Product Total Cost (Work, Service): Organizational and Methodical Aspects of Its Formation

Abstract

It has been found in the article that information about total cost influences informed management decisions on assortment policy, pricing, marketing policy, but the lack of normative regulation of the formation of this indicator leads to discussions in the terminological field and the subjective nature of its calculation. It is proved that costs included in the total cost of production (works, services) should be divided into the following three groups: by way of attribution to cost (direct, indirect), by the degree of influence of production on the level of costs (fixed, variable), by relation to the economic process (main, overhead). It is argued that not all overhead costs are indirect, so it is advisable to use the term «indirect costs» when allocating costs that cannot be directly attributed to a particular cost object. It is proposed to allocate indirect costs in the scale of the following five steps: division of costs into direct and indirect costs; grouping indirect costs into homogeneous groups; setting a materiality threshold for indirect costs; allocation of indirect costs between cost centers; selection of distribution bases and allocation of indirect costs between types of products (works, services). It is recommended to establish indirect cost allocation bases according to the following procedures: 1) identify those cost groups for which the selection of the allocation base is obvious or clearly recommended by experts; 2) to allocate those groups of costs, the magnitude of which is insignificant and there is no obvious distribution base. In this case, the most objective of the allocation base is to choose the amount of direct costs, taking into account the costs of maintenance and operation of the equipment; 3) if the magnitude of a specific group of indirect costs accounts for a large proportion of the total indirect costs and there is no apparent logical factor affecting their change, then it is appropriate to use correlation-regression analysis. As a result of validation of the calculation of the full cost of the proposed steps and rules, the possibility of obtaining the most correct value of its value, while optimizing the resources expended to perform the relevant calculations, was proved.