Cost Management: Meaning, Techniques & Advantages
What is Cost?
Cost is defined as the monetary valuation of effort, material, resources, time consumed, risk and opportunity forgone in production / delivery of a good or service. It is simply put as the amount that has to be paid or given up for something to be acquired.
What is cost management?
It is defined as the process of planning and controlling the budget of the business. It helps in predicting the expenses of the business so that one can avoid going over budget, thereby being an integral part of business management.
Cost management involves different cost accounting methods that have the goal of improving business cost efficiency by reducing costs or atleast having measures in place to restrict the growth of costs.
Cost can be managed by
- Cost estimation
- Cost budgeting and
- Cost Control
Cost management system helps in identifying, collecting, classifying and collating information that can be used by managers in planning, controlling and taking decisions to keep costs in the desirable limits.
Why adopt cost management?
Before any project is taken up, it is appropriate to define the objectives to avoid any kind of cost over-runs. They also help in keeping away over or underestimation of costs. A well defined project helps in facilitating appropriate management of the costs, making the project a profitable one for the undertaker. Through cost management, unexpected costs can also be appropriately dealt with as and when they occur as the forecast would reflect it.
Factors affecting cost management
- Growth in information technology
- Global and overall domestic competition
- Growth of service and manufacturing sectors
Cost management techniques
Managing a business has containing cost of utmost importance. Below are mentioned some of the techniques through which the overall cost of the business can be controlled and maintained within the required limits.
Capitalize on technologyThis is one of the methods that help in streamlining the business. The latest of technology helps in getting quality of higher standards, less time consumption with higher productivity and keeps the employee count within the desirable range. All of this very strongly reflects in the overall cost of the business.
Time managementThe one who owns the business definitely knows the value of time for his / her business. However, it is important to pass down the relevance across the hierarchy of business to view the desired results. It is very essential to make the employees understand the value of time and how to be efficient to do more work in the same time span. This is one of the methods that will help increase the productivity without adding to the labor cost.
Inventory managementOne of the major cost as well as ways of generating revenues is through inventories. First and foremost one needs to chalk out the inventory requirements, the quantity check that needs to be stored, vendor costs etc as all of this helps in knowing the requirements of the business and helps avoid stocking excess inventory and deploy the capital elsewhere rather than tying up in the inventory stocks.
OutsourcingOutsourcing is one way that helps take employees on third party roles especially when it is for one time projects. This saves the employer from taking the cost onto his books. This is definitely done keeping in mind that the outsourcing partners are of the standards that do not hamper the quality of services to the customers of the business. Â Besides the employees, certain projects also can be outsourced, which helps in saving the additional employee costs onboard as well as get access to outside talent and technology, helping in optimizing the resources.
Updated market sense
It is very important to be updated with the trends in the markets as it is game of survival of the fittest. One has to be constantly in touch with the vendors and see that renewal of the contracts keep happening with the trend in prices. This will help in negotiating for the best prices available rather than dragging on the set prices of long term contracts.
Control of headcountThe second most important cost to a business is the employee cost. Although we take employees as assets or the backbone of the business, one needs to keep in mind that they also have cost associated with them. Besides the regular pays and salaries, workplace, licenses, softwares are the additional costs added per employee. That is why, it is essential that the manager knows how to reduce the employee costs, either by taking less number of people onboard, or by taking more of low cost employees rather than few high costs ones.
Advantages of cost management
- It helps in controlling the project specific cost, in turn also the overall business cost.
- One can predict the future expenses and costs and accordingly work towards the expected revenues.
- Predefined costs can be maintained as records for the business.
- It helps in taking those actions that are necessary to assure that the resources and business operations aim at attaining the chalked objectives and goals.
- It helps in analysing the long term trends of the business.
- The actual cost incurred can be compared to the budgeted to see if any component of the business is spending more than expected.
- It helps in analysing the business positioning in terms of making an acquisition factoring the cost component involved.
Conclusion
Cost management is indeed one of the essential requisites for the success of any project or business for that matter. When one knows the scope for the cost that the business can bear, it becomes much easier to set the goals and accordingly work towards it.
MAKE YOUR CAREER IN
Need more Info?
