking but generally needs to be able to work through sequences with actual objects. Once a child can manipulate ideas in their head it has entered the formal operational stage. Piaget tested this by giving each child string and weights and told them to find out which factors affects a complete swing of the pendulum they could vary the weights, length of string and strength of push. Piaget found children who had entered the formal operational stage approached the task systematically testing one variable at a time. Psychologist Robert Siegler (1979) tested children aged five and upwards, by using the balance beam test. Results showed that eventually the child would take into account the interaction between the weight and the disc but would not achieve this ability until they were between 13 and 17. This concluded that childrens cognitive development is based on acquiring and using rules in increasingly more complex situations instead of stages. Conclusion Piaget tested his children and well-educated professionals therefore making his findings ungeneralised and potentially bias. Subsequent questions relating to the childs individual answer may have led children to give the answer researchers were looking for. Piaget underestimated the ability of childrens social understanding. A childs perception of an adult the importance of a familiar context and the meaning of a second question all affect a childs performance. Weaknesses in Piaget experiment prevent children from showing what understood. Piaget overestimated the age at which children entered the formal operational stage (Siegler). As Piaget focused on individual children he failed to take social settings into account. He failed to show that development is continuous and not in stages Evidence suggests that environmental factors, ethics and gender could alter a childs development. Small samples and controllability of variables were not taken into account. Piagets had very little evidence to support his findings and believed that his finding could be applied to every child. Piagets focus on qualitative development has played an important role on education. Piaget opened the opportunities for others to learn and discover more on how children development.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Essay -- Crib Death SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or "crib death" is an abrupt and inexplicable death of an apparently healthy infant. Most of the cases involve infants from ages 1-12 months, and the event occurs during the night. Various theories have been postulated from research results but without consistency of the etiology. Since the death is sudden, prior diagnostic criteria or patterns are not available for correlation, although some near-miss infants have been followed. A number of possibilities have been documented in current literature, to include beta-endorphin changes, abnormal temperature regulation, pineal abnormalities, carotid body irregularities, lead poisoning, elevated fetal hemoglobin, brainstem immaturity, and cerebral hypoperfusion. The following is an overview of these pathologies in their relation to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. As with most physiological processes, several intermediate steps can lead to a certain event, thus making the mechanism more controlled. However, as more steps that are required, there arises a greater number of possible problems. SIDS is no exception. Most literature supports the view that victims of SIDS suffer a failure of the automatic control of respiration, producing periodic apnea and eventually death. Neural control of respiration involves three anatomical structures (Armstrong et al., 1982~. The first is the motor system, which contains the neurons which initiate and maintain respiration. These include the dorsal motor nucleus of the vague, the nucleus tractus solitarius, the nucleus ambiguous, the nucleus retro-ambiguous, the reticulo-spinal tracts in the anterior and lateral columns and the anterior horn cells of the cervical and thora... ...16:1122-1126, 1978. Koceard-Varo, G. The physiological role of the pineal gland as the masterswitch of life, turning on at birth breathing and geared to it the function of the autonomic nervous system. The cause of SIDS examined in this context. Medical Hypothesis, 34:122-126, 1991. Myer, E., Morris, D., et. al. Increased cerebrospinal fluid beta-endorphin immunoreactivity in infants with apnea and in siblings of victims of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. J. Pedia., 111:660-666, 1987. Quattrochi, J., McBride, P., and Yates, A. Brainstem immaturity in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: A quantitative rapid Golgi study of dendritic spines in 95 infants. Brain Research, 325:39-48, 1985. Takashima, S., Armstrong, D., Becker, L., et. al. Cerebral hypoperfusion in the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? Brainstem gliosis and vasculature. Ann. Neurol., 4:257-262, 1978.