Cost Accounting Practice

Cost accounting practice

Cost accounting practice, as used in this part, means any disclosed or established accounting method or technique which is used for allocation of cost to cost objectives, assignment of cost to cost accounting periods, or measurement of cost.

(a) Measurement of cost, as used in this part, encompasses accounting methods and techniques used in defining the components of cost, determining the basis for cost measurement, and establishing criteria for use of alternative cost measurement techniques. The determination of the amount paid or a change in the amount paid for a unit of goods and services is not a cost accounting practice. Examples of cost accounting practices which involve measurement of costs are—

(1) The use of either historical cost, market value, or present value;

(2) The use of standard cost or actual cost; or

(3) The designation of those items of cost which must be included or excluded from tangible capital assets or pension cost.

(b) Assignment of cost to cost accounting periods, as used in this part, refers to a method or technique used in determining the amount of cost to be assigned to individual cost accounting periods. Examples of cost accounting practices which involve the assignment of cost to cost accounting periods are requirements for the use of specified accrual basis accounting or cash basis accounting for a cost element.

(c) Allocation of cost to cost objectives, as used in this part, includes both direct and indirect allocation of cost. Examples of cost accounting practices involving allocation of cost to cost objectives are the accounting methods or techniques used to accumulate cost, to determine whether a cost is to be directly or indirectly allocated to determine the composition of cost pools, and to determine the selection and composition of the appropriate allocation base.