Software support for cost calculation - application to the agricultural sector

Abstract

Calculation of product costs is the source of information on the costs of selected produced products with great explanatory power. In current practice, the overhead costs on farms are monitored and calculated by species. They are allocated using an allocation base (average state of the animals, harvested area in hectares) or are converted using direct costs of the activity as an allocation base. With the current high level of overheads, this method cannot be considered effective. Only type classifications are monitored and are therefore anonymous in relation to activities. We consider high overhead costs as a good reason for implementing and using the methods of Activity Based Costing. In this paper we present a proposed model of Activity Based Costing for its use in agriculture, created in MS Excel. We create the model as a basic version, which can be more closely defined depending on the particular conditions of the business implementing the model. We complete the general model for better illustration with figures on costs. We present a comparison of model results with the traditional approach of calculating costs in agriculture. One of the biggest benefits of the ABC system is the binding of costs from accounts, activities performed and the cost of products in one system. We present a statistical comparison of model results with the traditional approach of calculating costs in agriculture.