Cost Accounting
Cost Accounting
Cost Accounting
• Concepts of CVP
• Components of cost-volume-profit
• Assumptions while calculation of CVP
• How to do cost volume analysis
• How Is Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis Used
• How to perform a cost volume profit analysis
The cost volume profit analysis, commonly referred to as CVP, is a
planning process that management uses to predict the future
volume of activity, costs incurred, sales made, and profits
received. In other words, it’s a mathematical equation that
computes how changes in costs and sales will affect income in
future periods. The CVP analysis classifies all costs as either fixed
or variable. Fixed costs are expenses that don’t fluctuate directly
with the volume of units produced.
• The cost-volume-profit analysis, also commonly known as break-
even analysis, looks to determine the break-even point for
different sales volumes and cost structures, which can be useful
for managers making short-term economic decisions. CVP
analysis makes several assumptions, including that the sales
price, fixed and variable cost per unit are constant. Running this
analysis involves using several equations for price, cost and
other variables, then plotting them out on an economic graph.
• The components of the analysis are as follows:
• Activity level. This is the total number of units sold in the measurement
period.
• Price per unit. This is the average price per unit sold, including any
sales discounts and allowances that may reduce the gross price. The
price per unit can vary substantially from period to period based on
changes in the mix of products and services; these changes may be
caused by old product terminations, new product introductions,
product promotions, and the seasonality of sales for certain items.
• Variable cost per unit. This is the totally variable cost per unit sold,
which is usually just the amount of direct materials and the sales
commission associated with a unit sale. Nearly all other expenses do
not vary with sales volume, and so are considered fixed costs.
• The CVP formula can be used to calculate the sales volume needed to
cover costs and break even. The break-even point is the number of
units that need to be sold, or the amount of sales revenue that has to
be generated, in order to cover the costs required to make the
product. The CVP breakeven sales volume formula is as follows:
• Breakeven Sales Volume=FC/CM
• Where : FC=Fixed costs
CM=Contribution margin=Sales−Variable Costs
• To use the above formula to find a company's target sales volume,
simply add a target profit amount per unit to the fixed-cost
component of the formula. This allows you to solve for the target
volume based on the assumptions used in the model.
• When doing a CVP analysis we make several assumptions:
• The selling price is constant.
• If more than one product is manufactured the mix of sales is
constant
• Costs are assumed to be linear (rise at the same rate
regardless of quantity) and can be divided accurately into the
variable and fixed components. It is also assumed that the
variable element stays the SAME for each unit and that the
fixed costs are constant over the entire relevant range of the
analysis.
• Cost-volume-profit analysis is used to determine whether there
is an economic justification for a product to be manufactured. A
target profit margin is added to the break-even sales volume,
which is number of units that need to be sold in order to cover
the costs required to make the product, to arrive at the target
sales volume needed to generate the desired profit. The
decision-maker could then compare the product's sales
projections to the target sales volume to see if it is worth
manufacturing the product.
1. Sum fixed costs
2. Determine the product’s selling price
3. Calculate the variable cost per unit
4. Calculate the unit CM and CM ratio
5. Complete the CVP analysis
• Wikipedia
• Investopedia
• CMA intermediate books