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Sales Mix Variance – Variance analysis – ACCA Performance Management (PM)

VIVA

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. accastudyjl96 says

    February 9, 2025 at 7:36 pm

    Hi John,

    Thanks for the lecture.

    Have a question on the sales volume variance, I seem to be getting a different answer.

    Budgeted sales: $1,600
    Actual sales: $1,850
    Variance: 1,850-1,600 = $250 F

    In your lecture, the volume variance is $560 F.

    I believe the Selling price and cost figures in the actual sales is meant to be for the budgeted sales and looks like it has been switched round when looking at the notes. But I understand the principle and how you got to your final answer.

    Thank you.

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    • John Moffat says

      February 10, 2025 at 7:55 am

      The sales volume variance is the difference between the budgeted profit and the actual sales at standard profit.

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  2. ttlayur says

    November 28, 2024 at 1:45 pm

    Hi, is the sales margin variance- the word used in the example the same as sales volume variance?

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  3. KittyKatt says

    October 1, 2022 at 8:27 pm

    Good day,
    Based on the lecture as well as the comments section, I’m a bit confused. Is the sales volume and sales margin variance the same thing? The question asked for the sales margin variance but in the lecture, it was sales volume which was calculated. If they are different, can you please explain how?
    Thank you.

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    • John Moffat says

      October 2, 2022 at 9:50 am

      The sales margin variance is the total sales variance and is the different between the actual sales at actual profit or contribution (with costs at standard cost) and budgeted sales at standard profit or contribution.

      The sales volume variance is the difference between the actual sales at standard profit or contribution and the budgeted sales at standard profit or contribution (just as in basic variances). This is analysed into the mix variance and the quantity variance.

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  4. kamran.khan says

    July 31, 2022 at 6:33 pm

    Dear John,

    While calculating the Sales volume variance, why we had to multiply the actual and budgeted sales units with the budgeted profit figure? why we couldn’t multiply these units with budgeted sales price only? Just to understand the logic behind it.

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    • John Moffat says

      August 1, 2022 at 7:49 am

      Because the purpose of the variance analysis is to identify why the actual profit differs from the budgeted profit.

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  5. John Moffat says

    April 16, 2022 at 8:19 am

    That is correct.

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  6. JojoBeat says

    January 25, 2022 at 10:08 pm

    Greeting Sir,
    What鈥檚 the formula for market share variance?

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    • John Moffat says

      January 26, 2022 at 11:54 am

      It isn’t a formula exam 馃檪

      If you have a problem with a specific question on this then please ask in the Ask the Tutor Forum.

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  7. JojoBeat says

    January 19, 2022 at 1:35 pm

    Hello Sir,
    Doesn’t quantity and volume variance mean the same thing?

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    • John Moffat says

      January 19, 2022 at 3:38 pm

      No. The volume variance is the mix variance plus the quantity variance.

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  8. ahmedyassin says

    November 22, 2021 at 3:29 am

    1 Sales Margin Variance : Actual Sales x Actual profit & Budgeted Sales x Standard profit
    Note : Actual profit (i.e. Actual S.P. – Budgeted Cost – here the actual cost is completely ignored,cause it comes under cost variance)
    (Also note the sales volume variance and Sales price variance comes under sales margin variance)
    Answer : 210 (A) (not there in video) (i.e. 770(A) – 560(F) see below)

    2 Sales Price variance : Keep Actual Sales volume same – Actual Selling Price vs. Standard Selling price Answer : 770 (A) (4:40 in video)
    3 Sales Volume variance : Keep Standard Profit/Cont. same – Actual vs. Budgeted Sales volume variance Answer : 560 (F) (9:40 in video)
    3 (i) Sales Mix Variance : Keep Actual Sales Volume & Standard profit same – Actual mix vs. Standard mix Answer : 160 (F) (16min:35)
    3 (ii) Sales Quantity Variance : Keep Standard mix & Standard profit same – Budget sales Volume vs. Actual Answer : 400 (F) (20th min)
    i.e.{160(F) + 400 (F) = 560 (F) } – 770 (A) = 210 (A)

    Is this right?

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  9. jatingupta@2097 says

    August 12, 2021 at 3:07 pm

    Hello Sir,

    Hope you are safe and well!

    I wanted to ask if the Sales Margin Variance and Sales Volume variance is the same? If they are, then why do we use Actual Profit for actual sales, in case of volume variance shouldn鈥檛 we suppose to use the budgeted contribution/profit so as to check whether we are making profit or loss looking at budget figures?

    Thanks in advance,
    Jatin Gupta

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    • John Moffat says

      August 12, 2021 at 3:50 pm

      No, they are not the same.

      The sales margin variance is the total sales variance and is the different between the actual sales at actual profit or contribution (with costs at standard cost) and budgeted sales at standard profit or contribution.

      The sales volume variance is the difference between the actual sales at standard profit or contribution and the budgeted sales at standard profit or contribution (just as in basic variances). This is analysed into the mix variance and the quantity variance.

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      • jatingupta@2097 says

        August 12, 2021 at 5:30 pm

        Thank you Sir!

