CHAPTER 15 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 15-1 Q15-1. Profit planning encompasses (a) sales estimat- ing and sales planning programs; (b) budgeting programs for control of all costs, both manufac- turing and nonmanufacturing; (c) planning and programming additions to or deletions from working capital and plant investment; and, (d) a review of all factors that have an impact on return on investment, both from a short-term viewpoint of one year and longer periods of time. The profit-planning function must not be merely financial in scope. It must disclose the methods and programs by which the financial goals are to be achieved. Q15-2. A budget is the expected target that manage- ment strives to achieve, whereas a forecast is a level of revenue or cost that an organization predicts will occur. Q15-3. The three approaches for setting profit objec- tives are: (a) A pr ior i. Management specifies a given rate of return to be achieved in the long run and then draws up plans for achieving that rate. (b) A poster ior i. Management draws up plans and then sets the rate resulting from the plans. (c) Pr agmatic. Management uses a target profit standard that has been tested empirically and sanctioned by experience. Q15-4. Long-range planning deals with specific areas of the company’s plans, such as future sales, long-term capital expenditures, research and development activities, finan- cial requirements, and the profit goal. Short- range budgeting places the planning and particularly control into periods of three, six, or twelve months. Q15-5. A budget is a detailed financial statement of the organization’s strategy. It converts general strategy statements into specific plans of action, measured financially. It is related to control, because it is the fundamental guide- line for what the organization should do. Thus, it is the benchmark against which actual perfor- mance is compared. This process of compari- son is a vital part of the control function in the organization. Q15-6. In carrying out management’s functions of planning, organizing, and control for the development of a budgetary control program, it is necessary to: (a) organize the budget committee (b) organize the entire budgetary control program (c) plan sales with the sales manager (d) determine the finished goods inventory requirement in harmony with the sales budget (e) plan production with the production man- ager based on the sales budget (f) meet with heads of all departments—both producing and service—relative to direct materials, direct labor, and factory over- head costs required for the production budgeted (g) establish materials purchase require- ments based on production planning, a department’s materials requirements, or the production budget (h) establish expense budgets with marketing, administrative, and financial division heads (i) budget capital expenditures and prepare a research and development budget. (j) develop a cash budget (k) coordinate and summarize company- wide budgets into a master budget— summarized in the budgeted income statement and balance sheet Q15-7. The periodic budget represents a formal com- munication channel within a company for the following reasons: (a) The periodic budget involves a formal commitment on the part of management to take positive actions to make actual events correspond to the formal budget. (b) The periodic budget is usually reviewed and approved by a higher authority and, once approved, is changed only in unusu- al specified circumstances. (c) The periodic budget contains explicit statements of the implementation of man- agement objectives for a period of time, published to all parties with control responsibility.
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CHAPTER 15
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
15-1
Q15-1. Profit planning encompasses (a) sales estimat-ing and sales planning programs; (b) budgetingprograms for control of all costs, both manufac-turing and nonmanufacturing; (c) planning andprogramming additions to or deletions fromworking capital and plant investment; and, (d) areview of all factors that have an impact onreturn on investment, both from a short-termviewpoint of one year and longer periods oftime. The profit-planning function must not bemerely financial in scope. It must disclose themethods and programs by which the financialgoals are to be achieved.
Q15-2. A budget is the expected target that manage-ment strives to achieve, whereas a forecast isa level of revenue or cost that an organizationpredicts will occur.
Q15-3. The three approaches for setting profit objec-tives are:(a) A priori. Management specifies a given
rate of return to be achieved in the longrun and then draws up plans for achievingthat rate.
(b) A posteriori. Management draws up plansand then sets the rate resulting from theplans.
(c) Pragmatic. Management uses a targetprofit standard that has been testedempirically and sanctioned by experience.
Q15-4. Long-range planning deals with specificareas of the company’s plans, such as futuresales, long-term capital expenditures,research and development activities, finan-cial requirements, and the profit goal. Short-range budgeting places the planning andparticularly control into periods of three, six,or twelve months.
Q15-5. A budget is a detailed financial statement ofthe organization’s strategy. It converts generalstrategy statements into specific plans ofaction, measured financially. It is related tocontrol, because it is the fundamental guide-line for what the organization should do. Thus,it is the benchmark against which actual perfor-mance is compared. This process of compari-son is a vital part of the control function in theorganization.
Q15-6. In carrying out management’s functions ofplanning, organizing, and control for thedevelopment of a budgetary control program,it is necessary to:(a) organize the budget committee(b) organize the entire budgetary control
program(c) plan sales with the sales manager(d) determine the finished goods inventory
requirement in harmony with the salesbudget
(e) plan production with the production man-ager based on the sales budget
(f) meet with heads of all departments—bothproducing and service—relative to directmaterials, direct labor, and factory over-head costs required for the productionbudgeted
(g) establish materials purchase require-ments based on production planning, adepartment’s materials requirements, orthe production budget
(h) establish expense budgets with marketing,administrative, and financial division heads
(i) budget capital expenditures and preparea research and development budget.
