At the center of the cost classification is the relationship between production volume and costs, the price of this type goods. Costs are divided into independent and dependent on the volume of products produced.

Fixed costs do not depend on the volume of production; they exist even at zero production volume. These are the previous obligations of the enterprise (interest on loans, etc.), taxes, depreciation, security payments, rent, equipment maintenance costs with zero production volume, salaries of management personnel, etc. The concept of fixed costs can be illustrated in Fig. 1.

Rice. 1. Fixed costs Chuev I.N., Chechevitsyna L.N. Enterprise economy. - M.: ITK Dashkov and K - 2006. - 225 p.

Let us plot the quantity of output (Q) on the x-axis, and the costs (C) on the y-axis. Then the fixed cost line will be a constant parallel to the x-axis. It is designated FC. Since with an increase in production volume fixed costs per unit of production decrease, then the average fixed cost (AFC) curve has a negative slope (Fig. 2). Average fixed costs are calculated using the formula: AFC = FС/Q.

They depend on the quantity of products produced and consist of the costs of raw materials, materials, wages to workers, etc.

As optimal output volumes are achieved (at point Q1), the growth rate of variable costs decreases. However, further expansion of production leads to accelerated growth of variable costs (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3.

The sum of fixed and variable costs forms gross costs- the amount of cash costs for the production of a certain type of product.

The difference between fixed and variable costs is essential for every businessman. Variable costs are costs that an entrepreneur can control, the value of which can be changed over a short period of time by changing the volume of production. On the other hand, fixed costs are obviously under the control of the company's administration. Such costs are mandatory and must be paid regardless of the volume of production 11 See: McConnell K. R. Economics: principles, problems, policies / McConnell K. R., Brew L. V. In 2 volumes / Translated from English . 11th ed. - T. 2. - M.: Republic, - 1992, p. 51..

To measure the cost of producing a unit of output, the categories of average, average fixed and average variable costs are used. Average costs equal to the quotient of total costs divided by the quantity of products produced. determined by dividing fixed costs by the number of products produced.

Rice. 2.

Determined by dividing variable costs by production volume:

АВС = VC/Q

Upon reaching optimal size production, average variable costs become minimal (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4.

Average variable costs play an important role in the analysis of the economic state of the company: its equilibrium position and development prospects - expansion, reduction of production or exit from the industry.

General costs - the totality of a firm's fixed and variable costs ( TC = FC + VC).

Graphically total costs are depicted as a result of summing the curves of fixed and variable costs (Fig. 5).

Average total costs are the quotient of total costs (TC) divided by production volume (Q). (Sometimes the average total costs of ATS in economic literature are denoted as AC):

AC (ATC) = TC/Q.

Average total costs can also be obtained by adding average fixed and average variable costs:

Rice. 5.

Graphically, average costs are depicted by summing the curves of average fixed and average variable costs and have a Y-shape (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6.

The role of average costs in a company's activities is determined by the fact that their comparison with the price allows one to determine the amount of profit, which is calculated as the difference between total revenue and total costs. This difference serves as a criterion for choosing the right strategy and tactics for the company.

The concepts of total and average costs are not enough to analyze the behavior of a company. Therefore, economists use another type of cost - marginal.

Marginal cost - This is the increment in the total cost of producing an additional unit of output.

The category of marginal costs is of strategic importance because it allows you to show the costs that a company will have to incur if it produces one more unit of output or save if it reduces production by this unit. In other words, marginal cost is the amount that a firm can control directly.

Marginal costs are obtained as the difference between production costs n + 1 units and production costs P units of product.

Since when output changes, fixed costs FV do not change, the change in marginal costs is determined only by the change in variable costs as a result of the release of an additional unit of output.

Graphically, marginal costs are depicted as follows (Fig. 7).

Rice. 7. Marginal and average costs Chuev I.N., Chechevitsyna L.N. Enterprise economy. - M.: ITK Dashkov and K - 2006. - 228 p.

Let us comment on the basic relationships between average and marginal costs.

The size of marginal and average costs are extremely important, since they primarily determine the firm's choice of production volume.

MS do not depend on FC , since FC do not depend on the volume of production, and MS are incremental costs.

As long as MC is less than AC, the average cost curve has a negative slope. This means that producing an additional unit of output reduces average cost.

When MC is equal to AC, this means that average costs have stopped decreasing, but have not yet begun to increase. This is the point of minimum average costs (AC = min).

5. When MC becomes larger than AC, the average cost curve goes up, indicating an increase in average costs as a result of producing an additional unit of output.

