Used to measure the demands that cost objects place on activities and to assign the cost of associated activities to cost objects. See cost object.
actual costs
Past payments for currently owned resources.
breakeven analysis
An analytical process that compares the fixed and variable costs of alternatives in order to identify the best alternative for a given volume of output.
cost object
An item for which costs are measured and assigned.
cost per unit
Total cost for producing the units of interest divided by the number of units produced.
cost traceability
The ease with which costs can be assigned to cost objects.
direct labor
Labor that can be traced directly to the good or service being produced.
direct materials
Materials that can be traced directly to the good or service being produced.
expected costs
Forecasted payments for future resources.
fixed costs
Costs that are not affected by volume.
nonproduction costs
The costs of selling and administration.
out-of-pocket costs
Cash payments made for resources.
overhead
All nondirect costs that exist after direct labor and direct materials have been identified.
period costs
Costs of resources used in nonproduction elements of a business.
product costs
Costs of resources used to make products.
production costs
Costs associated with the actual production of goods or services.
resource driver
A tool used to measure demands placed on resources by activities and to assign the costs of those resources to activities.
standard time
The result of a stopwatch time study after an adjustment by the performance rating and after allowances have been made.
total costs
The costs of all resources obtained in a particular period.
variable costs
Costs that increase or decrease as units produced increase or decrease.
variance
The difference between desired cost or consumption rate and the actual cost or consumption rate.
variance analysis
A process used to compare actual consumption of inventory and capacity to ideal consumption levels.