(j) develop a cash budget(k) coordinate and summarize company-
wide budgets into a master budget—summarized in the budgeted incomestatement and balance sheet
Q15-7. The periodic budget represents a formal com-munication channel within a company for thefollowing reasons:(a) The periodic budget involves a formal
commitment on the part of managementto take positive actions to make actualevents correspond to the formal budget.
(b) The periodic budget is usually reviewedand approved by a higher authority and,once approved, is changed only in unusu-al specified circumstances.
(c) The periodic budget contains explicitstatements of the implementation of man-agement objectives for a period of time,published to all parties with controlresponsibility.
15-2 Chapter 15
15-2
(d) Comparison of actual results with theperiodic budget forms the basis for man-agement control, motivation, and perfor-mance evaluation.
Q15-8. Budgets are required for planning, monitor-ing, and motivating, and because theyinclude estimates, they always involveuncertainty. The process of budget prepara-tion forces identification of variables andattempts at estimation. Reiteration shouldimprove the process, and the processshould cause a positive attitude to attaingoals. Of course, a poorly estimated budgetcan cause dysfunctional behavior.
In this situation, the budget should pro-vide incentive for going after bids. The inclu-sion of budgeted and actual contributionmargin data in periodic reports offers anearly indication of below par contribution, orthe possible need to reduce bid prices, orother corrective action that may be required.CGA-Canada (adapted). Reprint withpermission.
Q15-9. All employees (including executive manage-ment) must accept the importance of budg-eting and be willing to participate fully inbudget preparation and implementation, orthe budget will not work.
Q15-10. (a) Effective use of budgeting should resultin better performance by the organiza-tion because of better performance bythe managers. The behavioral benefitlies in the ability of the budget and thebudgeting process to motivate man-agers to accomplish the organizationobjectives. This is done by using thebudget as a vehicle for communicatingcompany objectives, establishing sub-objectives in accord with managerobjectives, and providing a thoroughlyunderstood common basis for per-formance measurement and feedback.
(b) The budgeting process has been sub-ject to criticism by behavioral scientistsand others on several counts:(1) The most serious charge is that thebudgeting process fails to recognize thatindividuals may not accept companyobjectives as their own. The result islack of effort to achieve these objectives.(2) The level of objectives set may beestablished without regard to how this
will motivate the manager to achieve theobjectives. The results may includeunderachievement of potentially obtain-able levels of performance and/ordestruction of employee morale.(3) The budget is used as a pressuredevice to force conformity to and accep-tance of the objectives established inthe budget. This often results in employ-ees finding ways to “beat” the budgetrather than actually improving perform-ance.(4) The budget is administered byindividuals not directly involved in theoperating activity of the organizationand not particularly skillful in dealingwith people.
(c) The most serious problem that must beovercome in order to solve the problemsidentified by the criticisms in (b) is thelack of understanding of the forces thatcause managers to act as they do. Itmust be recognized that the traditionalassumptions underlying the budget andbudget process are not entirely valid.Such assumptions include:(1) Managers automatically accept com-pany objectives as their own.(2) Tight standards are best becausethey represent hard-to-reach goals,which most people strive to achieve.(3) Upper levels of management arebest equipped to establish operatingsubobjectives.
It is necessary to recognize the behav-ioral influences (psychological and socio-logical) on the work of managers.
The most common specific recommen-dation is the use of participative budgeting,since it provides for an opportunity to identifyobjectives of the manager and company,increases the ability of both to develop oper-ating activities to reach the objectives, andenhances the likelihood of setting objectivesat levels effective in motivating managerstoward company goals.
Q15-11. Commercial expenses are grouped into func-tions by their actions or operating units.Thesefunctions are looked upon as departmentsand should be set along organizational linesin order to identify the expense with an autho-rized and responsible individual. Grouping by
Chapter 15 15-3
products and by territories may be desirableas well.
Q15-12. The budgeted income statement summa-rizes in one statement the results of thecomplete plan of action. It expresses infinancial terms the end results of proposedplans. It can also be used to test the ade-quacy or inadequacy of those plans.
Q15-13. The budgeted balance sheet reveals theexpected financial condition at the end of a
particular period. One of the measures ofthe adequacy of proposed operating andfinancial plans is the effect of the executionof these plans on the financial condition ofthe business. If the budgeted balance sheetshows a potential unsatisfactory condition,proposed plans can be reviewed and per-haps revised to produce satisfactory results.