6. The MC curve intersects the AVC curve and the AC curve at the points of their minimum values ​​(Fig. 7).

Under average refers to the plant’s costs for the production and sale of a unit of goods. Highlight:

* average fixed costs A.F.C., which are calculated by dividing the firm's fixed costs by production volume;

* average variable costs AVC, calculated by dividing variable costs by production volume;

* average gross costs or full cost units of an ATC product, which are determined as the sum of average variable and average fixed costs or as the quotient of dividing gross costs by output volume (their graphical expression is in Appendix 3).

* according to the methods of accounting and grouping costs, they are divided into simple(raw materials, materials, wages, wear and tear, energy, etc.) and complex, those. collected into groups either by functional role in the production process or by location of costs (shop expenses, factory overhead, etc.);

* the terms of use in production differ from daily, or current, costs and one-time, one-time costs incurred less than once a month and economic cost analysis uses marginal costs.

Average total cost (ATC) is the total cost per unit of output and is commonly used for comparison with price. They are defined as the quotient of total costs divided by the number of units produced:

TC = ATC / Q (2)

(AVC) is a measure of the cost of a variable factor per unit of output. They are defined as the quotient of gross variable costs divided by the number of units of production and are calculated using the formula:

AVC = VC / Q. (3)

Average fixed cost (AFC) is a measure of fixed costs per unit of output. They are calculated using the formula:

AFC=FC/Q. (4)

Graphic dependences of quantities various types average costs based on production volume are presented in Fig. 2.

Rice. 2

From the data analysis in Fig. 2 we can draw conclusions:

1) the AFC value, which is the ratio of the constant FC to the variable Q (4), is a hyperbola on the graph, i.e. with an increase in production volume, the share of average fixed costs per unit of output decreases;

2) the AVC value is the ratio of two variables: VC and Q (3). However, variable costs (VC) are almost directly proportional to product output (since the more products planned to be produced, the higher the costs will be). Therefore, the dependence of AVC on Q (volume of products produced) looks like an almost straight line parallel to the x-axis;

3) ATC, which is the sum of AFC + AVC, looks like a hyperbolic curve on the graph, located almost parallel to the AFC line. Thus, as with AFC, the share of average total cost (ATC) per unit of output decreases as production volume increases.

Average total costs first decrease and then begin to increase. Moreover, the ATC and AVC curves are getting closer. This is because average fixed costs over the short run decrease as output increases. Consequently, the difference in the height of the ATC and AVC curves at a certain volume of production depends on the value of AFC.

In the specific practice of using cost calculation to analyze the activities of enterprises in Russia and in Western countries, there are both similarities and differences. The category is widely used in Russia cost price, representing the total costs of production and sales of products. Theoretically, the cost should include standard production costs, but in practice it includes excess consumption of raw materials, materials, etc. Cost is determined based on the addition of economic elements (costs that are homogeneous in terms of their economic purpose) or by summing up costing items that characterize the direct directions of certain expenses.

Both in the CIS and in Western countries, to calculate costs, a classification of direct and indirect costs (expenses) is used. Direct costs- These are the costs directly associated with the creation of a unit of goods. Indirect costs necessary for the general implementation of the production process of this type of product at the enterprise. The general approach does not exclude differences in the specific classification of some articles.

Due to the volume of output, costs in the short term are divided into fixed and variable.

Constants do not depend on the volume of output (FC). These include: depreciation costs, wages for employees (as opposed to workers), advertising, rent, electricity bills, etc.

The variables depend on the volume of output (VC). For example, costs for materials, wages of main production workers, and others.

Fixed costs (costs) exist even with zero output (therefore they are never equal to zero). For example, regardless of whether the product is produced or not. You still need to pay rent for the premises. On the graph of the dependence of the value of costs (C) on the volume of production (Q), fixed costs (FC) look like a horizontal straight line, since they are not related to the manufactured products (Fig. 1).

Since variable costs (VC) depend on output, the more products are planned to be produced, the more costs need to be incurred for this. If nothing is produced, then there are no costs. Thus, the value of variable costs is in direct positive dependence on the volume of output and on the graph (see Fig. 1) represents a curve emerging from the origin.

The sum of fixed and variable costs is equal to total (gross) costs:

TC=FC+VC.(1)

Based on the above formula, on the graph the total cost (TC) curve is plotted parallel to the variable cost curve, but it does not start from zero, but from a point on the y-axis. the corresponding amount of fixed costs. We can also conclude that as production volume increases, total costs also increase proportionally (Fig. 1).

All types of costs considered (FC, VC and TC) relate to the entire output.

Rice. 1 Dependence of total costs (TC) on variable (VC) and fixed (FC).

