Costcontrol成本控制外文翻译Word格式文档下载.docx

Costcontrol成本控制外文翻译Word格式文档下载.docx

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Costcontrol,alsoknownascostmanagementorcostcontainment,isabroadsetofcostaccountingmethodsandmanagementtechniqueswiththecommongoalofimprovingbusinesscost-efficiencybyreducingcosts,oratleastrestrictingtheirrateofgrowth.Businessesusecostcontrolmethodstomonitor,evaluate,andultimatelyenhancetheefficiencyofspecificareas,suchasdepartments,divisions,orproductlines,withintheiroperations.

Controlofthebusinessentity,then,isessentiallyamanagerialandsupervisoryfunction.Controlconsistsofthoseactionsnecessarytoassurethattheentity'

sresourcesandoperationsarefocusedonattainingestablishedobjectives,goalsandplans.Control,exercisedcontinuously,flagspotentialproblemssothatcrisesmaybeprevented.Italsostandardizesthequalityandquantityofoutput,andprovidesmanagerswithobjectiveinformationaboutemployeeperformance.Managementcomparesactualperformancetopredeterminedstandardsandtakesactionwhennecessarytocorrectvariancesfromthestandards.

Keywords:

Costcontrol；

Applications；

Controlreports；

Standards；

Strategic

Duringthe1990scostcontrolinitiativesreceivedparamountattentionfromcorporateAmerica.Oftentakingtheformofcorporaterestructuring,divestmentofperipheralactivities,masslayoffs,oroutsourcing,costcontrolstrategieswereseenasnecessarytopreserve—orboost—corporateprofitsandtomaintain—orgain—acompetitiveadvantage.Theobjectivewasoftentobethelow-costproducerinagivenindustry,whichwouldtypicallyallowthecompanytotakeagreaterprofitperunitofsalesthanitscompetitorsatagivenpricelevel.

Somecostcontrolproponentsbelievethatsuchstrategiccost-cuttingmustbeplannedcarefully,asnotallcostreductiontechniquesyieldthesamebenefits.Inanotablelate1990sexample,chiefexecutiveAlbertJ.Dunlap,nicknamed"

ChainsawAl"

becauseofhispenchantfordeepcostcuttingatthecompaniesheheaded,failedtorestoretheailingsmallappliancemakerSunbeamCorporationtoprofitabilitydespitehisdrasticcostreductiontactics.Dunlaplaidoffthousandsofworkersandsoldoffbusinessunits,butmadelittlecontributiontoSunbeam'

scompetitivepositionorsharepriceinhistwoyearsasCEO.Consequently,in1998Sunbeam'

sboardfiredDunlap,havinglostconfidenceinhis"

one-trick"

approachtomanagement.

COSTCONTROLAPPLICATIONS

Acomplexbusinessrequiresfrequentinformationaboutoperationsinordertoplanforthefuture,tocontrolpresentactivities,andtoevaluatethepastperformanceofmanagers,employees,andrelatedbusinesssegments.Tobesuccessful,managementguidestheactivitiesofitspeopleintheoperationsofthebusinessaccordingtopre-establishedgoalsandobjectives.Management'

sguidancetakestwoformsofcontrol:

（1）themanagementandsupervisionofbehavior,and

（2）theevaluationofperformance.

Behavioralmanagementdealswiththeattitudesandactionsofemployees.Whileemployeebehaviorultimatelyimpactsonsuccess,behavioralmanagementinvolvescertainissuesandassumptionsnotapplicabletoaccounting'

scontrolfunction.Ontheotherhand,performanceevaluationmeasuresoutcomesofemployee'

sactionsbycomparingtheactualresultsofbusinessoutcomestopredeterminedstandardsofsuccess.Inthiswaymanagementidentifiesthestrengthsitneedstomaximize,andtheweaknessesitseekstorectify.Thisprocessofevaluationandremedyiscalledcostcontrol.

Costcontrolisacontinuousprocessthatbeginswiththeproposedannualbudget.Thebudgethelps:

（1）toorganizeandcoordinateproduction,andtheselling,distribution,service,andadministrativefunctions;

and

（2）totakemaximumadvantageofavailableopportunities.Asthefiscalyearprogresses,managementcomparesactualresultswiththoseprojectedinthebudgetandincorporatesintothenewplanthelessonslearnedfromitsevaluationofcurrentoperations.

Controlreferstomanagement'

sefforttoinfluencetheactionsofindividualswhoareresponsibleforperformingtasks,incurringcosts,andgeneratingrevenues.Managementisatwo-phasedprocess:

planningreferstothewaythatmanagementplansandwantspeopletoperform,whilecontrolreferstotheproceduresemployedtodeterminewhetheractualperformancecomplieswiththeseplans.Throughthebudgetprocessandaccountingcontrol,managementestablishesoverallcompanyobjectives,definesthecentersofresponsibility,determinesspecificobjectivesforeachresponsibilitycenter,anddesignsproceduresandstandardsforreportingandevaluation.