EXERCISES
E15-1CHEM-TECH
Budget of Sales Revenue and Gross ProfitFor the Year 20B
Average Cost of Gross Sales Goods Profit
Sales in Price per Sold per per Sales GrossProduct Pounds* Pound** Pound*** Pound Revenue Profit Rex-Z 20,000 $34.50 $25.00 $9.50 $ 690,000 $190,000Sip-X 12,600 24.15 18.00 6.15 304,290 77,490Tok-Y 7,500 18.90 14.30 4.60 141,750 34,500
Production BudgetFor the Second Quarter Ending June 30, 20—
Units of Units of Units of Flop Olap Ryke
Sales forecast ........................................................... 21,000 37,500 54,000Add desired ending inventory (June 30)...................... 6,000 10,500 14,500Quantity required for the quarter.................................. 27,000 48,000 68,500Less beginning inventory (April 1) ............................... (5,500) (11,000) (14,500)Required production for the quarter ............................ 21,500 37,000 54,000
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Chapter 15 15-5
E15-3MAGIC ENTERPRISES
Production BudgetFor the Quarter Ending March 31, 20—
Moon Glow Enchanting Day DreamUnits required for sales..................................... 250,000 175,000 300,000 Add ending inventory of finished units ......... 15,000 10,000 20,000
Total units required ............................... 265,000 185,000 320,000 Less beginning inventory of finished units.... 16,000 12,000 25,000 Units to be transferred to finished goods....... 249,000 173,000 295,000 Add ending work in process inventory............ 4,200 2,000 6,000
253,200 175,000 301,000 Less beginning work in process inventory .... 2,000 1,800 6,400Equivalent units to be produced ..................... 251,200 173,200 294,600
E15-4(1)
Low Mid and and
Low Mid High Mid High Three Band Band Band Band Band Band
Units required to meet sales budget..... 200 300 400 250 350 200Add desired ending inventory ................ 40 30 50 50 50 30Total units required during period ........ 240 330 450 300 400 230Less beginning inventory ...................... (50) (30) (70) (20) (30) (20)Required production quantity................. 190 300 380 280 370 210
15-6 Chapter 15
E15-4 Concluded
(2) Materials purchases requirements:Per Unit Materials Requirements Total Materials Requirements
Produc- Feed- Feed-tion line line
Require- Metal Con- Metal Induc- Con-Model ment Tubing Inductors nectors Tubing tors nectorsLow band ..................... 190 10 feet 1 1 1,900 feet 190 190Mid band ..................... 300 7 1 1 2,100 300 300 High band .................... 380 5 1 1 1,900 380 380 Low and mid band ...... 280 17 2 1 4,760 560 280 Mid and high band...... 370 12 2 1 4,440 740 370Three band................... 210 22 3 1 4,620 630 210Quantity required to meet production budget ........................... 19,720 2,800 1,730 Add desired ending materials inventory .................................... 7,000 800 500 Total quantity of materials required for the period.................... 26,720 3,600 2,230Deduct materials on hand at the beginning of the period........ 5,000 1,000 500 Materials purchases requirements.............................................. 21,720 2,600 1,730
Total budgeted sales.............................................. $164,000
(2) Production budget for fourth quarter:Product
X Y ZBudgeted sales in units................................................. 4,500 2,000 3,000Desired ending inventory .............................................. 900 400 500Quantity required .......................................................... 5,400 2,400 3,500Beginning inventory....................................................... 600 500 400Required production ...................................................... 4,800 1,900 3,100
Chapter 15 15-7
E15-5 (Concluded)
(3) Materials usage budget for fourth quarter:
Planned Materials Required Per Unit Total Materials Required Pro-
Product duction A B C A B C X 4,800 3 1 2 14,400 4,800 9,600 Y 1,900 2 2 4 3,800 3,800 7,600Z 3,100 1 3 2 3,100 9,300 6,200
21,300 17,900 23,400
(4) Materials purchase budget for fourth quarter:Material
A B C TotalProduction requirement............................... 21,300 17,900 23,400Desired ending inventory ............................ 2,500 2,000 2,000Quantity required ........................................ 23,800 19,900 25,400Beginning inventory..................................... 2,000 1,500 2,500Quantity to be purchased............................ 21,800 18,400 22,900Unit cost ........................................................ $ .50 $ 2.00 $ 1.50Purchase requirement ................................. $10,900 $36,800 $34,350 $82,050
E15-6
(1)Tribolite Polycal Powder X
Units required to meet sales budget............................ 80,000 40,000 100,000Add ending inventory ................................................... 6,000 2,000 8,000
Total units required ........................................... 86,000 42,000 108,000Less beginning inventory ............................................. 5,000 4,000 10,000
Planned production ........................................... 81,000 38,000 98,000
15-8 Chapter 15
E15-6 (Concluded)(2)
Material Material BTribolite ........................ 81,000 × 1 = 81 000 kg 81,000 × 2 =162 000 kgPolycal .......................... 38,000 × 2 = 76 000 —Powder X ...................... — 98,000 × 1 = 98 000
