Variances between standard costs and actual costs in selected elementary school foodservice programs

The objective of this research was to compare actual food costs with standard food costs in twenty-seven elementary schools in Virginia using information derived from the Cost-Based Accounting system.

Comparison of actual and standard food costs were made using techniques adapted from industrial settings. These techniques include MAD, RSFE, and tracking signals. These techniques were then used to establish control limits for cost variances between actual and standard costs.

As a result of the research effort, the use of MAD, RSFE, and tracking signals proved to be a realistic approach to cost variance analysis in school foodservice.