Calculating and controlling costs

Who Should Attend / Learning Outcome

The fundamental of any business is that income should exceed overheads and expenses. While the focus is usually on increasing the volume of sales, profitability can be substantially increased via the reduction of costs. A business that keeps costs under control will be in a better position to survive a downturn of sales and provide the financial resources to invest and diversify.

Many companies find that as they experience growth the ability to measure ‘where they are’ is lost. With multi-projects it is hard to keep track and costs can escalate quickly out of control.

This course shows ways to control and reduce costs in your business. Basic costing techniques are revealed to identify the real sources of costs and the importance of effective costing and measurement is considered.

This course will benefit anyone from a non-accounting background, interested in increasing the profitability of their organisation.

Practical exercises are set for delegates to be able to practice, develop and review their appraisal skills in a supportive atmosphere.

Course Content

• Which costs do I need to control? Direct and indirect costs
  
• Cost control measures
  • Cost-benefit analysis
  • Value-analysis
    
• Potential areas for cost savings
  
• Measuring costs (materials, labour and expenses)
  
• Effective budgeting
  
• Cost variance identification and control
  
• Cash-flow forecasting
  
• Allocation and Apportionment techniques
  
• Towards an overhead absorption rate
  
• Alternative costing techniques (including ABC)
  
• Understanding your break-even point
  
• Practical measures for real cost savings