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10.11 Types of costs

When we looked at the periods of production of a firm, we said that in the short run the firm can change not all the factors of production used, while in the long run all factors are variable.

It is precisely these differences in the possibility of changing the volume of resources when changing production volumes that forced economists to divide all types of costs into two categories:

1. fixed costs;
2. variable costs.

Fixed costs(FC, fixed cost) are those costs that cannot be changed in the short term, and therefore they remain the same with small changes in the volume of production of goods or services. Fixed costs include, for example, rent for premises, costs associated with maintaining equipment, payments to repay previously received loans, as well as all kinds of administrative and other overhead costs. Let's say it is impossible to build a new oil refining plant within a month. Therefore, if in next month Since the oil company plans to produce 5% more gasoline, this is only possible at existing production facilities and with existing equipment. In this case, a 5% increase in output will not lead to an increase in equipment maintenance and maintenance costs. production premises. These costs will remain constant. Only the amounts paid will change wages, as well as costs for materials and electricity (variable costs).

The fixed cost graph is a horizontal line.

Average fixed costs (AFC, average fixed cost) are fixed costs per unit of output.

Variable costs(VC, variable cost) are those costs that can be changed in the short term, and therefore they grow (decrease) with any increase (decrease) in production volumes. This category includes costs for materials, energy, components, and wages.

Variable costs show the following dynamics depending on the volume of production: up to a certain point they increase at a killing pace, then they begin to increase at an increasing pace.

The variable cost schedule looks like this:

Average variable costs (AVC, average variable cost) are variable costs per unit of output.

The standard Average Variable Cost graph looks like a parabola.

The sum of fixed costs and variable costs is total costs (TC, total cost)

TC = VC + FC

Average total costs (AC, average cost) are the total costs per unit of production.

Also, average total costs are equal to the sum of average fixed and average variable costs.

AC = AFC + AVC

AC graph looks like a parabola

A special place in economic analysis occupy marginal costs. Marginal cost is important because economic decisions typically involve marginal analysis of available alternatives.

Marginal cost (MC, marginal cost) is the increment in total costs when producing an additional unit of output.

Since fixed costs do not affect the increment in total costs, marginal costs are also an increment in variable costs when producing an additional unit of output.

As we have already said, formulas with derivatives in economic problems are used when smooth functions are given, from which it is possible to calculate derivatives. When we are given individual points (discrete case), then we should use formulas with increment ratios.

The marginal cost graph is also a parabola.

Let's plot the marginal cost graph together with the graphs of average variables and average total costs:

The above graph shows that AC always exceeds AVC since AC = AVC + AFC, but the distance between them decreases as Q increases (since AFC is a monotonically decreasing function).

The graph also shows that the MC graph intersects the AVC and AC graphs at their minimum points. To justify why this is so, it is enough to recall the relationship between average and marginal values ​​already familiar to us (from the “Products” section): when the marginal value is below the average, then average value decreases with increasing volume. When the marginal value is higher than the average value, the average value increases with increasing volume. Thus, when the marginal value crosses the average value from bottom to top, the average value reaches a minimum.

Now let’s try to correlate the graphs of general, average, and maximum values:

These graphs show the following patterns.

Fixed and variable costs are the costs that a company incurs to produce goods, work or services. Cost planning allows you to more efficiently use available resources, as well as predict future activities. Analysis - find the most costly expense items and save on the production of goods.

What are costs

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How it will help: Find out which expenses should be cut. It will tell you how to audit business processes and inventory costs, and how to motivate employees to save.

How it will help: prepare a report in Excel on the expenses of a group of companies in the required detail - by business units, areas, items and periods

Variable costs change depending on changes in production volumes. As the quantity of products produced increases, variable costs will also increase and, conversely, as the quantity of products produced decreases, variable costs will also decrease.

The variable cost schedule has next view- rice. 2.

Figure 2. Variable cost schedule

At the initial stage, the increase in variable costs is directly related to the increase in the number of units of output. Gradually, the growth of variable costs is slowing down, which is associated with cost savings in mass production.

General costs

Together, fixed and variable production costs, when added, represent total costs (TC – total costs). This is the sum of all expenses, both fixed and variable, that an organization spends to produce goods or provide services. Total costs are a variable value and depend on the quantity of products produced (production volumes) and the cost of resources spent on production.

Graphically, total costs (TC) look like this - Fig. 3.

Figure 3. Graph of fixed, variable and total costs

An example of calculating fixed and variable costs

The company OJSC "Sewing Master" is engaged in sewing and selling clothes wholesale and retail. At the beginning of the year, the organization won a tender and entered into a long-term contract for a period of 1 year - a large order for sewing workwear for medical workers in the amount of 5,000 units per year.

