Measurement concepts

You will be able to:

a. demonstrate an understanding of the behavior of fixed and variable costs

b. identify cost objects and cost pools and assign costs to appropriate activities

c. demonstrate an understanding of the nature and types of cost drivers and the causal relationship that exists between cost drivers and costs incurred

d. demonstrate an understanding of the various methods for measuring costs and accumulating work-in-process and finished goods inventories

e. identify and define cost measurement techniques such as actual costing, normal costing, and standard costing; calculate costs using each of these techniques; identify the appropriate use of each technique; and describe the benefits and limitations of each technique

f. demonstrate an understanding of variable (direct) costing and absorption (full) costing and the benefits and limitations of these measurement concepts g. calculate inventory costs, cost of goods sold, and operating profit using both variable costing and absorption costing

g. define the elements of activity-based costing such as cost pool, cost driver, resource driver, activity driver, and value-added activity h. calculate product cost using an activity-based system and compare and analyze the results with costs calculated using a traditional system i. explain how activity-based costing can be utilized in service firms