5.6 Definition of terms
Allocating costs means assigning costs to cost objects using measures that are not directly related to the cost object's level of resource consumption.
Assigning costs means the general procedure for tracing costs to cost objects.
Attributing costs means causally assigning costs to cost objects based upon resource consumption.
Class of outputs is a grouping of similar outputs for appropriation or non-financial reporting purposes.
Cost accounting policies are the rules and procedures that form the basis for estimating, accumulating and reporting output costs for both ex-ante and ex-post financial reports.
Cost objects are the elements to be costed in a costing exercise. They can be a cost centre, an output class, an output, a sub-output or an activity.
Direct costs are costs that can be identified with an output in an economically feasible manner. They are causally related to, and readily assignable to, an output.
Expenses are any expenses incurred by a department, including cost. They are measured in accrual accounting terms.
Homogeneous cost pools are pools of similar costs that have been grouped for the purpose of allocation. The pools contain the costs of activities that have a similar causal relationship to the production of outputs.
Indirect costs are costs that cannot be identified with an output in an economically feasible manner. They are incurred for the common benefit of more than one output.
Major cost groupings are sets of similar costs that have been grouped for the purposes of reporting, and assigning costs to, outputs.
Outputs are the goods and services supplied by a department to an external party, including those that have been agreed or contracted to supply on a contingent basis, but that have not been supplied.
