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24 July 2009

IFAC explains how better costing can result in better management decision-making.


The guidance highlights the importance of distinguishing between the purposes and information needs of cost accounting to meet the demands of external reporting, cost measurement and reporting for internal decision support. 

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a new International Good Practice Guidance publication, Evaluating and Improving Costing in Organizations, which establishes six fundamental principles that can help professional accountants and their organizations to evaluate and improve their approach to costing.

The guidance recognizes the importance of distinguishing between the purposes and information needs of cost accounting to meet the demands of external reporting, cost measurement, and reporting for internal decision support.

"Professional accountants have a significant role to play in ensuring that they, and the costing models and systems they use, provide relevant information and analysis to support performance evaluation and planning and management decisions," says Roger Tabor, Chair of the PAIB Committee. "Good costing information is essential to interpret and analyze past performance. And it can be used predictively to guide decisions about many aspects of an organization's future operations”.

This IFAC guidance is targeted to professionals working in commerce and industry, as well as the public sector, education, and the not-for-profit sector. It recognizes that, when used effectively, costing can provide clear and timely information.


© IFAC


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