Explain how the direct materials mix and yield variances provide additional information about the direct materials efficiency variance.

Answer:

The direct materials efficiency variance is a Level 3 variance. Further insight into this variance can be gained by moving to a Level 4 analysis where the effect of mix and yield changes are quantified. The mix variance captures the effect of a change in the relative percentage use of each input relative to that budgeted. The yield variance captures the effect of a change in the total number of inputs required to obtain a given output relative to that budgeted.