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- Cost Accounting
- Who it's for
- Contract cost teams
Contract cost teams
A contract can serve as the cost object in business partners. The team can issue a standard estimate for the contract, place actual cost in the appropriate pool and link a variance to both records. The contract name and organization should stay stable across the handoff.
How Cost Accounting is set up for you
Estimate owner
Cost Accountant records the contract baseline and its effective date.
Charge review
Cost Controller checks the pool, amount and supporting lines before approval.
Evidence trail
Review decisions and operation receipts retain the decision and action result.
A contract can serve as the cost object in business partners. The team can issue a standard estimate for the contract, place actual cost in the appropriate pool and link a variance to both records. The contract name and organization should stay stable across the handoff.
Choose one contract with a known charge. Define its organization and cost pool, then enter the estimate lines and actual document lines. The controller reviews the pending charge. The analyst checks the variance direction and amount. At period review, the finance team should be able to start from the contract record and reach the estimate, posting and variance. The finance reviewer can then use the ledger reference to find the journal evidence. Review the [cost setup process](/cost-accounting/processes/cost-setup) before entering the first case and [implementation](/cost-accounting/implementation) before moving source records into regular use.
For the first review, keep the estimate record number, actual posting number and variance number together. Have the decision owner compare the charge to its source lines, then ask the finance reviewer to locate the operation result and journal reference. A corrected source should follow the same route so the team can explain both the original and revised amount.
Features to start with
Roles on the team
- Cost Accountant
- Prepares standard estimates, actual postings and journal entries.
- Cost Controller
- Reviews actual postings and records the approval decision within assigned authority.
- Variance Analyst
- Reviews linked standard and actual cost and releases scheduled variance records.
- Finance Reviewer
- Reviews period status, ledger balance and retained decision evidence.
- Cost Master Owner
- Maintains cost pools and business partner cost objects for the organization.
Set up Cost Accounting your way.
Start free, then use Proto to change fields, steps and approvals before your team goes live.