The organization incurred the following costs during the year (see table).

Table. Company costs

Fixed costs include:

• rent for a sewing workshop;
• depreciation deductions;
• payment of interest on a loan for the purchase of equipment;
• the cost of the sewing equipment itself;
• administration salaries.

Calculation of fixed costs:

FC = 50,000 * 12 + 48,000 + 84,000 + 500,000 = 1,232,000 rubles per year.

Let's calculate average fixed costs:

Variable costs include the cost of raw materials and materials, wages for workers in the sewing workshop and payment for utility costs.

VC = 200,000 + 360,000 + 18,500 * 12 = 782,000 rubles.

Let's calculate average variable costs

We obtain the total costs for the production of all products by summing up the fixed and variable costs:

TC = 1232000 + 782000 = 20,140,00 rubles.

Average total costs are calculated using the formula:

Results

Bearing in mind that the organization has just started its sewing production (rents a workshop, purchases sewing equipment on credit, etc.), the amount of fixed costs at the initial stage of production will be quite significant. The fact that the volume of production is still low - 5,000 units - also plays a role. Therefore, fixed costs still prevail over variable ones.

As production volumes increase, fixed costs will remain unchanged, but variable costs will increase.

Analysis and planning

Planning costs (both fixed and variable) allows an organization to use available resources rationally and more efficiently, as well as predict its activities for the future (applies to the short-term period). Analysis is also necessary in order to determine where the most expensive expense items are and how savings can be made on the production of goods.

Saving on fixed and variable costs reduces the cost of production - the organization can set more low price than before, which increases the competitiveness of products on the market and increases attractiveness in the eyes of consumers (

Eat a large number of ways in which a company makes a profit, and the fact of costs is important. Costs represent the actual expenses that a company incurs in its operation. If a company is unable to pay attention to cost categories, then the situation may become unpredictable and profit margins may decrease.

Fixed production costs must be analyzed when constructing their classification, with the help of which you can determine an idea of ​​their properties and main characteristics. The main classification of production costs includes fixed, variable, and total costs.

Fixed production costs

Fixed production costs are an element of the break-even point model. They are costs regardless of the volume of output and are contrasted with variable costs. When combined, fixed and variable costs represent the total costs of the business. Fixed costs can be composed of several elements:

1. premises rental,
2. deductions for depreciation,
3. management and administrative personnel costs,
4. cost of machinery, equipment and equipment,
5. security of production premises,
6. payment of interest on bank loans.

Fixed costs are represented by the costs of enterprises, which are constant in short periods and do not depend on changes in production volumes. This type of cost must be paid even if the enterprise does not produce anything.

Average fixed costs

Average fixed costs can be obtained by calculating the ratio of fixed costs and output volume. Thus, average fixed costs represent the constant cost of producing products. In total, fixed costs do not depend on production volumes. For this reason, average fixed costs will tend to decrease as the number of products produced increases. This is due to the fact that when production volumes increase, the amount of fixed costs is distributed over large quantity products.

Features of fixed costs

Fixed costs in the short run do not change in accordance with changes in production volume. Fixed costs are sometimes called sunk costs or overhead. Fixed costs include the costs of maintaining buildings, areas, and purchasing equipment. The fixed cost category is used in several formulas.

Thus, when determining total costs (TC), a combination of fixed and variable costs is necessary. Total costs are calculated using the formula:

This type of cost increases with increasing production volumes. There is also a formula for determining total fixed costs, which are calculated by dividing fixed costs by a certain volume of products produced. The formula looks like this:

Average fixed costs are used to calculate average total costs. Average total costs are found through the sum of average fixed and variable costs using the formula:

Short-term fixed costs

Living and past labor is expended in the production of products. In this case, each enterprise strives to obtain the greatest profit from its operation. In this case, each enterprise can take two paths - sell products at a higher price or reduce their costs for producing products.

In accordance with the time spent on changing the amount used in production processes resources, it is customary to distinguish between long-term and short-term periods of enterprise activity. The short-term interval is a time period during which the size of the enterprise, its output and costs change. At this time, a change in the volume of products occurs through a change in the volume of variable costs. In short-term periods, an enterprise can quickly change only variable factors, including raw materials, labor, fuel, and auxiliary materials. The short-term period divides costs into fixed and variable. During such periods, fixed costs are mainly provided, determined by fixed costs.

Fixed production costs receive their name in accordance with their unchanging nature and independence in relation to production volume.