Introduction. The issues of management of production costs of the enterprise have become important for domestic businesses after the transition of the economy to market principles of doing business. In the command-administrative system of management, pricing was the prerogative of state authorities, ministries and departments and was based on the implementation of a cost approach, which involves the inclusion in the cost of products of the full cost of its production and sale.
Methods. During the research general and special methods of research of processes and phenomena in their interrelation and development were used, namely: monographic (at formulation of the purpose, tasks, subject and object of research); method of comparative analysis (in the study of the concepts of strategic cost management). At the stage of observation of business transactions, collection, measurement, design, registration, systematization and processing of information for research, the inductive method was used, and the deductive method was used in the process of theoretical understanding of the problem.
Results. We believe that the main characteristics of the cost management system of an agricultural enterprise should be: phased implementation of the process; inclusion in the general process of enterprise management; establishing the impact of the external environment of the business entity; determining the characteristics of the internal environment; availability of feedback.
Discussion. At the stage of reforming the domestic accounting system, the issue of terminology should be given special importance. It is advisable to use in regulations the definition of costs and expenses, limiting the scope of these categories and providing the possibility of their unambiguous qualification by enterprises that prepare reports for interested users, both external and internal. Prospects for the application of IFRS in Ukraine in terms of cost accounting require understanding of the basic ideas and meaning of international standards and research, the results of which will approximate, and further bring the guidelines and rules of cost accounting in Ukraine in accordance with international financial reporting standards.
Keywords: production, management, costs, expenses, accounting, prime cost.