Able Control Company_Overhead Variances

  

Able Control Company, which manufactures electrical switches, uses a standard cost system and carries allinventory at standard cost. The standard factory overhead cost per switch is based on DLHs.

Problem Information

Variable overhead 5 hours at $8.00 /hour $40.00Fixed overhead* 5 hours at $12.00 /hour $60.00Total standard overhead cost per unit produced $100.00

* Based on a practical capacity of 300,000 DLHs per month.

The following information is for the month of October:Actual units produced 56,000Practical capacity (in units) 60,000Actual DLHs worked 275,000Actual DL cost incurred $2,550,000Actual variable overhead costs incurred $2,340,000Actual fixed overhead costs incurred $3,750,000

The production manager argued during the last performance review that the company should use a more up-to-date basefor charging factory overhead costs to production. She commented that her factory had been highly automated in the lasttwo years and, as a result, now has hardly any labor. The factory hires only highly skilled workers to set up production runsand to do periodic adjustments of machinery whenever the need arises.

Requirements

1. Compute the following for Able Control Company:a. The fixed overhead spending variance for October.b. The factory overhead production-volume variance for October.c. The variable overhead spending variance for October.d. The variable overhead efficiency variance for October.2. Comment on the implications of the variances and suggest any action that the firm should take to improveits operations.