Abudgetsegmentsthebusinessintoitscomponentsorcenterswheretheresponsiblepartyinitiatesandcontrolsaction.Responsibilitycentersrepresentapplicableorganizationalunits,functions,departments,anddivisions.Generallyasingleindividualheadstheresponsibilitycenterexercisingsubstantial,ifnotcomplete,controlovertheactivitiesofpeopleorprocesseswithinthecenterandcontrollingtheresultsoftheiractivity.Costcentersareaccountableonlyforexpenses,thatis,theydonotgeneraterevenue.Examplesincludeaccountingdepartments,humanresourcesdepartments,andsimilarareasofthebusinessthatprovideinternalservices.Profitcentersacceptresponsibilityforbothrevenueandexpenses.Forexample,aproductlineoranautonomousbusinessunitmightbeconsideredprofitcenters.Iftheprofitcenterhasitsownassets,itmayalsobeconsideredaninvestmentcenter,forwhichreturnsoninvestmentcanbedetermined.Theuseofresponsibilitycentersallowsmanagementtodesigncontrolreportstopinpointaccountability,thusaidinginprofitplanning.

Abudgetalsosetsstandardstoindicatethelevelofactivityexpectedfromeachresponsiblepersonordecisionunit,andtheamountofresourcesthataresponsiblepartyshoulduseinachievingthatlevelofactivity.Abudgetestablishestheresponsibilitycenter,delegatestheconcomitantresponsibilities,anddeterminesthedecisionpointswithinanorganization.

CONTROLREPORTS

Controlreportsareinformationalreportsthattellmanagementaboutanentity'

sactivities.Managementrequestscontrolreportsonlyforinternaluse,and,therefore,directstheaccountingdepartmenttodeveloptailor-madereportingformats.Accountingprovidesmanagementwithaformatdesignedtodetectvariationsthatneedinvestigating.Inaddition,managementalsoreferstoconventionalreportssuchastheincomestatementandfundsstatement,andexternalreportsonthegeneraleconomyandthespecificindustry.

Controlreports,then,needtoprovideanadequateamountofinformationsothatmanagementmaydeterminethereasonsforanycostvariancesfromtheoriginalbudget.Agoodcontrolreporthighlightssignificantinformationbyfocusingmanagement'

sattentiononthoseitemsinwhichactualperformancesignificantlydiffersfromthestandard.

Becausekeysuccessfactorsshiftintypeandnumber,accountingrevisescontrolreportswhennecessary.Accountingalsovariesthecontrolperiodcoveredbythecontrolreporttoencompassaperiodinwhichmanagementcantakeusefulremedialaction.Inaddition,accountingdisseminatescontrolreportsinatimelyfashiontogivemanagementadequatetimetoactbeforetheissuanceofthenextreport.

Managersperformeffectivelywhentheyattainthegoalsandobjectivessetbythebudget.Withrespecttoprofits,managerssucceedbythedegreetowhichrevenuescontinuallyexceedexpenses.Inapplyingthefollowingsimpleformula,managers,especiallythoseinoperations,realizethattheyexercisemorecontroloverexpensesthantheydooverrevenue.

Whiletheycannotpredictthetimingandvolumeofactualsales,theycandeterminetheutilizationrateofmostoftheirresources,thatis,theycaninfluencethecostside.Hence,theevaluationofmanagement'

sperformanceanditsoperationsiscostcontrol.

STANDARDS

Forcostcontrolpurposes,abudgetprovidesstandardcosts.Asmanagementconstructsbudgets,itlaysoutaroadmaptoguideitsefforts.Itstatesanumberofassumptionsabouttherelationshipsandinteractionamongtheeconomy,marketdynamics,theabilitiesofitssalesforce,anditscapacitytoprovidetheproperquantityandqualityofproductsdemanded.

Anexaminationofthedetailsofthebudgetcalculationsandassumptionsindicatesthatmanagementexpectsthesalesforcetospendonlysomuchinpursuitofthesalesforecast.Thedetailsalsorevealthatmanagementexpectsoperationstoproducetherequiredamountofunitswithinacertaincostrange.Managementbasesitsexpectationsandprojectionsonthebesthistoricalandcurrentinformation,aswellasitsbestbusinessjudgment.

THEROLEOFACCOUNTING

Accountingplaysakeyroleinallplanningandcontrol.Itdoesthisinfourkeyareas:

（1）datacollection,

（2）dataanalysis,（3）budgetcontrolandadministration,and（4）consolidationandreview.Theaccountantsplayakeyroleindesigningandsecuringsupportfortheproceduralaspectsoftheplanningprocess.Inaddition,theydesignanddistributeformsforthecollectionandbookingofdetaileddataonallaspectsofthebusiness.Althoughoperating