Section Two—Variance Analysis
Variance Analysis Case Study
During the month of February, an outpatient surgery clinic has incurred a significant unfavorable variance. The director of the clinic is quite concerned, as this has never occurred before. The director gathers information on total nursing care hours, average hourly rate of the employees, and total patient visits to determine what caused the variance. In addition, the director receives the patient acuity levels for the month of February.
Budget Actual Budget Variance
Patient Days 420 510
Nursing Care Hours
HPPD 5.0 5.6
Average Hourly Pay $35.00 $45.00 $10.00
Total Payroll Costs
(Table adapted from Rundio, A. (2022). The nurse manager’s guide to budgeting and finance (3rd ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International)
1. Complete the monthly personnel report for the surgical unit.
2. Calculate each of the following. Include the formulas used with reference. Remember, as this monthly report deals with payroll, the variances should be in dollars.
a. Volume (efficiency) variance:
b. Quantity (volume) variance:
c. Cost (price) variance:
3. What is the total variance in personnel budget for this month?
4. Analyze all the factors that made the differences and why the variances occurred. How can this variance be justified?
5. In what ways might these variances inform the current or future budgets?
