Costs: species, components, differences

Any activity of the enterprise, organization, institution implies a minimum investment with maximum return. Aspiring to the first, heads as much as possible effectively organize technological processes and technologies. And for the implementation of the second task, all external influences on enterprises are considered.

Production costs - types, structure, economists of different times were treated differently. Thus, Karl Marx divided them into production and distribution costs. He attributed to the first costs associated with the purchase of raw materials and materials, payment of wages to workers, depreciation of labor. The second - all the costs associated with the sale of products.

Modern economists put both noted types into the notion of costs. But, unlike previous exercises, they are divided into those depending on the volume of output and not depending. The latter include fixed costs, the types of which are associated with rent, loan interest, equipment costs and maintenance, maintenance of the security ... That is, for all points of expenditure that arise irrespective of whether the enterprise operates, producing products or not. If costs depend on the volume of output, they are referred to as variables. This usually includes the cost of materials, raw materials, energy, wages and so on.

Considering the costs, their types, set forth above, it is necessary to note that in Aggregates, variables and constants yield gross costs. For an accurate measurement to analyze production, economists introduce the concept of averages. That is, average fixed costs, average variable costs. To determine them, there are quite primitive formulas. To determine the magnitude of the average fixed costs, it is necessary to find the quotient between the constant and the quantity of output. Similarly, the average values of variables and gross values are found.

The listed costs, their types and method of calculation are not the last ones in economic analysis. Important knowledge is the maximum level of profit. For this, it becomes necessary to calculate the size of output. At this stage of economic analysis, the notion of marginal costs emerges . They represent additional costs, due to the release of additional products already produced. Calculate this type of costs It is necessary to subtract existing gross costs from the prospective. At the same time, the types of fixed costs remain unchanged.

In Russia, the practical calculation of costs differs from the calculation in Western countries. This is due to the use of the category of prime cost in the Russian Federation, which is the sum of costs for the sale and production of products. In the West, all indirect costs, their types are referred to as constant and variable, sometimes using the notion of partial variables. Such a separation makes it possible to obtain a meter-value added. It is determined by subtracting the variable costs of the enterprise from the proceeds. In other words, value added is the sum of fixed costs and profits. That allows to say that this is an indicator of production efficiency.