Q.A company's Cost of Materials Consumed over three years was: 2022 ₹5,00,000; 2023 ₹6,00,000; 2024 ₹6,60,000. Its Other Expenses over the same three years were: 2022 ₹80,000; 2023 ₹1,00,000; 2024 ₹1,20,000. Taking 2022 as the base year for both, calculate the trend percentages for each item and comment on which expense grew faster over the period.

Working out each item's own trend percentages, against its own 2022 base, makes it possible to compare their rates of growth directly, even though the two items started at very different rupee amounts.

Step 1 — Trend percentages for Cost of Materials Consumed (base year 2022 = ₹5,00,000).

• 2022: 100% (base)
• 2023: (6,00,000 ÷ 5,00,000) × 100 = 120%
• 2024: (6,60,000 ÷ 5,00,000) × 100 = 132%

Step 2 — Trend percentages for Other Expenses (base year 2022 = ₹80,000).

• 2022: 100% (base)
• 2023: (1,00,000 ÷ 80,000) × 100 = 125%
• 2024: (1,20,000 ÷ 80,000) × 100 = 150%

Combined Trend Table

When comparing the growth of two different items using trend percentages, always compute each item's trend against its OWN base-year figure, never against a shared or borrowed base — only then are the …

A common mistake is concluding that Cost of Materials Consumed 'grew faster' simply because its absolute rupee increase (₹1,60,000, from ₹5,00,000 to ₹6,60,000) is larger than Other Expenses' absolute increase (₹40,000, from ₹80,000 to ₹1,20,000) — trend analysis is specifically about PERCENTAGE growth relative to each item's own …