Mark Fletcher, president of SoftGro, Inc., was looking forward to seeing the performance reports for November because he knew the company's sales for the month had exceeded budget by a considerable margin. SoftGro, a distributor of educational software packages, had been growing steadily for approximately two years. Fletcher's biggest challenge at this point was to ensure that the company did not lose control of expenses during this growth period. When Fletcher received the November reports, he was dismayed to see the large unfavorable variance in the company's Monthly Selling Expense Report that follows.

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
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ISBN:9781259964947
Author:Libby
Publisher:Libby
Chapter1: Financial Statements And Business Decisions
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Porter discovered the following information about the behavior of SoftGro's selling expenses.
• The total compensation paid to the sales force consists of a monthly base salary and a commission; the
commission varies with sales dollars.
• Sales office expense is a semivariable cost with the variable portion related to the number of orders processed.
The fixed portion of office expense is $6,360,000 annually and is incurred uniformly throughout the year.
• Subsequent to the adoption of the annual budget for the current year, SoftGro decided to open a new sales
territory. As a consequence, approval was given to hire six additional salespeople effective November 1. Porter
decided that these additional six people should be recognized in her revised report.
• Per diem reimbursement to the sales force, while a fixed amount per day, is variable with the number of sales
personnel and the number of days spent traveling. SoftGro's original budget was based on an average sales force
of 90 people throughout the year with each salesperson traveling 15 days per month.
• The company's shipping expense is a semivariable cost with the variable portion, $5.00 per unit, dependent on
the number of units sold. The fixed portion is incurred uniformly throughout the year.
Required:
1. Why would Susan Porter propose that SoftGro use flexible budgeting in this situation?
2. Prepare a revised Monthly Selling Expense Report for November that would permit Mark Fletcher to more clearly
evaluate SoftGro's control over selling expenses.
Complete this question by entering your answers in the tabs below.
Required 1 Required 2
Prepare a revised Monthly Selling Expense Report for November that would permit Mark Fletcher to more clearly evaluate
SoftGro's control over selling expenses. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "Favorable" or "Unfavorable". Sel
"None" and enter "0" for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Do not round intermediate calculations.)
SOFTGRO, INC.
Advertising
Staff salaries
Sales salaries
Commissions
Per diem expense
Office expenses
Shipping expenses
Total expenses
Revised Monthly Selling Expense Report for November
Flexible Budget
$ 2,624,000
270,000
269,200 X
908,160
464,000
834,800
$
1,822,000
7,192,160
Actual
$2,600,000 $ 24,000
Variance
270,000
268,800
908,160
460,800
3,200
845,400 x
(10,600)
1,862,000 >
(40,000)
$ 7,215,160 $ (23,000)
< Required 1
400
0
Unfavorable
None
Unfavorable
None
Unfavorable
Favorable
Favorable
Favorable
Required 2 >
Transcribed Image Text:Porter discovered the following information about the behavior of SoftGro's selling expenses. • The total compensation paid to the sales force consists of a monthly base salary and a commission; the commission varies with sales dollars. • Sales office expense is a semivariable cost with the variable portion related to the number of orders processed. The fixed portion of office expense is $6,360,000 annually and is incurred uniformly throughout the year. • Subsequent to the adoption of the annual budget for the current year, SoftGro decided to open a new sales territory. As a consequence, approval was given to hire six additional salespeople effective November 1. Porter decided that these additional six people should be recognized in her revised report. • Per diem reimbursement to the sales force, while a fixed amount per day, is variable with the number of sales personnel and the number of days spent traveling. SoftGro's original budget was based on an average sales force of 90 people throughout the year with each salesperson traveling 15 days per month. • The company's shipping expense is a semivariable cost with the variable portion, $5.00 per unit, dependent on the number of units sold. The fixed portion is incurred uniformly throughout the year. Required: 1. Why would Susan Porter propose that SoftGro use flexible budgeting in this situation? 2. Prepare a revised Monthly Selling Expense Report for November that would permit Mark Fletcher to more clearly evaluate SoftGro's control over selling expenses. Complete this question by entering your answers in the tabs below. Required 1 Required 2 Prepare a revised Monthly Selling Expense Report for November that would permit Mark Fletcher to more clearly evaluate SoftGro's control over selling expenses. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "Favorable" or "Unfavorable". Sel "None" and enter "0" for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Do not round intermediate calculations.) SOFTGRO, INC. Advertising Staff salaries Sales salaries Commissions Per diem expense Office expenses Shipping expenses Total expenses Revised Monthly Selling Expense Report for November Flexible Budget $ 2,624,000 270,000 269,200 X 908,160 464,000 834,800 $ 1,822,000 7,192,160 Actual $2,600,000 $ 24,000 Variance 270,000 268,800 908,160 460,800 3,200 845,400 x (10,600) 1,862,000 > (40,000) $ 7,215,160 $ (23,000) < Required 1 400 0 Unfavorable None Unfavorable None Unfavorable Favorable Favorable Favorable Required 2 >
Mark Fletcher, president of SoftGro, Inc., was looking forward to seeing the performance reports for November
because he knew the company's sales for the month had exceeded budget by a considerable margin. SoftGro, a
distributor of educational software packages, had been growing steadily for approximately two years. Fletcher's
biggest challenge at this point was to ensure that the company did not lose control of expenses during this growth
period. When Fletcher received the November reports, he was dismayed to see the large unfavorable variance in
the company's Monthly Selling Expense Report that follows.
