Fundamentals of Cost Accounting, 7/e

Contents: 

COST ACCOUNTING • AN OVERVIEW • General discussion on Cost Accounting • Need for Cost Accounting • Meaning and scope of Cost Accountancy • Objects of Cost Accounting • Costing • Estimating and Pricing • A comparative study of Cost Accounting and Financial Accounting,? Advantages of Cost Accounting • Objections to Cost Accounting • Installation of Costing System • Characteristics of an ideal system of Cost Accounting • Methods of Costing • Meaning of Cost Centre and Cost Unit.? ELEMENTS AND COMPONENTS OF COST • Meaning of Cost • Elements of Cost • Components of Cost • Items excluded from Cost Accounts • Preparation of Cost Sheet • COST CLASSIFICATION • Meaning and need for classification of costs • Bases of classification. • MATERIALS-I • Introduction • Material Control : Meaning, • Objects • principles and advantages • Scope of Material Control :Purchasing • Receiving and Inspection • Storing and Issuing • Maintenance of Inventory Records • Inventory Control • MATERIALS-II • Valuation of materials purchased • Treatment of discount and cost of containers • Valuation of materials issued (Methods of Pricing) • Selection of a proper method of valuation. • LABOUR • Meaning of labour cost • Control over labour cost • Idle Time : -Meaning • causes • types • and treatment • Overtime • Outworkers • Labour Turnover • Methods of Remuneration • DIRECT EXPENSES • Meaning and characteristics of direct expenses • Items of direct expenses • Distinction between chargeable expenses and overhead. • OVERHEAD-I • Meaning of overhead • classification of overhead • Methods and Necessity of segregating fixed and variable overhead costs • Comments on certain items of overhead • OVERHEAD-II • Steps in Overhead Accounting • Classification • Codification and collection of overhead • Allocation and apportionment of overhead • Absorption of factory overhead • office and administrative overhead • selling and distribution overhead • Under-absorption and over-absorption of overhead • SINGLE COSTING-I • Meaning • features and objects of Single Costing • Costing procedure • Meaning • features and advantages of Cost Sheet • Production Account • SINGLE COSTING-II • Calculation of Estimates • Tender Price and Quotation Price. • JOB COSTING AND BATCH COSTING • Meaning • features • procedure and limitations of Job Costing • Procedure of Batch Costing • CONTRACT COSTING • Meaning and features of Contract Costing • Costing procedure • Cost-plus contracts and Escalation Clause • Calculation of profit on contracts : Completed and incomplete contracts • PROCESS COSTING-I • Meaning and features of Process Costing • Costing procedure • Process Loss or Wastage • Treatment of Normal Wastage and Abnormal Wastage • Abnormal Effectives • Process Stocks • Inter-process profits • PROCESS COSTING-II • Meaning of Joint Products and By-products • objectives of accounting for joint products and by-products • Accounting Methods for joint products and by-products • PROCESS COSTING-III • Equivalent Production : Meaning • Computation and Evaluation • OPERATING COSTING • Meaning and features of operating costing • cedure of costing:Transport costing • Power-house costing, • Cinema House costing • Hotel costing • Canteen costing, • Hospital costing • RECONCILIATION OF COST AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS • Meaning and Need for Reconciliation • Causes of disagreement of cost and financial results • Method of reconciliation • BUDGETING AND BUDGETARY CONTROL • Meaning and features of Budget • Budgeting • Meaning • exercise • objectives • essentials • advantages and limitations of Budgetary Control • Organisation for Budgetary Control • Classification of Budgets • Control Ratios • Zero Base Budgeting • STANDARD COSTING • Meaning of standard costing and standard cost • Applicability of standard costing • Standard Costing Vs. Budgetary Control • Preliminaries • Advantages and limitations of standard costing • Meaning and calculation of variances • Disposal of variances • MARGINAL COSTING (VARIABLE COSTING-I • Meaning of Marginal Cost and Marginal Costing • Features of marginal costing • Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis • Absorption Costing Vs. Marginal Costing • Tools of Marginal Costing —Contribution • P/V Ratio • Break-even Point • Margin of Safety • Break-even Charts • Profit-Volume Graph. • MARGINAL COSTING-II • Application of Marginal Costing Techniques to Managerial Decision-making — Selection of profitable sales mix • Problem of Limiting Factors • Make or buy decision • Diversification of production • Fixation of selling price • Export Market Vs. Home Market • Alternative methods of manufacture • Operate or Shut-down decision • Maintaining a desired level of profit • Profit Planning • DIFFERENTIAL COST ANALYSIS • Meaning and features of Differential Cost Analysis • Differential Cost Analysis Vs. Marginal Costing • Applications of Differential Cost Analysis • COST CONTROL ACCOUNTS AND INTEGRATED ACCOUNTS • Introduction • Cost Ledgers • Control Accounts • Advantages of Cost Control Accounts • Meaning of Integrated Accounts • Integrated Accounting Systems • UNIFORM COSTING AND INTER-FIRM COMPARISON • Meaning and objects of Uniform Costing • Requisites for installation • Applicability • advantages and disadvantages of Uniform Costing • Meaning • objects • advantages and limitations of Inter-firm comparison • COST AUDIT • Meaning • objects and scope of Cost Audit • Functions • areas and types of Cost Audit • Cost Audit Report • Advantages of Cost Audit • COST CONTROL , COST REDUCTION, VALUE ANALYSIS AND PRODUCTIVITY • Cost Control—meaning • steps in cost control • tools and techniques of cost control • Cost Reduction — meaning • advantages • tools and techniques • Value Analysis and Productivity — meaning • measurement and benefits • ACTIVITY BASED COSTING • Introduction • Factors prompting the development of ABC System • Meaning and features of ABC System • Steps in ABC System • Objects of Activity Based Costing • Advantages and limitations of Activity Based Costing.

About the Author: 

Dr Tilak Raj Sikka specializes in the fields of Accounting , Taxation and Corporate Law. He has 40 years of teaching experience and has written a number of books on accounting and related subjects .He has been a Senior Lecturer in the Post-Graduate Department of Commerce and Management at D.A.V. College , Amritsar , and Head , Department of Management Studies at Amritsar College of Engineering and Technology , Amritsar.