157 000kg 260 000 kg
Add ending inventory.. 12 000 15 000169 000 kg 275,000 kg
Less beginninginventory....................... 9 500 11 000Units to be purchased. 159 500kg 264 000 kgCost per kilogram........ × $.20 × $.10Total cost of
Materials available for use .......................................... $3,100,000Ending inventory .......................................................... 600,000Cost of materials used................................................. $2,500,000
Total manufacturing cost ......................................................... $8,680,0003
Add beginning work in process inventory ............................. 100,000 $8,780,000
Deduct ending work in process inventory ............................. 300,000Cost of goods manufactured .................................................. $8,480,0002
Add beginning finished goods inventory ............................... 800,000Cost of goods available for sale.............................................. $9,280,000Deduct ending finished goods inventory ............................... 1,000,000Cost of goods sold .................................................................. $8,280,0001
1Earnings (6% of $20,000,000 = $1,200,000) ............................................... 10% of salesMarketing, administrative, and financial expenses ................................. 21
31% of sales Cost of goods sold ($8,280,000)................................................................. 69
100% of sales
2Cost of goods Ending finished Beginning finished Cost of goodssold + goods inventory – goods inventory = manufactured
$8,280,000 $1,000,000 $800,000 $8,480,000
Total manufacturing cost3Cost of goods Ending work in Beginning work in (materials, labor, and manufactured + process inventory – process inventory = factory overhead)
$8,480,000 $300,000 $100,000 $8,680,000
4Total manufac- Labor (50% of Cost of materialsturing cost – manufacturing cost) – used = Factory overhead $8,680,000 $4,340,000 $2,500,000 $1,840,000
5Cost of Ending Beginningmaterials + materials – materials = Materials
used inventory inventory purchases$2,500,000 $600,000 $500,000 $2,600,000
15-10 Chapter 15
E15-8PATZ COMPANY
Budgeted Income Statement Second Quarter, 20—
Sales ($500,000 first quarter sales × 2)................................... $1,000,000Cost of goods sold ($1,000,000 sales × (100% – 40%)) ........ 600,000Gross profit ($1,000,000 sales × 40%)..................................... $ 400,000Commercial expenses:
Administration (all fixed) ............................................ 30,000 210,000 Income before income tax........................................................ $ 190,000
Less cost of goods sold($6,000,000 × 1.05 quantity increase ×1.06 cost increase) ....................................................... 6,678,000
Gross profit................................................................................ $ 3,717,000 Less commercial expenses:
Marketing expenses($780,000 + $420,000 increase in advertising) $1,200,000
Administrative expenses ............................................. 900,000 2,100,000Operating income before taxes and interest.......................... $ 1,617,000 Less interest expense
($140,000 + ($400,000 asset increase × 10% rate)) 180,000Income before income tax........................................................ $ 1,437,000Less income tax expense ($1,437,000 × .40 tax rate)............ 574,800Net income................................................................................. 862,200
Direct labor—3 hours @ $9 ........................................... 27 Factory overhead—3 hours @ $2 per direct labor hour 6
$91
$91 × 9,000 units ............................................... 819,000Budgeted finished goods inventory,
December 31, 20B.............................................. $2,369,000
Chapter 15 15-13
P15-2(1)
ROLETTER COMPANYBudget for Production and Direct LaborFor the Quarter Ending March 31, 20B
MonthJanuary February March Quarter
Sales (units) .................................................. 10,000 12,000 8,000 30,000Add ending inventory* ................................. 16,000 12,500 13,500 13,500Total units required ..................................... 26,000 24,500 21,500 43,500Less beginning inventory............................ 16,000 16,000 12,500 16,000Units to be produced ................................... 10,000 8,500 9,000 27,500 Direct labor hours per unit ......................... × 2.0 × 2.0 × 1.5Total hours of direct labor timeneeded ......................................................... 20,000 17,000 13,500 50,500
Direct labor costs:Wages ($8.00 per DLH) ........................ $160,000 $136,000 $108,000 $404,000 Pension contributions
($.25 per DLH) ................................ 5,000 4,250 3,375 12,625 Workers’ compensation
insurance ($.10 per DLH) .............. 2,000 1,700 1,350 5,050 Employee medical insurance
($.40 per DLH) ................................ 8,000 6,800 5,400 20,200 Employer’s social security and
unemployment taxes($8.00 × .10 = $.80 per DLH).......... 16,000 13,600 10,800 40,400Total direct labor cost ................... $191,000 $162,350 $128,925 $482,275
*100% of the first following month’s sales plus 50% of the second following month’ssales.
