Variance interpretation You have been asked to investigate some cost problems in the Assembly Department of Ruthenium Electronics Co., a consumer electronics company. To begin your investigation, you have obtained the following budget performance report for the department for the last quarter. Ruthenium Electronics Co.Assembly Department Quarterly Budget Performance Report Standard Quantity at Standard Rates Actual Quantity at Standard Rates Quantity Variances Direct labor 157,500 227,500 70,000 U Direct materials 297,500 385,000 87,500 U Total 455,000 612,500 157,500 U You also obtained the following reports: Ruthenium Electronics Co.Purchasing Department Quarterly Budget Performance Report Actual Quantity at Standard Rates Actual Quantity at Actual Rates Price Variance Direct materials 437,500 385,000 (52,500) F Ruthenium Electronics Co.Fabrication Department Quarterly Budget Performance Report Standard Quantity at Standard Rates Actual Quantity at Standard Rates Quantity Variances Direct labor 245,000 203,000 (42,000) F Direct materials 140,000 140,000 0 Total 385,000 343,000 (42,000) F You also interviewed the Assembly Department supervisor. Excerpts from the interview follow: Q: What explains the poor performance in your department? A: Listen, youve got to understand what its been like in this department recently. Lately, it seems no matter how hard we try, we cant seem to make the standards. Im not sure what is going on, but weve been having a lot of problems lately. Q: What kind of problems? A: Well, for instance, all this Quarter weve been requisitioning purchased parts from the material storeroom, and the parts just didnt fit together very well. Im not sure what is going on, but during most of this quarter, weve had to scrap and sort purchased partsjust to get our assemblies put together. Naturally, all this takes time and material. And thats not all. Q: Go on. A: All this Quarter the work we've been receiving from the Fabrication Department has been shoddy. I mean, maybe around 20% of the stuff that comes in from Fabrication just cant be assembled. The fabrication is all wrong. As a result we've had to scrap and rework a lot of the stuff. Naturally, this has just shot our quantity variances. Interpret the variance reports in light of the comments by the Assembly Department supervisor.
