When using standard costing, we as accountants often hear excuses from other departments such as:

-Production: "I know it took longer to complete the job but the materials were so bad my men took twice as long to make the product."

-Purchasing: "I'm under the gun to save money for the company so I purchase the materials that would save the company money."

-Human Resources: "Don't blame me on this problem. Nobody else in the pool of job candidates were qualified to run that machine."

What can accountants do to help solve these problems? What tools can we offer as solutions to these problems?