15-14 Chapter 15
15-2 (Concluded)
2) (a) Components of the periodic budget, other than the production budget and the direct labor budget, that would also use the sales data include:
(1) the sales budget(2) the cost of goods manufactured and sold budget (3) the marketing and administrative expenses budget (4) the budgeted income statement
(b) Components of the periodic budget, other than the production budget and the direct labor budget, that would also use the production data include:
(1) the direct materials budget (2) the factory overhead budget (3) the cost of goods manufactured and sold budget
(c) Components of the periodic budget, other than the production budget andthe direct labor budget, that would also use the direct labor hour datainclude:
(1) the factory overhead budget (for determining the overhead application rate if based on direct labor hours)
(d) Components of the periodic budget, other than the production budget and the direct labor budget, that would also use the direct labor cost data include:
(1) the factory overhead budget (for determining the overhead application rate if based on direct labor dollars and for determining the cost of employee benefits attributable to wages earned by direct labor)(2) the cost of goods manufactured and sold budget (3) the cash budget(4) the budgeted income statement
Chapter 15 15-15
P15-3(1) Estimated sales for third quarter (July—September) ..................... 18,000
Less beginning inventory .................................................................. 5,600Production ............................................................................................ 18,000
(2) Material101 211 242
Units to be produced ........................................ 18,000 18,000 18,000Materials rate...................................................... × 6 × 4 × 2 Units of materials required ............................... 108,000 72,000 36,000 Add ending inventory:
141,600 94,400 47,200 Less beginning inventory ................................. 35,000 30,000 14,000 Purchases........................................................... 106,600 64,400 33,200 Cost per unit ...................................................... × $2.40 × $3.60 × $1.20Total cost of purchases..................................... $255,840 $231,840 $39,840
(3) Hours Total Total per Total Labor Labor
Process Production Unit Hours Rate Cost Forming .............................................18,000 .80 14,400 $8.00 $115,200 Assembly............................................18,000 2.00 36,000 5.50 198,000 Finishing ............................................18,000 .25 4,500 6.00 27,000
54,900 $340,200
(4) Expected annual production ................................................. 60,000 unitsActual production through June 30...................................... 27,000Expected production during last six months of 20A .......... 33,000 unitsVariable factory overhead per unit ($162,000 ÷ 27,000)...... × $6.00Budgeted variable factory overhead .................................... $198,000Budgeted fixed factory overhead.......................................... 93,000Total budgeted factory overhead .......................................... $291,000
15-16 Chapter 15
P15-4
(1) Revised Sales Budget in Units Based on the Index
Territories6-Month
I II III Other Total 1-lb. package................................. 9,0001 13,500 10,800 551,700 585,000 2-lb. package................................. 10,8002 16,200 10,800 704,700 742,500
January.............................. 5,000 $ 6,500 2,000 $ 2,400 7,000 $ 8,900 February ............................ 2,000 2,800 1,000 1,200 3,000 4,000 March ................................. — — 3,000 3,750 3,000 3,750 April ................................. 8,000 12,000 3,000 3,000 11,000 15,000 May ................................. 3,000 4,500 — — 3,000 4,500 June ................................. 4,000 6,400 4,000 4,000 8,000 10,400
22,000 $32,200 13,000 $14,350 35,000 $46,550
Chapter 15 15-17
P15-4 (Concluded)
(4)Materials Requirements for Production
Production of 585,000 1-lb. packages.................................................. 585,000 lbs.Production of 742,500 2-lb. packages.................................................. 1,485,000Total materials requirements for six months ..................................... 2,070,000 lbs.
Three bushels of grain in the proportions of 2R:1S produce 198 lbs. of finished prod-uct. R weighs 70 lbs. per bushel and S weighs 80 lbs. per bushel.
Weight perGrain Bushels Bushel Lbs.