Unit sales
Dollar sales
Orders processed
Sales personnel per month
Advertising
Staff salaries
Sales salaries
Commissions
Per diem expense
Office expenses
Shipping expenses
Total expenses
SOFTGRO, INC.
Monthly Selling Expense Report
For the Month of November
Annual
Budget
2,170,000
$143,220,000
84,000
90
November
Budget
314,000
$20,724,000
9,000
90
$ 31,200,000
3,240,000
3,024,000
5,728,800
5,184,000
432,000
9,552,000
796,000
12,554,000
1,712,000
$ 70,482,800 $ 6,890,960
$ 2,600,000
270,000
252,000
828,960
November
Actual
344,000
$22,704,000
8,300
96
November
Variance
30,000
$1,980,000
(700)
(6)
24,000 U
$ 2,624,000 $
270,000
269,200
17,200 U
908,160
79,200 U
464,000
32,000 U
834,800
38,800 U
1,822,000
110,000 U
$ 7,192,160 $ 301,200 U
Fletcher called in the company's new controller, Susan Porter, to discuss the implications of the variances reported
for November and to plan a strategy for improving performance. Porter suggested that the company's reporting
format might not be giving Fletcher a true picture of the company's operations. She proposed that SoftGro
implement flexible budgeting. Porter offered to redo the Monthly Selling Expense Report for November using
flexible budgeting so that Fletcher could compare the two reports and see the advantages of flexible budgeting.
Transcribed Image Text:Mark Fletcher, president of SoftGro, Inc., was looking forward to seeing the performance reports for November because he knew the company's sales for the month had exceeded budget by a considerable margin. SoftGro, a distributor of educational software packages, had been growing steadily for approximately two years. Fletcher's biggest challenge at this point was to ensure that the company did not lose control of expenses during this growth period. When Fletcher received the November reports, he was dismayed to see the large unfavorable variance in the company's Monthly Selling Expense Report that follows. Unit sales Dollar sales Orders processed Sales personnel per month Advertising Staff salaries Sales salaries Commissions Per diem expense Office expenses Shipping expenses Total expenses SOFTGRO, INC. Monthly Selling Expense Report For the Month of November Annual Budget 2,170,000 $143,220,000 84,000 90 November Budget 314,000 $20,724,000 9,000 90 $ 31,200,000 3,240,000 3,024,000 5,728,800 5,184,000 432,000 9,552,000 796,000 12,554,000 1,712,000 $ 70,482,800 $ 6,890,960 $ 2,600,000 270,000 252,000 828,960 November Actual 344,000 $22,704,000 8,300 96 November Variance 30,000 $1,980,000 (700) (6) 24,000 U $ 2,624,000 $ 270,000 269,200 17,200 U 908,160 79,200 U 464,000 32,000 U 834,800 38,800 U 1,822,000 110,000 U $ 7,192,160 $ 301,200 U Fletcher called in the company's new controller, Susan Porter, to discuss the implications of the variances reported for November and to plan a strategy for improving performance. Porter suggested that the company's reporting format might not be giving Fletcher a true picture of the company's operations. She proposed that SoftGro implement flexible budgeting. Porter offered to redo the Monthly Selling Expense Report for November using flexible budgeting so that Fletcher could compare the two reports and see the advantages of flexible budgeting.
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