Abstract The many costs of operating a manufacturing enterprise, or of any business, have a tendency to increase faster than income unless a positive cost control program is functioning effectively. An effective cost control program is usually built around the cost accountant's reports and summaries of operating data, and management's corrective action taken as a result of studying these reports and summaries. Thus, in a broad sense, cost control is the responsibility both of the cost accountant and of management. The former is responsible for the recording and reporting phase of cost control, the latter for the taking of corrective action. The general responsibilities of the cost accountant in the function of cost control are (1) to plan and supervise the work in his department to the end that reliable and accurate cost data will be available for preparing reports, and (2) to prepare and submit reports, properly analyzed and interpreted, at such times and of such types as will make them of the greatest value to management for use as bases for controlling costs. The final responsibility rests with members of the management group who are line executives and who are responsible for directing the work of others. When reports are received, management should study them and make such investigations as may be necessary of deviations from planned performance. The responsible executives should then take whatever action is necessary to remove or correct the cause of reported deviations.
P. Crossman (Thu,) studied this question.