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Flexable Budget

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Submitted By MarleneRose
Words 1126
Pages 5
University of Phoenix

Course: Acc/543 Managerial Accounting and Legal Aspects of Business

Course Instructor: Professor Squirrel

Flexible Budgets
Introduction
The flexible budget is useful for cash forecasting because it is based upon the estimation of a variety of activity volumes. The usefulness of a flexible budget is founded in the ability to compare potential level of performance to the expected level. It is also a better representation of the actual fluctuations that occur in the volume of activity as it is influenced by fixed and variable costs. In comparison, a static budget is based upon the planned volume of activity and remains unchanged by actual changes in the volume of activity. There is value in both types of budgets because they are used together to present information that can be used for evaluating performance levels and for planning future activity requirements.
Flexible Budgets A flexible budget is a budget with figures that are based on actual output. It's then compared to a company's static budget to get variances (differences) between what level of spending was expected and what actually occurred. Accordingly, a flexible budget is a budget that adjusts or flexes for changes in the volume of activity. The flexible budget is more sophisticated and useful than a static budget, which remains at one amount regardless of the volume of activity. With a flexible budget, budgeted dollar values (i.e. costs or selling prices) are multiplied by actual units to determine what particular number will be given to a level of output or sales. A flexible budget makes different amounts available to departments depending on what production or sales are realized. In other words, flexible budget refers to the financial plan designed to vary in accordance with the actual needs of a department or firm. Flexible budgets are used

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