8 3 Compute and Evaluate Labor Variances Principles of Accounting, Volume 2: Managerial Accounting

For example, a company is looking to hire more staff to meet the expected cost of labor in a production facility. Hiring new staff means that they will also be able to push out more total hours worked, resulting in more product. However, the rate that the new staff must be hired at is higher than the actual rate currently paid to employees. They calculate that hiring the extra staff would cost more than raising the hourly rates of the existing employees. So, they set a new standard rate, and existing employees enjoy a pay raise which helps morale. As a result, employees work harder since they have been rewarded for their efforts at the company, and the total hours required for the same amount of production go down.

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In this case, the actual hours worked per box are 0.20, the standard hours per box are 0.10, and the standard rate per hour is $8.00. This is an unfavorable outcome because the actual hours worked were more than the standard hours expected per box. As a result of this unfavorable outcome information, the company may consider retraining its workers, changing the production process to be more efficient, or increasing prices to cover labor costs. In this case, the actual hours worked per box are 0.20, the standard hours per box are 0.10, and the standard rate per hour is ?

3: Compute and Evaluate Labor Variances

Since the actual labor rate is lower than the standard rate, the variance is positive and thus favorable. Direct labor rate variance is very similar in concept to direct material price variance. The variance is unfavorable because more materials were used than the standard quantity allowed to complete the job. If the standard quantity allowed had exceeded the quantity actually used, the materials usage variance would have been favorable. Materials usage variance Because the standard quantity of materials used in making a product is largely a matter of physical requirements or product specifications, usually the engineering department sets it. But if the quality of materials used varies with price, the accounting and purchasing departments may perform special studies to find the right quality.

How Standard Labor Rates are Created

If the actual price had exceeded the standard price, the variance would be unfavorable because the costs incurred would have exceeded the standard price. We do not show variances with a negative or positive but at the absolute value with favorable or unfavorable specified. The combination of the two variances can produce one overall total direct labor cost variance. We have demonstrated how important it is for managers to beaware not only of the cost of labor, but also of the differencesbetween budgeted labor costs and actual labor costs. This awarenesshelps managers make decisions that protect the financial health oftheir companies.

Labor Efficiency Variance

If the cost of labor includes benefits, and the cost of benefits has changed, then this impacts the variance. If a company brings in outside labor, such as temporary workers, this can create a favorable labor rate variance because the company is presumably not paying their benefits. An unfavorable materials quantity variance occurred because the pounds of materials used were greater than the pounds expected to be used. This could occur if there were inefficiencies in production or the quality of the materials was such that more needed to be used to meet safety or other standards.

2: Introduction to Labor Variances

  1. As shown in Table 8.1, standard costs have pros and cons to consider when using them in the decision-making and evaluation processes.
  2. See this article on the four major advantages of standard costing to learn more.
  3. In this case, the actual hours worked per box are \(0.20\), the standard hours per box are \(0.10\), and the standard rate per hour is \(\$8.00\).
  4. To reduce this possibility, performance should be measured on multiple outcomes, not simply on standard cost variances.
  5. The starting point is the determination of standards against which to compare actual results.

In this case, the actual hours worked are \(0.05\) per box, the standard hours are \(0.10\) per box, and the standard rate per hour is \(\$8.00\). The unfavorable labor rate variance is not necessarily caused by paying employees more wages than they are entitled to receive. Favorable rate variances, on the other hand, could be caused by using less-skilled, cheaper labor in the production process.

Standard Costing Advantages Explained

If, however, the actual rate of pay per hour is greater than the standard rate of pay per hour, the variance will be unfavorable. An unfavorable outcome means you paid workers more than anticipated. Recall from Figure 10.1 that the standard rate for Jerry’s is$13 per direct labor hour and the standard direct labor hours is0.10 per unit. Figure 10.6 shows how to calculate the labor rateand efficiency variances given the actual results and standardsinformation. Review this figure carefully before moving on to thenext section where these calculations are explained in detail. (Figure) shows the connection between the direct labor rate variance and direct labor time variance to total direct labor variance.

Enter the actual hours worked, the actual rate paid, and the standard rate pay into the calculator to determine the labor rate variance. (Figure)Case made 24,500 units during June, using 32,000 direct labor hours. They expected to use 31,450 hours per the standard cost card. A direct labor rate variance is the actual rate paid being different from the standard rate. However, a positive value of direct labor rate variance may not always be good.

