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Cost accounting definition

Accounting Tools

Related Courses Cost Accounting Fundamentals Financial Analysis What is Cost Accounting? Cost accounting examines the cost structure of a business. None of these tools are used by financial accountants, who are more concerned with the production of financial statements.

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Process costing system definition

Accounting Tools

The classic example of a process costing environment is a petroleum refinery, where it is impossible to track the cost of a specific unit of oil as it moves through the refinery. It is easier to track costing information using process costing, since it does not track anything at the level of the individual unit.

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Weighted cost driver definition

Accounting Tools

This situation can arise when the cost accountant does not want to track very many cost drivers , preferring instead to use a more simplified system. The use of a weighted cost driver can be very cost-effective, since less data collection work is required.

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Full costing definition

Accounting Tools

Related Courses Accounting for Inventory Cost Accounting Fundamentals What is Full Costing? Full costing is used to determine the complete and entire cost of something. The concept is most commonly used for recording the full cost of inventory in the financial statements.

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Cost accumulation definition

Accounting Tools

Related Courses Accounting for Inventory Cost Accounting Fundamentals What is Cost Accumulation? Cost accumulation involves the use of a formal cost accounting system to collect cost information. Cost accumulation systems fall into two main categories, which are noted below.

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Activity cost driver definition

Accounting Tools

Ideally, a continuing analysis of cost drivers will be one of the key management actions taken to enhance the profitability of an organization. When to Use Activity Cost Drivers Activity cost drivers should only be used when the cost of collecting the cost driver information is less than the benefits to be gained from doing so.

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Activity driver analysis definition

Accounting Tools

This can be a major issue, since some drivers require customized data collection systems that are quite expensive. Finally, the analysis should investigate whether costs can be reduced by minimizing certain activities. In total, these analysis activities can result in a much more cost-effective activity-based costing system.