Why are overhead absorption rates typically based on budgeted figures rather than actual costs?

• A. Actual costs may not be known until the end of the year.
• B. Budgeted costs are always lower than actual costs.
• C. Actual costs are irrelevant to pricing.
• D. Budgeted figures eliminate the need for cost control.

Answer: (A)

Overhead absorption rates are used to allocate indirect costs to products as you produce, so you need a rate that can be applied in real time. That rate is usually built from budgeted figures at the start of the period, because actual costs aren’t known until much later. By using budgeted overhead and budgeted activity, you get a stable, forward-looking basis to attach overhead to units as they’re produced, which supports timely pricing, planning, and control. If you tried to base the rate on actual costs, you’d only know the true overhead after the period ends, forcing you to revise product costs and schedules, undermine decision-making, and create big fluctuations in cost per unit. At the period’s end you then compare the overhead actually incurred with what was absorbed to identify variances.