AMP 415 Module 7 DQ 1

A static budget is a budget that does not change as volume changes. If a company’s annual master budget is a static budget, the budget for sales commissions expense will be one amount such as $200,000 for the year. In other words, in a static budget the budgeted amount for sales commissions expense will remain at $200,000 even if the actual sales during the year are $3 million, $4 million or $5 million.

In contrast to a company’s static master budget, the company’s sales department might have a flexible budget. In the flexible budget, the sales commissions expense budget might be expressed as 5% of sales. In that instance, the department’s budget for sales commissions expense will be $200,000 when actual sales are $4 million, but it will decrease to $150,000 when actual sales are $3 million, and the budget will increase to $300,000 when actual sales are $6 million, and so on.

A flexible budget is a budget that adjusts or flexes for changes in the volume of activity. The flexible budget is more sophisticated and useful than a static budget, which remains at one amount regardless of the volume of activity.

Assume that a manufacturer determines that its cost of electricity and supplies for the factory are approximately $10 per machine hour (MH). It also knows that the factory supervision, depreciation, and other fixed costs are approximately $40,000 per month. Typically, the production equipment operates between 4,000 and 7,000 hours per month. Based on this information, the flexible budget for each month would be $40,000 + $10 per MH.

Now let’s illustrate the flexible budget by using some data. If the production equipment is required to operate for 5,000 hours during January, the flexible budget for January will be $90,000 ($40,000 fixed + $10 x 5,000 MH). If the equipment is required to operate in February for 6,300 hours, then the flexible budget for February will be $103,000 ($40,000 fixed + $10 x 6,300 MH). If March requires only 4,100 machine hours, the flexible budget for March will be $81,000 ($40,000 fixed + $10 x 4,100 MH).

If the plant manager is required to use more machine hours, it is logical to increase the plant manager’s budget for the additional cost of electricity and supplies. The manager’s budget should also decrease when the need to operate the equipment is reduced. In short, the flexible budget provides a better opportunity for planning and controlling than does a static budget.

In my opinion there is no “better” one. One of the decisions that a budget manager has to make is whether to allow budgets to change over the course of a reporting period. A budget that never changes is called static, while a budget that changes based on actual activity is called flexible. Both approaches offer advantages and disadvantages for the new business owner.

http://www.accountingtools.com/questions-and-answers/what-is-a-static-budget.html

http://www.accountingtools.com/flexible-budget

http://wiki.fool.com/The_Advantages_of_Using_Flexible_Budget_vs._Static_Budget