Question

The Dinkle and Frizell Dental Clinic provides both preventive and orthodontic dental services. The two owners, Reese Dinkle and Anita Frizell, operate the clinic as two separate investment centers: Preventive Services and Orthodontic Services. Each of them is in charge of one of the centers: Reese for Preventive Services and Anita for Orthodontic Services. Each month, they prepare an income statement for the two centers to evaluate performance and make decisions about how to improve the operational efficiency and profitability of the clinic.

Recently, they have been concerned about the profitability of the Preventive Services operations. For several months, it has been reporting a loss. The responsibility report for the month of May 2020 is shown below.

		Actual			Difference from Budget
Service revenue		$41,670			$1,160	Favorable
Variable costs:
Filling materials		4,930			150	Unfavorable
Novocain		3,930			70	Unfavorable
Supplies		1,980			420	Favorable
Dental assistant wages		2,420			–0–	Neither Favorable nor Unfavorable
Utilities		550			130	Unfavorable
Total variable costs		13,810			70	Favorable
Fixed costs:
Allocated portion of receptionist’s salary		3,170			320	Unfavorable
Dentist salary		9,500			550	Unfavorable
Equipment depreciation		5,920			–0–	Neither Favorable nor Unfavorable
Allocated portion of building depreciation		15,070			1,080	Unfavorable
Total fixed costs		33,660			1,950	Unfavorable
Operating income (loss)		$(5,800	)		$720	Unfavorable

In addition, the owners know that the investment in operating assets at the beginning of the month was $82,620, and it was $73,520 at the end of the month. They have asked for your assistance in evaluating their current performance reporting system.

Prepare an investment center responsibility report for the Preventative Services segment for May 2020.

Answer 1