[Author]
Executive summary
In understanding cost and pricing dynamics in relation to profitability, at least four issues face the cost accountant in tracing product or service costs, the value of which will be used as an essential input in pricing decisions. These are complexity, accuracy, ease of estimation, and time. Joint cost allocation is an example of a complex cost tracing due to inevitable data gaps. Sunk costs exemplify a type of cost the accountants normally consider as marginal and, therefore, may be ignored in the cost trace. Opportunity costs also possess a unique characteristic in its “potentiality” by nature, although quantifiable based on ...