The trading account is now made up, this $9,126.00 taking the place of purchases, and the gross profit is carried to profit and loss account.
The manufacturing, trading, and profit and loss accounts are now ready for analysis, which is made on a percentage basis. In the analysis of the manufacturing account, the total operating cost is used as a basis and the different items of manufacturing cost are figured on this basis. We find that the expense items are 23.3% and the material 76.7% of the total which furnishes a tangible basis for a comparison of the same items in other months. Having the percentage of each item, we can note the fluctuations from month to month, and know where to retrench if any item appears to be increasing too rapidly.
The basis of the analysis of the trading and profit and loss accounts is the turnover. Figuring on this basis, we find the total expenses, exclusive of manufacturing costs, to be 41% of the turnover, and the net profit, 20%. The gross profit is 60% of the turnover. Ordinarily the total expense and net profit would equal the gross profit, but in this case there is a capital profit of $97.50 from interest earned.
Sometimes these comparative percentages are figured on the gross sales, but the turnover is considered the proper basis, for it is less subject to marked fluctuations. The sales in one month may show abnormal profits, while in the next these profits may return to normal. If based on sales, the cost percentages would fluctuate accordingly, when in reality they may have remained stationary.
=17.= A comparison of the accounts in the last trial balance with the working balance sheet shows them to be arranged in the order in which they would appear in the balance sheet and profit and loss statements.
Fig. 16a. Working Balance Sheet for a Manufacturing Business ]
It should be remembered that manufacturing and trading accounts are subdivisions of the profit and loss account, and that the profit and loss account is a statement of income and disbursements including differences in inventories.
If it is desired to show the actual condition of the business at the end of each month, the inventory must be added. There may be objections to actually closing the books each month, but the complete statement can be made by adding the current inventories as shown in the working balance sheet illustrated. The amounts of these inventories and the gross and net current profits are, in such cases, memoranda only. The inventories may be arbitrary estimates, and while the results shown may not be exact they will be found of value for purposes of comparison; and care in estimating inventories will greatly increase their value.