Secondary cost allocation
The secondary cost allocation uses different allocation methods to the overhead of biasing, auxiliary, or billing accounts to which direct value-added cost centers and from there to the cost of the carrier income to charge. The secondary cost allocation is intended to map the cost flow to the profitability objects of the customer and product-oriented profitability analysis in accordance with a correctly assessed internal flow of services.
There are basically three different billing methods:
In addition to the cost centers of cost center accounting can the common costs , other overheads objects such. B. internal orders, projects or processes be represented. For the sake of clarity, however, the more common term cost center is used in the following instead of overhead cost object, which, however, usually stands for any cost object.
General characteristics of secondary cost allocation
The different billing methods all have some general properties in common.
- A secondary allocation always has an issuing cost center (sender cost center) and one or more receiving cost centers
- For each secondary settlement, the sum of the costs given corresponds to the sum of the costs received
- The cost base to be offset on the sender cost centers can contain secondary costs as well as primary costs
- The sender cost centers of one allocation can appear as receiving cost centers of another secondary allocation.
- Due to the two aforementioned facts, the order of the billing steps is essential for the billing result
- If cyclical offsetting relationships occur, a clear sequence can no longer be found
Order of billing steps
If the allocation relationships are cycle-free, the secondary cost allocation takes place in stages (step ladder method or staircase method): with the step ladder method, the first auxiliary cost center is completely distributed to the main and auxiliary cost centers with the help of secondary allocations. Then the next auxiliary cost center is converted. This procedure has the advantage that it is easy to make others understand how the costs arise. However, it is important to find a billing logic in such a way that auxiliary cost centers that have been credited are no longer charged by subsequent billing steps.
- Example: after the cleaning auxiliary cost center has already been charged, it should no longer be charged for your material warehouse by a secondary allocation of room costs . The room cost center must therefore offset the room costs beforehand.
Simultaneous procedure (equation procedure)
If cyclical offsetting relationships cannot be avoided, the simultaneous procedure must be used.
- Example: Auxiliary cost center cleaning has its own rooms (material equipment warehouse). Room costs are charged by the property management cost center. Their offices cause cleaning costs. The offsetting relationships of the cleaning and property management cost centers intersect.
With this method, the costs are initially offset internally between the auxiliary cost centers using a system of equations. The resulting sums are then distributed to the main cost centers. One advantage is that this method exactly maps the exchange of services between cyclically dependent cost centers. The disadvantage lies in the great need for explanation and in the fact that it may not be immediately clear to an "expert third party" how the sums of the internal service allocation came about. The method is known in the literature (G.Seicht) as a simultaneous approach, because in this, in contrast to the step ladder method, all reciprocal offsets are taken into account and these are set in a system of equations, the number of equations exactly corresponds to the number of cost centers to be offset. This system of equations can be solved using the usual methods for solving systems of equations with n equations and n unknowns. As an alternative to the analytical solution of the system of equations, the solution of the offsetting relationships can be found by iteration , whereby a convergence and a termination criterion must be specified.