Accounting: What the Numbers Mean 11th Edition by Wayne McManus,Daniel Viele,David Marshall

Exercise 3

Direct labor variances-solving for unknowns Ackerman's Garage uses standards to plan and control labor time and expense. The standard time for an engine tune-up is 3.5 hours, and the standard labor rate is $15 per hour. Last week, 24 tune-ups were completed. The labor efficiency variance was 6 hours unfavorable, and the labor rate variance totaled $81 favorable.
Required:
a. Calculate the actual direct labor hourly rate paid for tune-up work last week.
b. Calculate the dollar amount of the labor efficiency variance.
c. What is the most likely explanation for these two variances? Is this a good trade-off for the management of the garage to make? Explain your answer.