Standard costs are used in companies for a variety of reasons. Which of the following is not one of the benefits of using standard costs?

a. used to control costs

b. used to estimate cost of inventory

c. used to indicate where changes in technology and machinery need to be made

d. used to plan direct materials, direct labor, and variable factory overhead

Answer: c. used to indicate where changes in technology and machinery need to be made

Explanation: Standard costs are defined as predetermined costs that provides a basis for effective control over costs and usually is associated with a manufacturing company's costs of direct material, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead. It provides information on the day-to-day control of operations and are applied for a variety of reasons such as the control of costs, estimation of inventory costs, the planning of direct materials, direct labor, and variable factory overhead.

c. used to indicate where changes in technology and machinery need to be made

Explanation:

Standard Costs are established through past experiences and hence they can be used to control costs, and plan production schedules.

Changes in technology and machinery need to be made is part of perfomance management with a future outlook.