Tags
- ABOUT CFA COURSE
- ABOUT FRM COURSE IN INDIA
- ABOUT THE US CPA COURSE
- ACCA
- ACCA CERTIFICATION
- ACCA COURSE
- ACCA COURSE DETAILS
- ACCA COURSE DURATION
- ACCA COURSE ELIGIBILITY
- ACCA COURSE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
- ACCA COURSE ELIGIBILITY IN INDIA
- ACCA COURSE FEES
- ACCA COURSE FEES IN INDIA
- ACCA COURSE IN INDIA
- ACCA COURSE STRUCTURE
- ACCA COURSE STRUCTURE AND FEES IN INDIA
- ACCA COURSE SUBJECTS
- ACCA COURSE SYLLABUS
- ACCA EXAM STRUCTURE AND PATTERN
- ADMISSION TO CFA
- AI-POWERED FRAUD DETECTION IN ACCOUNTING
- APPLICATIONS OF AI IN ACCOUNTING
- AUDITING AND COMPLIANCE
- AUTOMATED DATA ENTRY
- AUTOMATED DATA ENTRY AND PROCESSING
- BAT COURSE
- BEST FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE
- BEST FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE IN INDIA
- BEST ONLINE CFA PREP COURSE
- BEST ONLINE FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE
- CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR CPA
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®) COURSE
- CFA
- CFA CERTIFICATION
- CFA COURSE
- CFA COURSE CURRICULUM
- CFA COURSE DETAILS
- CFA COURSE DURATION
- CFA COURSE FEES
- CFA COURSE FEES IN INDIA
- CFA COURSE FULL DETAILS
- CFA COURSE IN INDIA
- CFA COURSE IN INDIA CFA COURSE CFA COURSE DETAILS CFA COURSE SUBJECTS
- CFA COURSE SUBJECTS
- CFA COURSE SYLLABUS
- CFA COURSE TRAINING
- CFA CURRICULUM
- CFA FOUNDATION COURSE
- CFP CERTIFICATION
- CFP COURSE
- CFP COURSE DETAILS
- CFP COURSE FEE
- CFP® COURSE FEES
- CFP® COURSE SYLLABUS
- CFP® ELIGIBILITY
- CMA COURSE
- CMA COURSE DETAILS
- CMA COURSE DETAILS IN INDIA
- CMA COURSE DURATION.
- CMA COURSE ELIGIBILITY
- CMA COURSE ELIGIBILTY
- CMA COURSE FEES
- CMA COURSE FULL DETAILS
- CMA COURSE IN INDIA
- CMA COURSE SUBJECTS
- CMA COURSE SYLLABUS
- CPA ACCOUNTANT
- CPA COURSE
- CPA COURSE DETAILS
- CPA COURSE DURATION
- CPA COURSE ELIGIBILITY
- CPA COURSE FEES
- CPA COURSE FEES IN INDIA
- CPA COURSE IN INDIA
- CPA COURSE STRUCTURE
- CPA COURSE SYLLABUS
- CPA EXAM
- EVOLUTION OF AI IN ACCOUNTING
- EVOLUTION OF AI IN FINANCE
- FINANCIAL MODELING
- FINANCIAL MODELING AND VALUATION
- FINANCIAL MODELING AND VALUATION COURSE
- FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE
- FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE CURRICULUM
- FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE DETAILS
- FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE FEE
- FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE IN INDIA
- FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE USEFUL
- FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE WITH PLACEMENT
- FINANCIAL MODELLING COURSE
- FINANCIAL MODELLING COURSE DURATION
- FINANCIAL MODELLING COURSE FEES
- FINANCIAL MODELLING COURSE ONLINE
- FINANCIAL RISK MANAGER
- FM COURSE & FRM® COURSE
- FRM
- FRM COURSE
- FRM COURSE CERTIFICATION
- FRM COURSE CURRICULUM
- FRM COURSE DETAILS
- FRM COURSE DURATION
- FRM COURSE ELIGIBILITY
- FRM COURSE FEES
- FRM COURSE IN INDIA
- FRM COURSE SYLLABUS
- FRM® COURSE SUBJECTS
- FRM® COURSE SYLLABUS & HOW TO APPLY FOR FRM® COURSE
- IN FINANCE
- PG PROGRAM IN BUSINESS ACCOUNTING & TAXATION
- PGP BAT COURSE FEES
- PGP BAT COURSE SALARY IN INDIA
- PGP-BAT COURSE
- PGP-BAT COURSE COURSE IN INDIA
- PGP-BAT COURSE DETAILS
- PGP-BAT COURSE DURATION
- PGP-BAT COURSE ELIGIBILITY
- PGP-BAT COURSE FULL FORM
- PGP-BAT COURSE IN INDIA
- PGP-BAT COURSE INSTITUTE IN INDIA
- PGP-BAT COURSE SYLLABUS
- PLACEMENTS TO CFA
- SOFT SKILLS
- TAX PREPARATION
- TAX PREPARATION AND PLANNING
- US CMA COURSE
- US CMA COURSE DETAILS
- US CMA PREPARATION
- US CPA COURSE
- US CPA COURSE DETAILS
- US CPA COURSE FEES
- US CPA COURSE FULL FORM
- US CPA COURSE TRAINING
- US CPA EXAMS
- US CPA MEANING
- US-CMA
- US-CPA
- WHAT IS ACCA COURSE
- WHAT IS CFP® CERTIFICATION?
- WHAT IS CMA COURSE
- WHAT IS CPA COURSE
- WHAT IS FINANCIAL MODELING ALL ABOUT
- WHAT IS FINANCIAL MODELING COURSE
- WHAT IS FRM® COURSE? FRM® COURSE DETAILS
- WHAT IS FRM® COURSE? FRM® COURSE REVIEW
- WHAT IS THE CPA COURSE
- WHAT IS US CPA COURSE?
- WHAT IS US-CMA COURSE
Leave a Reply