Describe the difference between a direct materials efficiency variance and a variable manufacturing overhead efficiency variance.

Direct material variance is the difference in the actual quantity of the materials used in production and the standard quantity that should have been used, multiplied by the standard price, while variable manufacturing overhead efficiency variance is the difference in between the actual hours and the standard hour worked, multiplied by the standard rate.

The difference is that while the former addresses the direct materials used in production process, the latter addresses the variable overhead cost of production which is basically the labor hours