8.00, and the actual hours worked per box are 0.10 hours. In this case, the actual rate per hour is \(\$9.50\), the standard rate per hour is \(\$8.00\), and the actual hours worked per box are \(0.10\) hours. Standard costs are used to establish theflexible budget for direct labor.

Doctors know the standard and try to schedule accordingly so a variance does not exist. If anything, they try to produce a favorable variance by seeing more patients in a quicker time frame to maximize their compensation potential. United Airlines asked abankruptcy court to allow a one-time 4 percent pay cut for pilots,flight attendants, mechanics, flight controllers, and ticketagents. The pay cut was proposed to last as long as the companyremained in bankruptcy and was expected to provide savings ofapproximately $620,000,000. How would this unforeseen pay cutaffect United’s direct labor rate variance? Thedirect labor rate variance would likely be favorable, perhapstotaling close to $620,000,000, depending on how much of thesesavings management anticipated when the budget was firstestablished.

With either of these formulas, the actual hours worked refers to the actual number of hours used at the actual production output. The standard rate per hour is the expected hourly rate paid to workers. The standard debt service coverage ratio hours are the expected number of hours used at the actual production output. If there is no difference between the actual hours worked and the standard hours, the outcome will be zero, and no variance exists.

Labor rate variance is the total difference between the total paid amount for a certain amount of labor and the standard amount that the labor usually commands. A labor standard may assume that a certain job classification will perform a designated task, when in fact a different position with a different pay rate may be performing the work. Employees have a different level of experience than standards; the labor market is tighter or looser than expected; contract renegotiation. So Jake started work, and it isn’t going as well as expected. The time it takes to make a pair of shoes has gone from .5 to .6 hours. Mary hopes it will  better as the team works together, but right now, she needs to reevaluate her labor budget and get the information to her boss.

The standard cost for labor allowed for the output was ? 90,000, and there was an unfavorable direct labor time variance of ? Another possibility is that management may have built the favorable variance into the standards. Management may overestimate the material price, labor rate, material quantity, or labor hours per unit, for example.

However, we do not need to investigate if the variance is too small which will not significantly impact the decision making. The human resources manager of Hodgson Industrial Design estimates that the average labor rate for the coming year for Hodgson’s production staff will be $25/hour. This estimate is based on a standard mix of personnel at different pay rates, as well as a reasonable proportion of overtime hours worked. Note that both approaches—the direct labor efficiency variancecalculation and the alternative calculation—yield the sameresult.

These two factors are accounted for by isolating two variances for materials—a price variance and a usage variance. Each bottle has a standard labor cost of \(1.5\) hours at \(\$35.00\) per hour. Each bottle has a standard labor cost of 1.5 hours at $35.00 per hour. As with direct materials variances, all positive variances areunfavorable, and all negative variances are favorable. Direct labor rate variance determines the performance of human resource department in negotiating lower wage rates with employees and labor unions. A positive value of direct labor rate variance is achieved when standard direct labor rate exceeds actual direct labor rate.

Now you can plug in the numbers for the Band Book Company. Band Book’s direct labor standard rate (SR) is $12 per hour. Because Band made 1,000 cases of books this year, employees should have worked 4,000 hours (1,000 cases x 4 hours per case). However, employees actually worked 3,600 hours, for which they were paid an average of $13 per hour. Jerry (president and owner), Tom (sales manager), Lynn(production manager), and Michelle (treasurer and controller) wereat the meeting described at the opening of this chapter. Michellewas asked to find out why direct labor and direct materials costswere higher than budgeted, even after factoring in the 5 percentincrease in sales over the initial budget.

Our Spending Variance is the sum of those two numbers, so $6,560 unfavorable ($27,060 − $20,500). Our Spending Variance is the sum of those two numbers, so $6,560 unfavorable ($27,060 − $20,500). Our mission is to empower readers with the most factual and reliable financial information possible to help them make informed decisions for their individual needs. This team of experts helps https://www.business-accounting.net/ Finance Strategists maintain the highest level of accuracy and professionalism possible. At Finance Strategists, we partner with financial experts to ensure the accuracy of our financial content. For information pertaining to the registration status of 11 Financial, please contact the state securities regulators for those states in which 11 Financial maintains a registration filing.

Thus positive values of direct labor rate variance as calculated above, are favorable and negative values are unfavorable. Doctors, for example, have a time allotment for a physical exam and base their fee on the expected time. Insurance companies pay doctors according to a set schedule, so they set the labor standard. They pay a set rate for a physical exam, no matter how long it takes. If the exam takes longer than expected, the doctor is not compensated for that extra time. This would produce an unfavorable labor variance for the doctor.

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