Exam verified solutions and
explanations
Responsibility accounting - Correct Answers: System for evaluating the performance of each
responsibility center and its manager
Compares budgets with actual results.
Evaluate how well manager controlled operations.
Cost center (Responsibility Center) - Correct Answers: Managers are accountable for costs only.
Ex.Frito-Lay plant--controls costs by using lean thinking to eliminate waste.
Compare budgeted costs to actual costs.
Revenue Center (Responsibility Center) - Correct Answers: Managers are accountable primarily for
revenues.
Compare actual revenues to budgeted revenues.
Profit Center (Responsibility Center) - Correct Answers: Managers are accountable for both revenues
and costs, and therefore profits.
Ex:Manager may be responsible for entire line of brand products.
Compare actual revenues, expenses, and profits to the budget.
Investment Center (RC) - Correct Answers: Managers are responsible for generating revenues,
controlling costs, and efficiently managing the division's assets.
, Responsible for generating as much profit as manager can with assets.
Overall master budget variance - Correct Answers: Actual - budget
May be favorable or unfavorable.
Management by exception - Correct Answers: Managers will only investigate budget variances that are
relatively large.
Segment margin - Correct Answers: The operating income generated by a profit or investment center
BEFORE subtracting common fixed costs that have been allocated to the center.
Contribution margin - direct fixed expenses (Fixed manufacturing overhead, fixed operating expenses)
Direct fixed expenses - Correct Answers: Those fixed expenses that can be traced to the profit center.
Ex: Advertisements for Tropicana orange juice.
Common fixed expenses - Correct Answers: Fixed expenses that cannot be traced to the profit center.
Incurred by the overarching investment center that have been that have been allocated among the
different profit centers in the division.
Ex.Division's cost of providing a common computer information system, human resources department,
pay roll department, and legal department.
Sharing the services helps different product lines avoid duplication of the costs and assets that would
need to be maintained individually.
Goal congruence - Correct Answers: When the goals of the segment managers align with the goals of top
management.
Centralize - Correct Answers: In small companies.