Batch costing advantages and disadvantages
Introduction
Through the old ages when it comes to be aftering Managers has developed techniques and methods of forecasting hereafter costs. One of such methods is Absorption bing and activity based costing ( ABC )
What is Absorption bing?
Absorption costing is the traditional method of bing and stock rating, holding been developed around the 1870s to 1920s is widely used by the fabrication companies.
The thought behind soaking up bing to distribute all operating expenses of the fabrication cost centres every bit good as the direct cost between the finished merchandises, and handle all non-manufacturing operating expense as period costs. CIMA defined Absorption Costing as “ a method of bing that, in add-on to direct costs, assigns all, or a proportion of, production operating expenses costs to be units by agencies of one or more figure of soaking up rates. ”
What is activity based costing?
Is the modern method of cost direction holding been developed in 1980s. it is the preferable method for the services industry.
The CIMA definition for activity based costing is ”an attack to the costing and monitoring of activities which involves following resource ingestion and bing concluding end products. Resources are assigned to activities, and activities to be objects based on ingestion estimations. The latter utilise cost drivers to attach activity costs to end products. ”CIMA Official Terminology, 2005 ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.
cimaglobal.com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/cid_tg_activity_based_costing_nov08.pdf.pdf )
Analysis
Why does the company need either soaking up costing or ABC?
It ‘s really of import for directors to hold an thought of the actualA costA of procedures, sections, operations or merchandise which is the foundation of their budget.
and in order to accomplish that they need to hold a cost accounting system ; such as soaking up coting or activity based costing. Here are the advantages of holding such systems and their disadvantages
The advantages of Absorption Costing:
It recognizes the importance of fixed costs in production ;is method is accepted by Inland Revenue asA stockA is non undervalued ;is method is ever used to prepareA financialA histories ;When production remains changeless but gross revenues fluctuate soaking up costing will demo less fluctuation in net net income and
The disadvantages of Absorption Costing:
As soaking up bing emphasized on entire cost viz. both variable and fixed, it is non so utile for direction to utilize to do determination, planning and control ;as the director ‘s accent is on entire cost, the cost volume net income relationship is ignored. The director needs to utilize his intuition to do the determination.
The advantages of Activity Based Costing:
- More accurateA costing of products/services, clients, SKUs, distribution channels.
- Better understandingA operating expense.
- Easier toA understandA for everyone.
- UtilizesA unit costA instead than merely entire cost.
- Integrates good withA Six SigmaA and otherA uninterrupted betterment plans.
- Makes visibleA wasteA andA non-value added activities.
- SupportsA public presentation direction and scorecards
- Enables bing ofA procedures, supply ironss, and value watercourses
- Activity Based CostingA mirrorsA wayA workA is done
- FacilitatesA benchmarking
The disadvantages of activity based costing:
It costs a batch to keep it, it takes a batch of clip and resources to roll up, look into and come in it into the system for the day of the month needed to mensurate activity based costing.Is non accepted by GAAP ( recognized accounting rules ) therefor companies need to hold a different system when fixing external studies.
What are the differences between Absorption bing and ABC?
There are many differences between soaking up costing and activity based costing.
Difference in Approach
One of such differences is the manner it approached. Absorption bing allocates costs to merchandise units, whereas activity based costing hints the costs of merchandise units.Absorption costing is the traditional cost accounting method that focuses on the merchandise or service when repair costs.
It works under the simple attack of delegating resources to merchandises or services straight.Activity based costing is a modern cost accounting attack that focuses on activities as the cardinal cost. ABC presumes that merchandises or services consume activities, and activities consume resources. It therefore, works to change over indirect costs into direct costs.
Difference in Methodology
Absorption bing divides every bit the fixed operating expense costs with the figure of merchandise units whereas activity based bing identifies the existent proportion of fixed operating expenses costs incurred by the merchandise unit.Comparing soaking up costing and activity based costing, the latter follows a more scientific attack. Price arrested development in soaking up bing depends on the stock list. The higher the stock list, the lower the merchandise cost and lower the stock list ; or the higher per-product cost.
Price arrested development in activity based costing bases computations to deduce the existent operating expenses incurred on a unit, and does non vary with alteration in stock list degrees.Activity based costing, nevertheless, faces serious challenges in practical application, for allowing some of the fixed operating expenses such as the main executive ‘s salary on a per-product usage footing, is following to impossible. Furthermore, procedure of informations aggregation, informations entry, andA informations analysis requiredA to split the fixed overhead costs among units based on use, requires significant resources and remains dearly-won to keep. Absorption bing that divides all fixed operating expense costs with the figure of units produced is a simple and easy attack and free from such complexnesss.
Legal Validity
Absorption bing complies with theA by and large accepted accounting principlesA ( GAAP ) whereas theA FinancialA Accounting Standards Board ( FASB ) and Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) do non accept ABC for externally published fiscal statements. Firms that follow activity based costing, hence, need to keep two cost systems and accounting books, one for internal usage, and another for external studies, filings, and statutory conformity.
Difference in Scope
Absorption bing helps determine the overall profitableness or efficiency of the fabrication system but fails to supply the existent cost of single merchandise units.Activity based bing mirrors the operation of theA enterpriseA and contributes to strategic decision-making procedures.
ABC provides the existent cost of single merchandise units and, thereby, helps place inefficient or non-profitable merchandises that eat into the profitableness of other extremely profitable merchandises. ABC besides helps monetary value merchandises equitably, leting interrupting down of merchandise or service into sub-components or offering “ top ups ” based on client demands.Comparing soaking up costing and activity based costing, activity based bing improves the quality of direction accounting information, particularly in big and multi-product operations where conventional overhead allotment methods such as soaking up costing may bring forth misdirecting consequences. Absorption costing, nevertheless, remains more suited for little houses andA enterprisesA with homogenous merchandises or services.
Recommendation and execution
I recommend to present activity based bing system as its more suited for the public service industry.
