cost accounting

Cost accounting

A branch of accounting that provides information to help the management of a firm evaluate production costs and efficiency.

---

cost accounting

The field of accounting that measures, classifies, and records costs. A cost accountant, for example, might be required to establish a system for identifying and segmenting various production costs so as to assist a firm's management in making prudent operating decisions.

---

cost accounting

A branch of accounting that observes and calculates the actual costs of a company's operations. Internal managers, rather than auditors, use cost accounting most of the time to identify aspects of their company where costs can be cut. For example, a manager may enlist a cost accountant to determine the most expensive aspects of his/her business that is, where the money goes. The accountant may make a detailed report so that the manager may make decisions based upon it. Because cost accounting is primarily internal, it need not conform to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. See also: Assurance, Activity-based costing.