is a method for assigning costs to mass-produced, identical products. It's used in industries like oil refining and food processing, where large quantities of uniform goods are made continuously. This system averages costs over total units, focusing on departments rather than individual jobs.
Process costing differs from in key ways. It's ideal for standardized, high-volume production, while job order suits custom products. Process costing uses department-wide reports and calculates average costs, whereas job order tracks specific job costs on individual sheets.
Process Costing System Fundamentals
Characteristics of process costing
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Process costing assigns costs to identical or similar units of product manufactured in large quantities through flow
Averages costs over total units produced minimizing need for detailed individual unit tracking
Accumulates costs by department or process stage rather than by specific jobs or orders
Calculates per-unit costs by dividing total departmental costs by total equivalent units produced
Focuses on processes or departments as cost objects instead of individual jobs or batches
Suits industries with standardized high-volume production of homogeneous goods (oil refining, food processing)
Process costing vs job order costing
Job order costing tracks costs for unique customized products while process costing accumulates costs for homogeneous mass-produced items
Job order uses individual job cost sheets but process costing employs departmental production cost reports
Job order calculates product costs specific to each job whereas process costing determines average across all units in a period
Job order assigns costs as jobs finish while process costing allocates costs at period end
Job order suits diverse product lines (custom furniture) but process costing fits standardized production (paper manufacturing)
Applications of process costing
Oil refining and petrochemicals produce large volumes of standardized fuels and chemicals
Food and beverage companies mass produce identical consumer goods (soft drinks, snack foods)
Textile manufacturers create bulk quantities of uniform fabrics and garments
Paper mills generate massive amounts of indistinguishable paper products
Cement plants produce vast quantities of standardized construction materials
Pharmaceutical companies manufacture large batches of identical medications and drugs
Ideal for high-volume continuous production of goods indistinguishable from each other
Useful when individual unit cost tracking impractical or unnecessary due to product uniformity
Cost flow in process costing
added at process start or throughout, costs assigned to relevant department
Direct labor applied continuously, costs accumulated by department based on hours or wages
Manufacturing overhead allocated using predetermined rates (utilities, depreciation)
Work in process inventory represents partially completed units, costs tracked by department
Completed units and associated costs transfer between departments as production progresses
Finished goods inventory accumulates costs of fully completed units from final department
Cost of goods sold represents production costs of units sold to customers
process:
Accumulate costs by department
Calculate
Determine cost per equivalent unit
Assign costs to completed units and ending WIP
Transfer costs to next department or finished goods