Cost Data Determination

How does one decide the cost data for products and the services which are the end result of the productive processes? The response to this question is much more complex than you might suspect. Multiple persons, parts, and processes may be required to bring about the deliverable output. Think about an automobile manufacturer; what is the dollar amount of "cost" for the hundreds of cars which are in various stages of completion at the end of the month? After reading this chapter, and the next, you will have a improved sense of how business information systems are used to generate the important cost data.

This chapter gives stress on the job costing technique/method, and the next chapter will look more closely at the process costing and the other options. At the outset, note that the job costing is best suitable to those situations where goods and services are produced upon receipt of the customer order, according to the customer specifications, or in separate batches as a result, number of companies will refer to this costing method/technique as the job order costing method. For instance, a ship builder would likely accumulate costs for every ship produced. An aircraft manufacturer would find this method/technique logical. Construction companies and home makers would naturally gravitate to a job costing approach. Each task is somewhat unique. Materials and labour can be readily traced to each task, and the cost assignment logically.