R 2 70 lbs. 140S 1 80 lbs. 80
22010% loss .......................................................... 22Weight of finished product ............................ 198
Since each 198 lbs. of product calls for 220 lbs. of grain, the total weight of grainrequired for 2,070,000 lbs. is:
(5)Materials Account (Fifo Basis)
Grain R Grain S Bu. Cost Bu. Cost
Inventory, January 1..................................... 10,000 $12,000 3,000 $ 3,000 Purchases ..................................................... 22,000 32,200 13,000 14,350 Total ......................................................... 32,000 $44,200 16,000 $17,350Put into production:
Add beginning inventory of finished goods(Schedule 8) ......................................................... 57,000
Cost of goods available for sale.............................................. $2,351,900 Less ending inventory of finished goods
(Schedule 8) ......................................................... 62,875Cost of goods sold .................................................................. $2,289,025
15-28 Chapter 15
P15-7 (Concluded)
Schedule 10Budgeted Income Statement
AmountSales—all models (Schedule 1) ............................................... $4,015,000.00Cost of goods sold (Schedule 9) ............................................ 2,289,025.00Gross profit................................................................................ $1,725,975.00Marketing expense ............................................. $500,000Administrative expenses .................................. 300,000 800,000.00Income before income tax........................................................ $ 925,975.00Provision for income tax ......................................................... 462,987.50Net income................................................................................. $ 462,987.50
P15-8Schedule 1—Sales Budget
Economy ModelEastern US Western US Europe Asia Total
Total inventory.............. $1,942,000 $1,791,250
Schedule 11—Budgeted Cost of Goods Manufactured and Sold
Materials:Beginning inventory (Schedule 10) ...................................................... $ 160,750Add purchases (Schedule 4) ................................................................. 10,912,250Materials available for use ..................................................................... $11,073,000Less ending inventory (Schedule 10) .................................................. 135,000Cost of materials used in production (Schedule 5)............................. $10,938,000
Direct labor (Schedule 6) ........................................................................... 3,775,000Factory overhead (Schedule 8) .................................................................. 3,686,500Cost of goods manufactured during the period ..................................... $18,399,500Add finished goods beginning inventory (Schedule 10) ........................ 1,781,250Cost of goods available for sale ................................................................ $20,180,750Less finished goods ending inventory (Schedule 10)............................. 1,656,250Cost of goods sold...................................................................................... $18,524,500
Schedule 12—Budgeted Income Statement
Sales (from Schedule 1) ........................................................... $33,000,000Less cost of goods sold (Schedule 11) .................................. 18,524,500 Gross profit................................................................................ $14,475,500 Less commercial expenses:
(2) (a) The profit performance for 20B is forecast to be much poorer than in 20A. A lossafter income tax of $3.9 million is predicted, compared to a profit after incometax of $12.6 million. The company experienced the loss despite a 33% increasein unit sales volume. The major problem seems to be in the inability to raiseprices and/or in cost control. The costs rose in every area of activity:(1) Variable manufacturing costs per unit increased 7.5% (from $1.16 to $1.2467).(2) Fixed manufacturing costs increased $750,000, or 6.3%.(3) Marketing costs, excluding commissions, increased $16 million, or 36%.(4) General and administrative costs increased $3.5 million, or 15%.
(b) All areas will require special cost analysis because the costs in all areasincreased, but special attention should be paid to:(1) Production cost increases, because although relatively small in percentage,the dollar amount is high due to the volume of units.(2) Selling and promotion cost increases, because the rate of these costincreases was greater than the rate of sales increase.
15-38 Chapter 15
P 15-9 (Concluded)
The sales price was not increased in spite of the increased cost. The high salesvolume increase may be the result of too low a price. Further investigation intomarket price and price-volume relationship is needed.
A review of the balance sheet indicates a material deterioration in the company’sworking capital position. Inventory has more than doubled. This increaseappears to have been financed by a significant increase in current liabilities(more than a three-fold increase) and a material decline in cash. The need for solarge an increase in inventory and the effect of declining profitability on the cashand working capital position need to be thoroughly investigated.
(c) The following improvements should be considered by management:(1) Improved coordination between sales, inventory control, and production, anda re-evaluation of the product pricing policy.(2) Development of a standard cost system to monitor product costs.(3) Development of a line of credit for short-term liquidity problems.
Chapter 15 15-39
CASES
C15-1(1) Business planning and budgeting activities for Maiton Company are important
because:(a) A long-run commitment of resources to specialized assets is about to be
made. A one-time decision for major expansion that could involve a largeamount of financial resources over a long period of time is about to beundertaken.This investment will be committed to specialized assets and canbe recovered only from the production and sale of one particular valve.
(b) The daily operations of the company will become more complex. Mai has hadno experience with the day-to-day operations of a large business. The busi-ness planning and budgeting procedures will provide Mai the opportunity toreview the company performance and will allow the company to develop andevaluate alternative courses of action to satisfy corporate objectives.
(c) They will assist in obtaining capital from external sources. An expansionprogram of this magnitude, with a significant amount of initial funding, willrequire the generation of additional capital either through borrowing or issu-ing stock. Obtaining necessary funds can be enhanced by, and may requirean orderly presentation of, the business plan and budget activities.
(d) They will highlight potential problem situations. Disciplined business plan-ning and budgetary procedures could emphasize a variety of problem situa-tions that might be encountered during the period of the plan.
(2) Listed below are the major problems that would most likely be disclosedbecause Maiton Company is about to experience a significant growth.(a) The lack of adequate production facilities to manufacture the valve at the
quantities required. The company has served a small part of the market. Thenew segment is much larger, thus calling for more production facilities thanpreviously needed.
