• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free ACCA & CIMA online courses from OpenTuition

Free ACCA & CIMA online courses from OpenTuition

Free Notes, Lectures, Tests and Forums for ACCA and CIMA exams

  • ACCA
  • CIMA
  • FIA
  • OBU
  • Books
  • Forums
  • Ask AI
  • Search
  • Register
  • Login
  • ACCA Forums
  • Ask ACCA Tutor
  • CIMA Forums
  • Ask CIMA Tutor
  • FIA
  • OBU
  • Buy/Sell Books
  • All Forums
  • Latest Topics

20% off ACCA & CIMA Books

OpenTuition recommends the new interactive BPP books for March and June 2025 exams.
Get your discount code >>

Confusion with variance analysis formulas

Forums › Ask ACCA Tutor Forums › Ask the Tutor ACCA PM Exams › Confusion with variance analysis formulas

  • This topic has 5 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by John Moffat.
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • July 6, 2015 at 11:04 am #259615
    3mr
    Participant
    • Topics: 24
    • Replies: 39
    • ☆☆

    Analysing cost of raw material of a product:-

    Budgeted cost: 10
    Budgeted quantity: 1,000
    Total budgeted cost: 10,000

    Actual cost: 11
    Actual quantity: 1,200
    Total actual cost: 13,200

    Total variance: 13,200 – 10,000 = 3,200

    The confusion comes from the same result while using 2 different formulas.

    1. first formula:-

    – Price variance (actual price – budgeted price) * actual quantity = 1,200 unfavorable
    – Quantity variance (actual quantity – budgeted quantity) * budgeted price = 2,000 unfavorable
    – Total variance = 3,200

    2. Second formula:-

    – Price variance (actual price – budgeted price) * budgeted quantity = 1,000 unfavorable
    – Quantity variance (actual quantity – budgeted quantity) * actual price = 2,200 unfavorable
    – Total variance = 3,200

    I assume that the figures would materialise if a huge fluctuation occures.

    July 6, 2015 at 1:47 pm #259632
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 54662
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    All of your formulae are wrong and so is your calculation of the total variance.
    (and for materials we look at the price variance and the usage variance – there is no such thing as a quantity variance)

    The total cost variance is not the difference between actual and budget. It is the difference between the actual total cost and the standard cost for the actual production. The total cost variance in your example is 13,200 – 12,000 = 1,200 (adverse)

    I suggest that you watch the free lectures on basic variances.

    July 6, 2015 at 3:12 pm #259638
    3mr
    Participant
    • Topics: 24
    • Replies: 39
    • ☆☆

    Yes, thank you. I was wrong.

    What if we used the same date in analysing the variance between the previous year’s sales and current year’s sales to know the effect of price change and effect of sales volume?

    I replace the budgeted cost with previous year’s sales price.
    and I replace budgeted quantity with previous year’s quantity sold.

    I use this formula in my audit of sales as an analytical procedure.

    July 6, 2015 at 4:26 pm #259644
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 54662
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    In practice you do whatever is most useful for managing the business, and what you suggest would be fine.

    However, for Paper F5 we always are comparing with the budget rather than with the previous year and the free lectures do go through all the ‘rules’ needed for F5.

    July 6, 2015 at 7:40 pm #259656
    3mr
    Participant
    • Topics: 24
    • Replies: 39
    • ☆☆

    Many thanks mr John

    July 7, 2015 at 8:15 am #259677
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 54662
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    You are welcome 🙂

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Log In

Primary Sidebar

Donate
If you have benefited from our materials, please donate

ACCA News:

ACCA My Exam Performance for non-variant

Applied Skills exams is available NOW

ACCA Options:  “Read the Mind of the Marker” articles

Subscribe to ACCA’s Student Accountant Direct

ACCA CBE 2025 Exams

How was your exam, and what was the exam result?

BT CBE exam was.. | MA CBE exam was..
FA CBE exam was.. | LW CBE exam was..

Donate

If you have benefited from OpenTuition please donate.

PQ Magazine

Latest Comments

  • Nashra30 on CIMA E1 Chapter 3 Test
  • azubair on Financial Performance Measurement – ACCA Performance Management (PM)
  • j.akshaya on Group SFP – Example (Basic consolidation) – ACCA Financial Reporting (FR)
  • rishitxx on ACCA BT Chapter 1 – The nature and structure of organisations – Questions
  • singhjyoti on Basic group structures – SPLOCI introduction and example – ACCA (SBR) lectures

Copyright © 2025 · Support · Contact · Advertising · OpenLicense · About · Sitemap · Comments · Log in