cost accounting

American  

noun

1. an accounting system indicating the cost of items involved in production.

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cost accounting British  

noun

1. Also called: management accounting.  the recording and controlling of all the expenditures of an enterprise in order to facilitate control of separate activities

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Other Word Forms

• cost accountant
  noun

Etymology

Origin of cost accounting

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Some programs used to evaluate their curricula on a three- or five-year cycle because foundational subjects like financial and cost accounting rarely changed.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

True cost accounting seeks to make those externalities visible.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2024

By creating transparency, true cost accounting can help shift money away from harmful food production systems and toward alternatives that protect resources and rural communities.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2024

To fully complete the calculations needed for 263A, you’ll be required to use figures and tables that are appropriate for the cost accounting method used in your specific category.

From Encyclopedia.com • Jun. 26, 2018

The all-embracing term machine shop is divided into departments for drafting, designing, accounting, production, flow of work control, cost accounting and many other divisions.

From Industrial Progress and Human Economics by Hartness, James