(b) The lack of adequate internal capital sources to finance the asset expansion(both working capital and plant and equipment). The company is small andprobably generates modest amounts of capital. The amount is not likely tobe enough to meet the new requirements. Consequently, the company willneed to seek capital from the outside, and probably has little experiencebecause it grew slowly and had no previous need for outside capital.
(c) The lack of adequate management resources (people) to administer thecompany as it grows. The company is small and, thus, probably solely runby George Mai. As it grows, there will be the need for more managerial peo-ple. This need probably cannot be met with current employees.
(d) Lack of planning and budget skills. The company probably has had littleneed for planning. Consequently, it may experience difficulty in organizingfor and developing a five-year plan. Specific problems could occur withregard to forecasting, production, marketing, and cost of capital.
C15-2(1) Factors that Marval Products needs to consider in its periodic review of long-
range planning include the following:
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(a) The current state of the economy and its expected future status;(b) The current and future availability of resources, such as personnel, plant
and equipment, and capital;(c) Consumer attitudes with regard to product appeal, changing travel modes
and patterns, and changing life styles and affluence;(d) The level of industry sales, Marval’s current and projected market share, and
Marval’s degree of influence or dominance in the industry;(e) The product lines with respect to the nature of the production process,
length of time the product has been established, and utilization of resourcesand plant capacity.
(2) Factors that Marval Products needs to consider when developing the sales com-ponent of its annual budget include the following:(a) The pricing strategy;(b) The size of Marval’s market share and the relationship to its competitors;(c) The sales mix of products so that contribution can be maximized;(d) Available production capacity;(e) The effect of advertising on sales volume;(f) National and international economic conditions.
C15-3(1) Division and plant personnel biases that may be included in the submission of
budget estimates include the following:(a) Budget sales estimates probably would tend to be lower than actually
expected because of the high volatility in product demand and the currentreward/penalty system for missing the budget.
(b) Budget cost estimates will be higher than actually expected in order to pro-tect the divisions against the effects of down-side risk of business slumpsand the possibility of increased higher costs. The reward/penalty systemencourages this action.
(c) Plant and division management can incorporate slack and padding into thebudget without the likelihood that it will be removed, because corporateheadquarters does not appear to get actively involved in the actual budgetpreparation.
(2) Sources of information that corporate management can use to monitor divi-sional and plant budget estimates include:(a) Regional and national leading economic indicators and trends in consumer
preference and demand;(b) Industry and trade association sales projections and performance data;(c) Prior year performance by reporting units as measured by their financial,
production, and sales reports;(d) Performance of similar divisions and plants.
(3) Services that could be offered by corporate management in the development ofbudget estimates are as follows:(a) Providing economic forecasts with regard to expected inflationary trends
and overall business cycles;
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(b) Providing national and regional industry sales forecasts for products asdeveloped by corporate management or obtained by management fromother sources;
(c) Sponsoring training programs for plant and divisional personnel on bud-geting techniques;
(d) Informing divisions of overall corporate goals in terms of sales, marketshare, and profit.
(4) Factors that corporate management should consider in deciding whether or notit should become more involved in the budget process include consideration ofcosts and benefits and the resulting behavioral effects.(a) Costs to be evaluated include:
(1) Increased costs at the corporate level, because more time and perhapsadditional staff will be required.
(2) Possible lower profits, due to an unfavorable change in division andplant management attitudes and motivation.
(b) Benefits to be considered include possible profit improvement from:(1) More accurate budget estimates that might reduce lost sales and/or
reduce costs incurred;(2) More effective management because of more realistic budgets;(3) Improved coordination and control of the budget process.
(c) Behavioral variables to be considered include:(1) Effect on goal congruence;(2) Effect on the communication channels between corporate management
and divisional management;(3) Effect of restricting authority over the budget process at the divisional
level;(4) Possible negative effect on motivation and morale, due to loss of
authority and autonomy;(5) Effect on performance due to a potential reduction or increase in bonuses.
C15-4Schaffer Company appears to have a well-developed budgetary system. Budgetsfor each of the important areas requiring attention—sales, production, inventorylevels, expenses, and capital investments—are included in the process. Insufficientdetails are provided to properly evaluate the construction and use of the budgetsfor sales, capital investment, and production and inventory levels. Thus, the analy-sis in this case must focus on the expense side of the budgeting process.
Although an elaborate budget process exists, analysis of the expense proce-dures reveals a number of shortcomings for planning and control purposes.Thebasic input to the expense budget for the coming year is the first six months ofthe current year’s actual performance, the expense budget (modified to reflectuncontrollable events), and the corporate expense reduction percentage. Thenext expense budget is basically last year’s actual costs reduced by the com-puted expense percentage.