      • John Moffat says

        August 13, 2021 at 8:25 am

        You are welcome 馃檪

  10. 7fsa says

    January 3, 2021 at 7:50 pm

    Dear John,
    How are you?
    Hope you are doing well,
    Actually sir I see questions about sales market variance and share market variance which haven’t been covered in your lessons lecture.
    What about that?

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    • John Moffat says

      January 4, 2021 at 8:19 am

      They do not warrant extra lectures. Partly because they have only been asked once in the exam (as a 2 mark question) and partly because it tests understanding of variances rather than learning extra rules.

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  11. KimR says

    January 2, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    Hi John and thanks for the great lecture – you really do make the variances seem so logical! 馃檪

    I got myself confused after reading the example in the study notes again and then the thread of comments here… it does ask for total sales margin variance, and in the lecture you discuss sales price and sales volume, where the latter is split into sales mix and sales quantity. I’m just wanting to get my head around the different terms so I don’t get all confused and overwhelmed in the exam – what does total sales margin variance refer to? 馃檪

    TIA,
    Kim

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    • John Moffat says

      January 3, 2021 at 8:38 am

      The total sales margin variance is the total volume variance.

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      • KimR says

        January 3, 2021 at 6:17 pm

        Thank you, that makes sense! 馃檪

  12. 7fsa says

    September 3, 2020 at 4:23 am

    Dear John,

    Thank you so much sir, for your effort and appreciated time.

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    • John Moffat says

      September 3, 2020 at 9:09 am

      Thank you for your comment 馃檪

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  13. apoorvakudva says

    July 24, 2020 at 5:05 pm

    Hello,
    The sales variance I learnt had two parts
    1. Sales Value variances (5 variances) Analysed using selling price per unit.
    2. Sales Margin Variances (5 variances) analysed using Contribution/ profit for MC or AC respectively..
    But here you taught that sales price variance is solved using SP and other variances using Contribution/ Profit.
    I want to know if the variances you taught in this lecture are the only ones gonna come in the exam and if we are asked to find out Total Sales margin variance what should we use selling price or contribution/profit and which 2 variances put together will give us total sales margin variance ?
    Thank you so much.

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    • John Moffat says

      July 24, 2020 at 7:38 pm

      My lectures cover everything that can be asked in the exam.

      The syllabus makes no reference to ‘sales margin’ variances. Instead they are referred to as ‘sales volume variance’ which is the total of the ‘sales mix’ and ‘sales quantity’ variances, as I explain in my lectures. These variances use the standard contribution or standard profit (depending on whether it is absorption or marginal costing).

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  14. kingSuper says

    March 25, 2020 at 2:27 pm

    Hi John,

    I was confused, for the sales volume variance, how do you determine whether to use standard profit or actual profit?

    Thanks in advance.

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    • John Moffat says

      March 25, 2020 at 2:48 pm

      For the volume variance we always use standard profit (or contribution if marginal costing).

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  15. fahad198803 says

    May 18, 2019 at 4:40 pm

    John, I was just confused, why in Quantity variance, we compared standard mix with Budgeted mix instead actual Mix ?

    Thanks

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    • John Moffat says

      May 19, 2019 at 11:16 am

      Because we are separating out the effect of a change in the total quantity and a change in the mix – so we look at the effect of each of them on their own.

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      • fahad198803 says

        May 21, 2019 at 4:10 pm

        Thanks John

      • John Moffat says

        May 21, 2019 at 4:43 pm

        You are welcome 馃檪

  16. John Moffat says

    April 27, 2019 at 9:37 pm

    You are welcome 馃檪

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  17. alie2018 says

    November 8, 2018 at 7:18 am

    Thanks John. Great lecture. The sales volume variance can be split into sales mix and sales quantity variance.

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  18. jareerabedin says

    October 4, 2018 at 7:56 am

    thank you so much sir

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    • John Moffat says

      October 4, 2018 at 4:28 pm

      You are welcome 馃檪

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  19. jareerabedin says

    October 3, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    Sir,
    are sales price variance and sales volume variance together called sales margin variance?

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    • jareerabedin says

      October 3, 2018 at 8:14 pm

      or is it just the sales price variance?
      thank you

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      • John Moffat says

        October 4, 2018 at 7:19 am

        Just the sales price variance 馃檪

      • michael01 says

        April 26, 2019 at 12:18 pm

        Thanks for the good work John.?

        I don’t quite understand your response to Jareerabedin’s question. Are you saying that the total sales margin variance is the same as the sales price variance? If so, why are they then separated in the question??

        I had thought it is:
        = 180*(6-3) + 150*(4-4) + 170*(1-6)
        = 540 + 0 + (850)
        = 310 (Adverse).

      • John Moffat says

        April 26, 2019 at 2:57 pm

        Sorry but I don’t understand my response either!! (It was six months ago and I must have misunderstood the question)

        You are correct – it is the total variance.

      • michael01 says

        April 27, 2019 at 4:18 pm

        Ow, thanks a lot for the clarity.

    • lwhnatalie says

      April 16, 2022 at 8:07 am

      Sir, a bit confuse regarding the sales margin variance, refer to example 4, $210 is talking about total variance or sales margin variance?
      Mix variance $160(F) + qty variance $400(F) = $560 volume variance (F)
      May I confirm price variance $770(A) = sales margin variance?

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