3. 考慮是否標準合適 Consider Whether the Standard Was Fair

As previously explained, if an original standard becomes out of date, or is otherwise unreasonable (e.g. it was a poor estimate), it should be revised. Operational variances are generally a more reliable indicator of performance than traditional variances.

評定標注要與時俱進，用過時的標準評定出來的差異與變動是沒有意義的。

4. 非財務性指標 Non-financial Factors

Variances reflect only the financial view. Non-financial factors such as quality may be equally important, but these are ignored by variances.*

If variances are favourable, this means costs are being kept under control. However, if this is at the expense of quality, it may be a bad thing.

 Illustration

A past exam question involved a company that manufactured soup. The production manager had been told that his performance would be judged on the reported variances. He had successfully kept costs down, reporting large favourable mix and yield variances. From a financial point of view this seemed positive.

The sales manager, on the other hand, was angry that customers were complaining about the quality of the soup. This was clearly related to the fact that, in order to reduce costs, the production manager was diluting the soup and the quality was suffering. In the long term this threatened to lead to a fall in demand, which would lead to a fall in profits

5. 提高未來業績 Improving Future Performance

確定了產生差異的原因，那就要利用分析出來的結果去提升業績。

After identifying the causes of variances, appropriate action can be taken to ensure that future performance improves. For example:

Ø  Including non-financial factors as well as variances in managers' appraisal systems.

Ø  Regular review and updating of variances to reflect changes in the external environment.

Ø  Using target costing to identify ways to reduce costs further.