Costcontrol成本控制外文翻译.docx

Costcontrol成本控制外文翻译.docx

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Costcontrol成本控制外文翻译

Referenceforbusiness,EncyclopediaofBusiness.2nded,CosDes

Costcontrol

RogerJ.Binder

Abstract

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

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

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