This approach does not capture the full potential of the budget for plan-ning purposes, which should be forward-looking. The Schaffer budget is
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based primarily on past results and does not recognize any planned changes inoperating activities. The across-the-board corporate expense reduction targetdoes not consider the differences among plants in opportunities for costimprovements.The review of division management may permit the “strong” man-agers to build slack into the budget. And the facts do not make clear whether theproposed budget is based upon the current year’s sales volume or the plannedvolume for the budget year. Without such an adjustment, an additional weaknessexists in the procedure.
The process also falls short for control purposes. The major shortcoming isits failure to incorporate changes in operations that occur subsequent toAugust. Comparisons of performances that include these late changes, withbudgets that do not, will not provide useful information for control.The inclusionof allocated corporation and division costs in plant budgets would make theexpense budgets less effective for control purposes, because they contain irrel-evant data for plant-level cost control. The possibility that some division man-agers may be able to introduce slack into their budgets also reduces theeffectiveness for cost control.
The budget process appears to omit the plant managers from active partici-pation in budget preparation and revision. Their participation would improve thecost control and planning benefits of the budget process.The use of across-the-board expense cuts and inclusion of allocated costs in the budgets used for per-formance measurement is further evidence that the company has failed toconsider the effect of its system on management employees.
With its budgetary system, the company tries to plan and control its opera-tions. To this end, the company is better off for having developed its system.However, further benefits could be gained by eliminating the weaknesses in itsprocedures.
C15-5(1) The manufacturing manager’s views can be separated into two arguments—the
use of the same improvement targets for all plants and inconsistent application oftarget revisions. In both cases, the manufacturing manager’s arguments are valid.
The manufacturing manager claims that the use of the same improvement tar-gets for all plants fails to recognize the different abilities of plants to achieve tar-gets. His criticism is valid because plants do have different opportunities forimprovement, and this should be recognized in establishing improvement tar-gets.While his arguments may be valid to support his view that older plants haveless opportunity for improvement, there are insufficient data presented to verifyhis claim.
The manufacturing manager objects to the newer plants’ obtaining revisedtargets and then being able to perform better than the revised target. The modi-fication of targets in light of new information is an appropriate budgeting tech-nique. Newer plants may need such revisions because their inexperience makesit more difficult to set parameters and exercise control. However, the manufac-turing manager’s argument is valid because adjustments have not been availableto all plants, and, furthermore, the adjustments granted to new plants appear tomake it easier for them to achieve targets.
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The resulting treatment in establishing and revising targets, when coupledwith a performance appraisal and reward system, does appear to discriminate infavor of the newer plants. This would apparently lead to lower bonuses,appraisals, and morale among management of the older plants.
(2) Both old and new plants have the capability of concealing slack in their budgets.The older plants cannot introduce budgetary slack through their cost estimatesbecause their costs have established a pattern over the years. However, the plantmanagement knows those areas of operations where changes and improve-ments can be initiated.These operating changes can be initiated after the budgetis adopted.
The newer plants can incorporate budgetary slack in other ways. Their costestimates are more uncertain because the plants are newer.The plant operationshave not stabilized, so plant management may be able to inflate costs slightlyabove what can be realistically expected of them. There may be more opportuni-ties for improved operations that may not be recognized at the time the budgetis adopted. In addition, there is some lag in incorporating into the budget thecost savings of the increased experience of the workers and the efficiency infunctioning of the equipment and machinery.
C15-6(1) The budget practices described in the case are not likely to produce effective
budget control in the long run, because several weaknesses can be identified:(a) There appears to be no participation of plant personnel in the budget devel-
opment.(b) Given that there have been five managers in four years, the managers have
had no opportunity to assess whether the budget is realistic.(c) It appears that adjustments to the budget, subsequent to its adoption, are
not permitted even in the light of new information.(d) The budget is being used to pressure the plant manager.
(2) The immediate effect will be a frustrated manager, who will not meet the budgetand who will be replaced as a result of being unwilling to sacrifice the future forthe present, or a frustrated manager who meets the budget by making decisionsthat sacrifice the future for the present. In either case, Drake Inc. is unfavorablyaffected.
The long-term effect will be to reduce the management effectiveness ofDrake Inc. employees. The arbitrary method of budget development, lack of par-ticipation, and the use of the budget as a pressure device will result in loss oftalented managers, development of nonproductive methods by managers to“beat” the budget, decisions taken to meet the budget but which are detrimentalto the company in the long run, and low morale and motivation.
If the present methods of budget administration continue, David Greenmay adopt nonproductive methods and become an ineffective manager.However, if he is talented and continues to raise such issues as the poor condi-tion of the plant and his short tenure, it is likely he will resign or be fired.