Assume the following comments were recently overheard at an international management accounting conference. For each group of comments below, state whether or not you agree with each set of comments, and provide a 2- to 3-paragraph rational for your position.
1) "My advice is to always pick up any special offer of irregular materials from your supplier. The only place you'll take a hit is on the direct materials usage variance; because you'll have more scrap. But you'll always make it up on the materials price variance."
2) "Our bonus system is easy, and I'm sure it maximizes performance. Whenever a division exceeds its budgeted output for the year, everyone in the division gets a 15 percent bonus based on his or her annual salary."