COST ACCOUNTING : AN INTRODUCTION
Cost Accounting is the classifying, recording, and appropriate allocation of expenditure for the determination of the costs of products or services, and for the presentation of suitably arranged data for the purpose of control and guidance of management. It includes the ascertainment of the cost of every order ,job contract, process, service or unit as many be appropriate. It deals with the cost of production, selling, and distribution. It is thus the provision of such analysis and classification of expenditure as will enable the total cost of any particular unit of production or service to be ascertained with reasonable degree of accuracy and at the same time to disclose exactly how such total cost is constituted( i.e. the value of material used, the amount of labour and other expenses incurred ) so as to control and reduce its cost. According to Wheldon, “Cost accounting is the application of accounting and costing principles , methods and techniques in the ascertainment of costs and the analysis of saving/or excess cost incurred as compared with previous experience or with standards. Thus , cost accounting relates to the classification, ascertainment of cost and its accounting and control relating to the various elements of cost. It establishes budgets and standard cost and actual cost of operations, processes , departments or products and the analysis of variances , profitability and use of funds.

Scope of Cost Accounting
The terms ‘costing’ and ‘cost accounting’ are many times used interchangeably. However, the scope of cost accounting is broader than that of costing. Following functional activities are included in the scope of cost accounting: 1. Cost book-keeping: It involves maintaining complete record of all costs incurred from their incurrence to their charge to departments, products and services. Such