chapter 2 Flashcards
cost
a resource sacrificed or forgone to achieve a specific objective.
actual costs
incurred costs (historical costs)
budgeted costs
predicted or forecasted costs
cost object
anything for which a separate measurement of costs is desired.
cost accumulation
collection of cost data in some organised way through an accounting system.
cost assignment
a general term that encompasses both tracing accumulated costs to a cost object and allocating costs to a cost object. this can also occur simultaneously.
direct costs
costs that are related to a particular cost object and that can be traced to it in an economically feasible (cost-effective) way.
indirect costs
costs that are related to a particular cost object and that cannot be traced to it in an economically feasible way. they’re allocated to the cost object using a cost-allocation method.
cost tracing
assigning direct costs to the chosen cost object.
cost allocation
assigning indirect costs to the chosen cost object.
value-added activities
activities that customers perceive as adding value to the products or services they purchase.
cost driver/cost generator/cost determinant
any factor that affects total costs.
cost management
set of actions that managers take to satisfy customers while continuously reducing and controlling costs. therefore, changes in a cost driver may not automatically lead to changes in overall costs.
variable costs
costs that change in proportion to changes in the related level of total activity or volume.
fixed costs
costs that do not change in total despite changes in the related level of total activity or volume.