PROBLEM 9-25 Applying the Flexible Budget Approach [LO3, LO4]

The Centrico Medical Laboratory, a government-sponsored charity, is located on the island of Ste. Lucretia. The laboratory has just finished its operations for September, which was a particularly busy month due to a chemical spill that affected a few neighbouring small islands, causing many illnesses. The chemical spill and contamination largely bypassed Ste. Lucretia's water supply, but residents of Ste. Lucretia willingly donated supplies and the laboratory ­assisted in the medical testing to help people on other islands. As a consequence, the medical laboratory collected and processed over 25% more laboratory samples from potentially ill residents than had been originally planned for the month.

A report prepared by a government official comparing actual costs to costs included in the static budget for the medical laboratory appears below. (The currency in Ste. Lucretia is the East Caribbean dollar.) Continued support from the government depends on the lab’s ability to demonstrate control over its costs:

d

The managing director of the medical laboratory is very unhappy with this report, claiming that his costs were higher than expected due to the emergency on the neighbouring islands. He also points out that the additional costs were fully covered by payments from grateful recipients on the other islands. The government official who prepared the report counters that all of the figures were submitted by the medical laboratory to the government; he was just pointing out that actual costs were considerably higher than promised in the budget.

Required:

1. 1.Prepare a new performance report for September using the flexible budget approach. (Note: Even though there are no revenues in this setting, the flexible budget approach can still be used to prepare a flexible budget performance report. Use Exhibit 9-4 as your guide.)

2. 2.Do you think any of the variances in the report you prepared should be investigated? Why?