5. FarmFresh produces luxury Easter picnic baskets (6 per box) which has the following standard cost per box :

Variable production overhead is deemed to vary with the hours worked.

During the period the Actual results were as follows :

Required :

a) Using the information above, calculate the 6 sub variances (2 each) for Materials, Wages and Variable overheads.

Fixed overheads are absorbed into production on the basis of standard hours of production and the normal volume of production for the period is 20,000 units (100,000 hours of production)

b) Using the information above on the budgeted fixed overheads, calculate the 2 Fixed Overhead variances (expenditure and volume).

c) Put all 8 calculated sub-variances from a) and b) into a schedule which reconciles Total Actual cost (£2,642,800) to Total Standard cost (18,000 units at £143 each).

d) Comment briefly on the usefulness to management of investigating variances.