Variable Costing and a Sample Budget Review
Type of Budget
Seeing that the outcomes of the budget allocation have been delivered at multiple levels, it can be deemed as flexible (Edey, 2014).
Total Revenue per Student
By definition, the phenomenon of total revenue is determined as the product of the price per goods multiplied by the number of goods sold (Dima, 2013). In the case in point, to calculate the total revenue per student, one will have to add all revenues per student and divide the sum by the number of students in the identified group (see the table below).
Table 1. Total Revenue per Student.
It should be borne in mind, though, that the outcomes described above are the result of calculations made without the grants. Adding the latter to the total revenue, one will arrive at the following results: $6,688, $6,813, and $7,199 correspondingly.
Total Expenses per Student
As far as the total expenses per student are concerned, the formula is relatively basic. First, the total expenses must be calculated for each class. Afterward, the sums must be divided by the number of students in the class; as a result, the total expenses per student will be determined (Chen, Weikart, ‎& Williams, 2014). As the table below shows, $4,518, $5,283, and $7,646 are the figures that make up the approximate total expenses per student.
Table 2. Total Expenses per Student: Calculation.
When considering the reasonability for each expense reported one must admit that every single cost is completely justifiable from the perspective of students’ safety and educational needs. Therefore, all of the expenses listed seem necessary. Furthermore, it could be argued that the school budget could be expanded to allow more expenses so that the students could receive the necessary services of the finest quality (e.g., the costs for food reimbursement).
The school’s budget can be considered as viable. Indeed, a closer look at the table will show that the breakeven point for the school equals 66, as far as the number of students is concerned. While operating in the environment of the global economy is, by definition, a challenge due to the ever-changing factors affecting financial choices, the institution will likely survive in the competitive realm. A breakeven analysis will show at what point the organization will have to reconsider its budget and become more cautious in its financial choices.
In order to calculate the breakeven point, one follows the specified formula:
As the results of this calculation shows, the third scenario barely meets the requirements, hosting 66 students. Therefore, it will be necessary for the facility to reconsider the current approach toward attracting customers, so that more students can enroll. If this course is pursued, the threat of failing to retrieve the expected benefits and gain an adequate revenue by the end of the year will no longer be topical for the school.
General Benefits of Preparing the Budget
The positive implications of preparing the budget are quite obvious. First, the application of the subject matter helps the institution to avoid excessive costs that will ultimately lead to bankruptcy. When considering the budget in detail, one must admit that it serves perfectly to distinguish between fixed and variable costs. As a result, the organization becomes capable of reducing the latter, thus creating new financial opportunities and room for improvement in service (Livermore & Revesz, 2013).
In addition, the budget will shed some light on the means of improving the performance of the school’s departments. For instance, by evaluating the correlation between the expenses budgeted to sustain a particular department and the revenues that it has brought to the company, one will be able to locate any areas that are likely to be the cause of concern in the future and address the emergent issues successfully.
Finally, the analysis of variances becomes a possibility with the adoption of the identified technique. As a result, the opportunity will emerge for carrying out a vast statistical analysis of the performance that the school will have delivered by the end of the year. The analysis, in its turn, will point to any problems in the design of the current financial strategy, serving as the basis for the next improvement. Alternatively, it may direct the organization to the next area of development due to the change in external factors.
Determining the Control Function of a Budget
As stressed above, the budget serves as a tool for avoiding basic risks, including the threat of facing a rapid financial demise. By designing a budget, one can detect the areas that need further improvement, as well as outline the appropriate costs management framework that will help reduce the impact of negative factors. The statistical analysis will become the tool for determining the present-day tendencies in the school’s economic progress.
Therefore, the variance analysis has a direct relation to the quality management strategy used by the organization. Outlining the trends in the organization sheds light on the areas that may need improvement, helping to arrange the issues according to their priority. As a result, a significant improvement in performance rates can be expected, along with a huge drop in costs, together with waste reduction (Pyzdek & Keller, 2014).
The time that it takes to prepare the report, and the following datedness or date limitation of the information can be viewed as a disadvantage. However, in an environment that can be deemed as fairly stable, the specified issue is unlikely to pose any significant problems. Nevertheless, tools for enhancing the analysis need to be incorporated into the company’s design (Livermore & Revesz, 2013).
Alternatively, a forecasting analysis could be used to determine the course of the school’s performance. Allowing the company leader to identify a trend in entrepreneurship’s development, serves as the means of predicting the possible outcomes. However, a combination of the two tools can be considered the best solution. Setting the presuppositions for an all-embracing analysis, the tools in question will help lead the firm to a financial triumph.
Reference List
Chen, G. G., Weikart, L. A., ‎& Williams, D. W. (2014). Budget tools: Financial methods in the public sector. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
Dima, I. C. (2013). Industrial production management in flexible manufacturing systems. New York, NY: IGI Global.
Edey, H. C. (2014). Business budgets and accounts (RLE accounting). New York, NY: Routledge.
Livermore, M., & Revesz, R. (2013). The globalization of cost-benefit analysis in environmental policy. New York, NY: OUP USA.
Pyzdek, T., & Keller, P. (2014). The Six Sigma handbook (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Razetti, E. (2014). The executive’s guide to internal auditing. New York, NY: AuthorHouse.