Task: “Ice Storm”
In March, a devastating ice storm struck Monroe County, New York, causing millions of dollars of damage. Mathews & Peat (M&P), a large horticultural nursery was hit hard. As a result of the storm $653,000 of additional labor and maintenance costs were incurred to clean up the nursery remove and replace damaged plants, repair fencing, and replace glass broken when nearby tree limbs fell on some of the greenhouses. Mathews & Peat is a wholly owned subsidiary of Agro Inc., an international agricultural conglomerate. The manager of Mathews & Peat, R. Dye, is reviewing the operating performance of the subsidiary for the year. Here are the results for the year as compared with budget:
MATHEWS & PEAT
Summary of Operating Results for the Current Year ($000s)
|
|
Actual results
|
Budgeted results
|
Actual as % of Budget
|
|
Revenues
|
$32,149
|
$31,682
|
101%
|
|
Less
|
|
|
|
|
Labor
|
13,152
|
12,621
|
104
|
|
Materials
|
8,631
|
8,139
|
106
|
|
Occupancy Costs*
|
4,234
|
4,236
|
100
|
|
Depreciation
|
2,687
|
2,675
|
100
|
|
Interest
|
1,875
|
1,895
|
99
|
|
Total expenses
|
$30,579
|
$29,566
|
103%
|
|
Operating Profits
|
$ 1,570
|
$ 2,116
|
74%
|
*Includes property taxes, utilities, maintenance and repairs of buildings and so on.
After thinking about how to present the performance of M&P for the year, Dye decides to break out the costs of the ice storm from the individual items affected by it and report the storm separately. The total cost of the ice storm, $653,000, consists of additional labor costs of $320,000, additional materials of $220,000, and additional occupancy costs of $113,000. These amounts are net of the insurance payments received due to the storm. The alternative performance statement follows:
MATHEWS & PEAT
Summary of Operating Results for the Current Year ($000s)
|
|
Actual results
|
Budgeted results
|
Actual as % of Budget
|
|
Revenues
|
$32,149
|
$31,682
|
101%
|
|
Less
|
|
|
|
|
Labor
|
12,832
|
12,621
|
102
|
|
Materials
|
8,411
|
8,139
|
103
|
|
Occupancy Costs*
|
4,121
|
4,236
|
97
|
|
Depreciation
|
2,687
|
2,675
|
100
|
|
Interest
|
1,875
|
1,895
|
99
|
|
Total expenses
|
$29,926
|
$29,566
|
101%
|
|
Operating profits before ice storm costs
|
2,223
|
2,116
|
105%
|
|
Ice storm costs
|
653
|
0
|
|
|
Operating Profits after ice storm costs
|
$ 1,570
|
$ 2,116
|
74%
|
Required:
a. Put yourself in Dye's position and write a short, concise cover memo for the second operating statement summarizing the essential points you want to communicate to your superiors.
b. Critically evaluate the differences between the two performance reports as presented.