This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis What is CostAccounting? Costaccounting examines the cost structure of a business. None of these tools are used by financialaccountants, who are more concerned with the production of financial statements.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis Operations Management How to Calculate Efficiency The efficiency equation is a comparison of the work output from an operation to the work input to that same operation. The concept has been most thoroughly formalized in costaccounting , as noted below.
Related Courses Activity-Based CostingCostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis What is a Mixed Cost? A mixed cost is a cost that contains both a fixed cost component and a variable cost component.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis What is a Sunk Cost? A sunk cost is a cost that an entity has incurred, and which it can no longer recover. Instead, only relevant costs should be considered.
This analysis can lead to more robust products, once management realizes that sturdier products incur lower warranty and field servicing costs. Related AccountingTools Courses Capital Budgeting FinancialAnalysis Purchasing Guidebook Related Article Lifetime Cost
This level of detailed variance analysis allows management to understand why fluctuations occur in its business, and what it can do to change the situation.
Under this payment method, wages are only paid on a per-unit-produced basis, and so can definitely be classified as a variable cost. One exception to this rule is piece rate wages , which do change with production volumes.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals What is Pro Rata? In accounting, this means revenues , expenses , assets , liabilities , or other items are proportionally allocated among participants. Pro rata refers to a proportional allocation. A participant may be an individual or an entity.
Or, the incremental cost of shutting down a production line includes the costs to lay off employees, sell unnecessary equipment, and convert the facility to some other use. As a third example, the sale of a subsidiary includes the legal costs of the sale. Here are several examples: Overtime analysis.
It is responsible for billings, payroll , costaccounting , the production of financial statements , paying suppliers , and similar activities. The accounting staff may provide a number of additional value-added services, such as actual-versus-budget reporting, cost reduction suggestions, and other forms of financialanalysis.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis What is Cost? Cost is the expenditure required to create and sell products and services, or to acquire assets. When sold or consumed, a cost is charged to expense.
The cost of both types of indirect labor can be fully loaded with the costs of benefits and payroll taxes for financialanalysis or costaccounting purposes, since these additional costs are closely associated with the indirect labor positions.
This concept is only applicable to management accounting activities; it is is not used in financialaccounting , since no spending decisions are involved in the preparation of financial statements. The Archaic Book Company (ABC) is considering purchasing a printing press for its medieval book division.
As noted in the example, the general strategic approach to dealing with avoidable costs is to commit to shorter time periods for any planned expenditures.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis What is Variable Expense? A variable expense is a cost that alters in conjunction with some type of activity. For example, the direct materials expense increases as sales increase. A business has few truly variable expenses.
Related Courses Budgeting FinancialAnalysisFinancial Forecasting and Modeling What is Relevant Range? CostAccounting Relevant Range The assumed cost of a product, service, or activity is likely to be valid within a relevant range, and less valid outside of that range.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals Cost Management Guidebook FinancialAnalysis What is a Committed Cost? A committed cost is an investment that a business entity has already made and cannot recover by any means, as well as obligations already made that the business cannot get out of.
Related Courses Activity-Based CostingCostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis What is Cost Behavior? Cost behavior is the manner in which expenses are impacted by changes in business activity.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis What is an Irrelevant Cost? An irrelevant cost is a cost that will not change as the result of a management decision. However, the same cost may be relevant to a different management decision.
Related Courses Activity-Based CostingCostAccounting Fundamentals What is a Fixed Cost? A fixed cost is a cost that does not increase or decrease in conjunction with any activities. The concept is used in financialanalysis to find the breakeven point of a business, as well as to determine product pricing.
Related Courses CostAccounting Guidebook FinancialAnalysis What is the Variable Cost Ratio? The variable cost ratio reveals the total amount of variable expenses incurred by a business, stated as a proportion of its net sales.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis Managerial Economics What is Differential Cost? Differential cost is the difference between the cost of two alternative decisions, or of a change in output levels.
For example, if sales increase to a certain maximum level, management can either turn away any additional customer orders or accept the orders and incur the additional step fixed cost required to process the additional sales.
For the purposes of this specific production-increase decision, then, the associated direct costs are: Related AccountingTools Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis When to Use Direct Costing Direct costing is of great use as an analysis tool.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis The Interpretation of Financial Statements What is the Cost Volume Formula? The cost volume formula is used to derive the total cost that will be incurred at certain production volumes.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis Managerial Economics What is Marginal Cost? Marginal cost is the cost of one additional unit of output. It is calculated by dividing the change in manufacturing costs by the change in the quantity produced.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals Cost Management Guidebook What is Cost Control? Cost control involves targeted expenditure reductions in order to increase profits. The following four steps are associated with cost control: Step 1.
Related Courses CostAccounting Fundamentals FinancialAnalysis What is a Semi-Variable Cost? A semi-variable cost is a cost that contains both fixed cost and variable cost elements.
Related Courses CostAccounting Guidebook FinancialAnalysis The Interpretation of Financial Statements What is the Weighted Average Contribution Margin? The weighted average contribution margin is the average amount that a group of products or services contribute to paying down the fixed costs of a business.
You know, when we first developed the CMA in 1972, there was more of a focus on costaccounting, but today the focus is more on a planning, analysis, decision support, and also technology and data analytics. Dennis (02:56): Yeah, the CMA program has evolved quite a bit over these, almost 50 years now.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 52,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content