MEANING OF COST AUDIT
Cost audit is basically the analysis of cost accounts and also checking on the efficiency of cost accounts and to ensure that these accounts are matching the predetermined cost accounting plans. It also determines the accuracy of the cost accounts. They also ensure that the accounts conform to the principles, plans, procedures and objectives. It shows the deviation in plans. It is also known as efficiency audit as it checks the efficiency of working of predetermined plans. It consists of the sum total of expenditure and revenue and determines the true work efficiency of a plan. It is used to assess the operational efficiency and resource management of an organisation. It is essentially the verification of the cost accounts so as to ascertain the variations in the efficiency of the organisation.
DEFINITION OF COST AUDIT
The concept of cost audit has been elaborated by ICWA as ‘an audit of efficiency of minute details of expenditure, while the work is in progress and not a post mortem examination. Financial audit is a ‘fait accompli’, cost audit is mainly a preventive measure, a guide for management policy and decision in addition, to being a barometer of performance’. (ref. yourrticlelibrary.com)
Cost Audit may be defined as "the verification of cost records and accounts and a check on the adherence to the prescribed cost accounting procedures and the continuing relevance of such procedures.”(Ref. A Textbook of Financial Cost and Management
The week four individual paper addresses the implementation of Activity Based Costing (ABC) by Super Bakery, Inc., a virtual corporation founded by Franco Harris. Specifically, management strategies, the reasoning behind an ABC system, and the alternatives of a job order cost system or a process order cost system are assessed for this enterprise.
Managerial accounting is essential for decision making. Making the best choice depends on the manager's goals, the anticipated results from each alternative, and the information available when the decision is made (Schneider, 2012). The different techniques associated with managerial accounting are very helpful in the decisions that need to be made. In order to truly understand decision making with managerial accounting one must first discern exactly what managerial accounting means and some of the techniques associated with it. The definition of managerial accounting will be discussed along with the techniques of cost management techniques, budgeting, and quality control.
The cost accounting system at the Mint is just one of the three types of major accounting system is used for general and bullion accounting. The cost accounting systems is subsidiary to general accounting and it is decentralized to each production facility. According to the author, cost accounting is an integral part of the overall accounting system (Kess, 1995). The Mint generally used the full cost or absorption method. This method assigns all manufacturing costs to the cost of goods manufactured (Kess, 1995).
Due to increasing economic and financial growth, many types of audit have been incorporated throughout the development process of internal activities. Audits can be performed manually or they can incorporate technology. According to Hunton and
In 2009, the research done by Ghosh and Palewicz designnd for analyzing the auditing cost from 2000 through 2005. They collected 23,273 firm’s year observation (Ghosh and Palewicz 181) and the results indicates that the sample’s average audit fees in pre-SOX is $533,360 but after SOX it went up to $1,185,322 over two years, The increase in audit fees is $651,962 which is approximate 122 percent.(Ghosh and Palewicz 185).
Narong, D. K. (2009). Activity-Based Costing and Management Solutions to Traditional Shortcomings of Cost Accounting. Cost Engineering, 51(8), 11-22.
Cost accounting is a type of accounting process that aims to capture a company's costs of production by assessing the input costs of each step of production as well as fixed costs such as depreciation of capital equipment. Cost accounting will first measure and record these costs individually, then compare input results to output or actual results to aid company management in measuring financial performance (Cost Accounting, n.d.).
Bhimani, A., Horngren, C., Datar, S., Rajan, M. et al. (2012) Management and Cost Accounting. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Prentice Hall, p.369 - 378.
Would factory security and assembly activities be best classified at an appliance manufacturing plant as unit-level, batch-level, product-level, or organization-sustaining?
The board of directors of the Cortez Beach Yacht Club (CBYC) is developing plans to acquire more equipment for lessons and rentals and to expand club facilities. The board plans to purchase about $50,000 of new equipment each year and wants to begin a fund to purchase a $600,000 piece of property for club expansion.
Cost Accounting: Its role and ethical considerations Introduction: Accounting is the process of identifying, measuring, and communicating economic information about an entity for the purpose of making decisions and informed judgements. The major areas of within the accounting are: Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting/Cost Accounting and Auditing- Public Accounting Managerial accounting is concerned with the use of economic and financial information to plan and control the activities of an entity and to support the management in planning and decision-making process. Cost accounting is the subset of managerial accounting and it helps management in determination and accumulation of product, process or service cost.
In Barnes Scuba Diving case, the main comparison for the flexible-budget variance analysis would be between the actual results and flexible budget. Static budget would not be useful for this comparison due to the different sales unit output which may result in a misleading and inaccurate result comparison.
Through the case study, I learnt that a proper Cost Accounting System is very important in a company. Without the accurate system, a company is unable to maximize the profit from the product sold. The product price might be charged too high (over-priced) or too low (under-priced). All these will
Erin should notify Smart Worx of the postponement as it is consistent with ethical principles of integrity and professional competence. As Erin is complying with these codes of ethics, she has nothing to lose or suffer as she followed the guidelines of the code and therefore cannot be
International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) 2011 and Institute of Internal auditors (IIA), Defines, the Internal auditing as an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity intended to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization to achieve its objectives by bringing a methodical, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. The overall objective of internal auditing is to assist all members of management in the effective discharge of their functioning, by endorsing them with objective analysis, appraisals, recommendations and pertinent comments concerning the activities reviewed. The Institute of Internal auditors under the glossary of the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing,(IIA 2004c:25) outlines the concept of ‘value added’ in the integrity and objectivity of internal auditing and financial report scrutiny states that:(Institute of Internal Auditors