Question

Dawson Toys, Ltd., produces a toy called the Maze. The company has recently established a standard cost system to help control costs and has established the following standards for the Maze toy:Direct materials: 6 microns per toy at $1.50 per micron Direct labor: 1.3 hours per toy at $21 per hourDuring July, the company produced 3,000 Maze toys. Production data for the month on the toy follow:Direct materials: 25,000 microns were purchased at a cost of $1.48 per micron. 5,000 of these microns were still in inventory at the end of the month.Direct labor: 4,000 direct labor-hours were worked at a cost of $88,000.Required: 1. Compute the following variances for July:a. The materials price and quantity variances.b. The labor rate and efficiency variances.

Answer 1

Answer:

1. a. The materials price and quantity variances

Material price variance: Standard cost per micron is $1.50 and actual cost per micron is $1.48. So, price variance is 1.48 - 1.5 = $(0.02) per micron

Quantity variance: Based on standard bill of material, Dawson Toys need 3,000 x 6 = 18,000 microns to produce 3,000 Maze toys. Actual consumption volume is 25,000 - 5,000 = 20,000 microns. So, quantity variance is 20,000 - 18,000 = 2,000 microns.

1. b. The labor rate and efficiency variances

Actual labor rate  = Actual labor cost / Actual hour = 88,000/4,000 = $22 per hour.

Efficiency variance = Actual labor rate - Standard labor rate = 22 - 21 = $1 per hour.

2. Prepare a brief explanation of the possible causes of each variance.

Direct material cost variance: Total actual material cost is 20,000 x 1.48 = $29,600, higher than standard material cost of 18,000 x 1.5 = $27,000. This is mainly due to higher production waste as compared to standards.

Direct labor cost variance: Total actual labor cost is $88,000, higher than standard labor cost of 4,000 x 21 = $84,000. This is mainly due to lower labor rate per hour than expected.

Explanation: