Each enterprise incurs certain costs in the course of its activities. There are different ones. One of them involves dividing costs into fixed and variable.

The concept of variable costs

Variable costs are those costs that are directly proportional to the volume of products and services produced. If the company produces bakery products, then as an example of variable costs for such an enterprise we can cite the consumption of flour, salt, and yeast. These costs will increase in proportion to the increase in the volume of bakery products produced.

One cost item can relate to both variable and fixed costs. Thus, energy costs for industrial ovens on which bread is baked will serve as an example of variable costs. And the cost of electricity for lighting an industrial building is a fixed cost.

There is also such a thing as conditional variable costs. They are related to production volumes, but to a certain extent. At a small production level, some costs still do not decrease. If a production furnace is half loaded, then the same amount of electricity is consumed as a full furnace. That is, in this case, when production decreases, costs do not decrease. But as output increases above a certain value, costs will increase.

Main types of variable costs

Here are examples of variable costs of an enterprise:

• The wages of workers, which depend on the volume of products they produce. For example, in a bakery production there is a baker and a packer, if they have piecework wages. This also includes bonuses and rewards to sales specialists for specific volumes of products sold.
• Cost of raw materials. In our example, these are flour, yeast, sugar, salt, raisins, eggs, etc., packaging materials, bags, boxes, labels.
• are the cost of fuel and electricity that is spent on the production process. It could be natural gas, gasoline. It all depends on the specifics of a particular production.
• Another typical example of variable costs are taxes paid based on production volumes. These are excise taxes, taxes under tax), simplified taxation system (Simplified taxation system).
• Another example of variable costs is paying for services from other companies if the volume of use of these services is related to the organization's level of production. It can be transport companies, intermediary firms.

Variable costs are divided into direct and indirect

This division exists because different variable costs are included in the cost of the product differently.

Direct costs are immediately included in the cost of the product.

Indirect costs are distributed over the entire volume of goods produced in accordance with a certain base.

Average variable costs

This indicator is calculated by dividing all variable costs by production volume. Average variable costs can either decrease or increase as production volumes increase.

Let's look at the example of average variable costs in a bakery. Variable costs for the month amounted to 4,600 rubles, 212 tons of products were produced. Thus, average variable costs will be 21.70 rubles/t.

Concept and structure of fixed costs

They cannot be reduced in a short period of time. If output volumes decrease or increase, these costs will not change.

Fixed production costs usually include the following:

• rent for premises, shops, warehouses;
• utility fees;
• administration salary;
• costs of fuel and energy resources, which are consumed not by production equipment, but by lighting, heating, transport, etc.;
• advertising expenses;
• payment of interest on bank loans;
• purchase of stationery, paper;
• costs for drinking water, tea, coffee for employees of the organization.

Gross costs

All of the above examples of fixed and variable costs add up to gross, that is, the total costs of the organization. As production volumes increase, gross costs increase in terms of variable costs.

All costs, in essence, represent payments for purchased resources - labor, materials, fuel, etc. The profitability indicator is calculated using the sum of fixed and variable costs. An example of calculating the profitability of core activities: divide profit by the amount of costs. Profitability shows the effectiveness of an organization. The higher the profitability, the better the organization performs. If profitability is below zero, then expenses exceed income, that is, the organization’s activities are ineffective.

Enterprise cost management

It is important to understand the essence of variable and fixed costs. With proper management of costs in an enterprise, their level can be reduced and greater profits can be obtained. It is almost impossible to reduce fixed costs, so effective work to reduce costs can be carried out in terms of variable costs.

How can you reduce costs in your enterprise?

Each organization works differently, but basically there are the following areas of cost reduction:

1. Reducing labor costs. It is necessary to consider the issue of optimizing the number of employees and tightening production standards. An employee can be laid off, and his responsibilities can be distributed among others, with additional payment for additional work. If production volumes increase at the enterprise and the need arises to hire additional people, then you can go by revising production standards and or increasing the volume of work in relation to old employees.

2. Raw materials are an important part of variable costs. Examples of their abbreviations could be as follows:

• searching for other suppliers or changing the terms of delivery by old suppliers;
• introduction of modern economical resource-saving processes, technologies, equipment;

• stopping the use of expensive raw materials or materials or replacing them with cheap analogues;
• implementation joint procurement raw materials with other buyers from the same supplier;
• independent production of some components used in production.

3. Reduction of production costs.

This may include selecting other options for rental payments or subletting space.

This also includes savings on utility bills, which requires careful use of electricity, water, and heat.

Savings on repairs and maintenance of equipment, vehicles, premises, buildings. It is necessary to consider whether it is possible to postpone repairs or maintenance, whether it is possible to find new contractors for these purposes, or whether it is cheaper to do it yourself.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that it may be more profitable and economical to narrow production and transfer some side functions to another manufacturer. Or, on the contrary, enlarge production and carry out some functions independently, refusing to cooperate with related companies.

Other areas of cost reduction may be the organization’s transport, advertising activities, reducing the tax burden, and paying off debts.

Any enterprise must take into account its costs. Work to reduce them will bring more profit and increase the efficiency of the organization.

The entrepreneur, which he must bear in any case and which do not depend on the volume of products produced.

There will be fixed costs even if the volume of output is zero.

Elements that make up fixed costs:

Rent for premises.
- .
- Administrative and management expenses.
- Cost and maintenance of equipment.
- Cost of lighting and heating of industrial premises.
- Security of industrial premises.
- Payment of interest on the loan.

Average fixed costs

Fixed costs are the costs of the manufacturer, which in the short term remain unchanged regardless of changes in the volume of production. Fixed costs are associated with the very existence of the firm's production equipment and must therefore be paid even if the firm produces nothing. Fixed costs, as a rule, include payment of obligations on bond loans, rental payments, part of the deductions for buildings and equipment, insurance premiums, as well as salaries for senior management personnel and future specialists of the company.

The ratio of fixed costs to output is called average fixed costs. Average fixed costs are the fixed costs of producing a unit of output.

Since the amount of fixed costs is, by definition, independent of the volume of production, average fixed costs will fall as the quantity produced increases. As production volume increases, this amount of fixed costs is distributed over more and more products.

Fixed production costs

Fixed costs (FC) are costs whose value in the short run does not change depending on changes in production volume. These are sometimes called " " or "sunk costs". Fixed costs include the cost of maintaining industrial buildings, purchasing equipment, rental payments, interest payments on debts, salaries of management personnel, etc.

All these expenses must be financed even when the company produces nothing.

Purchase costs consumed in the process of producing certain goods.

Any production of goods and services, as is known, is associated with the use of labor, capital and natural resources, which represent , the cost of which is determined by production costs.

Due to limited resources, the problem arises of how best to use them among all rejected alternatives.

These are the costs of producing goods, determined by the cost of the best lost opportunity to use production resources, ensuring maximum profit. The opportunity costs of a business are called economic costs. These costs must be distinguished from accounting costs.

Accounting costs are different from economic costs in that they do not include the cost of factors of production that are owned by the owners of firms. Accounting costs are less than economic costs by the amount of implicit earnings of the entrepreneur, his wife, implicit land and implicit interest on the owner of the company. In other words, accounting costs are equal to economic costs minus all implicit costs.

The options for classifying production costs are varied. Let's start by distinguishing between explicit and implicit costs.

Explicit costs are opportunity costs that take the form of cash payments to the owners of production resources and semi-finished products. They are determined by the amount of company expenses to pay for purchased resources (raw materials, materials, fuel, labor, etc.).

Implicit (imputed) costs are the opportunity costs of using resources that belong to the firm and take the form of lost income from the use of resources that are the property of the firm. They are determined by the cost of resources owned by a given company.

The classification of production costs can be carried out taking into account the mobility of production factors. Fixed, variable and total costs are distinguished.

Fixed costs (FC) are costs whose value in the short run does not change depending on changes in production volume. These are sometimes called "overhead" or "sunk costs". Fixed costs include the cost of maintaining production buildings, purchasing equipment, rental payments, interest payments on debts, salaries of management personnel, etc. All these costs must be financed even when the company does not produce anything.

(VC) - costs, the value of which changes depending on changes in production volume. If products are not produced, then they are equal to zero. Variable costs include the cost of purchasing raw materials, fuel, energy, transportation services, workers and employees, etc. In supermarkets, payment for the services of supervisors is included in variable costs, since managers can adjust the volume of these services to the number of customers.

Total costs (TC) - the total costs of a company, equal to the sum of its fixed and variable costs, are determined by the formula:

TC = FC + VC.

Total costs increase as production volume increases.

Costs per unit of goods produced take the form of average fixed costs, average variable costs and average total costs.

Average fixed cost (AFC) is the total fixed cost per unit of output.

They are determined by dividing fixed costs (FC) by the corresponding quantity (volume) of products produced:

Since total fixed costs do not change, when divided by increasing production volume, average fixed costs will fall as the quantity of output increases, because a fixed amount of costs is distributed over more and more units of output. And, conversely, as production volume decreases, average fixed costs will increase.

Average variable cost (AVC) is the total variable cost per unit of output.

They are determined by dividing variable costs by the corresponding quantity of output:

Average variable costs first fall, reaching their minimum, then begin to rise.

Average (total) costs (ATC) are the total production costs per unit of output.

They are defined in two ways:

A) by dividing the sum of total costs by the number of products produced:

B) by summing average fixed costs and average variable costs:

ATC = AFC + AVC.

At the beginning, average (total) costs are high because the volume of output is small and fixed costs are high. As production volume increases, average (total) costs decrease and reach a minimum, and then begin to rise.

Marginal cost (MC) is the cost associated with producing an additional unit of output.

Marginal costs are equal to the change in total costs divided by the change in volume produced, that is, they reflect the change in costs depending on the quantity of output. Since fixed costs do not change, fixed marginal costs are always zero, i.e. MFC = 0. Therefore, marginal costs are always marginal variable costs, i.e. MVC = MC. It follows from this that increasing returns to variable factors reduce marginal costs, while decreasing returns, on the contrary, increase them.

Marginal costs show the amount of costs that a firm will incur when increasing production by the last unit of output, or the amount of money that it will save if production decreases by a given unit. When the additional cost of producing each additional unit of output is less than the average cost of the units already produced, producing that next unit will lower the average total cost. If the cost of the next additional unit is higher than average cost, its production will increase average total cost. The above applies to short period.

In the practice of Russian enterprises and in statistics, the concept of “cost” is used, which is understood as the monetary expression of the current costs of production and sales of products. The costs included in the cost include the costs of materials, overheads, wages, depreciation, etc. There are: the following types cost: basic - cost of the previous period; individual - the amount of costs for the manufacture of a specific type of product; transportation - costs of transporting goods (products); sold products, current - assessment of sold products at restored cost; technological - the amount of costs for organization technological process manufacturing products and providing services; actual - based on actual costs for all cost items for a given period.

General fixed costs

This topic is devoted to the consideration of the interdependencies between costs and production volume. At first glance, this task does not present any particular difficulties: production requires costs, costs cost money. However, more detailed consideration production process reveals that the concept of economic costs is much more complex than the simple calculation of monetary costs corresponding to a certain volume of production. When considering the issue, it is assumed that the firm is not only able to calculate its own costs corresponding to any volume of output, but also to choose the best, or at least the least expensive, method of producing a given volume of output. So, if for the production of 10 units. products should be spent 50 rubles, then it is assumed that these 10 units. outputs are produced using the lowest-cost combination of factors of production.

Thus, in order to determine the optimal cost-output ratio, it is necessary to take into account:

1) the nature of the production function;
2) prices of production factors;
3) the principle of minimizing costs.

First of all, it is important to distinguish between fixed costs (which are not related to the amount of output) and variable costs.

Fixed (total, total fixed) costs (TFC, or FC, - total fixed costs): part of total costs that does not depend on changes in output.

Variable (total, total variable) costs (TVC, or VC, - total variable costs): part of the total costs that increases with increasing output volume.

Total (total) costs (TC or C, - total costs): a set of fixed and variable costs.

Thus we can represent the first equation:

TC = TFC + TVC

Fixed costs include costs associated with the use of buildings, structures, machinery, production equipment, rent, major repairs, administrative expenses, etc.

The fixed costs graph is a straight line parallel to the x-axis. It illustrates an important property of fixed costs (FC): independence from the volume of output (Q).

As for the variable cost (VC) schedule, its construction requires additional effort and will be discussed a little later.

When studying the nature of costs, difficulties arise that are associated with the fact that the company is only primary care, cell in . If an economic system is functioning efficiently, it must provide adequate price signals to the firm. Prices should clearly reflect production costs. Otherwise, the company will be deprived of the opportunity to correctly and efficiently allocate its resources. Therefore, the nature of costs should begin to be explored by clarifying the differences between opportunity costs and accounting costs, as well as between public and private costs.

Fixed costs in the short term

In the process of producing goods and services, living and past labor is expended. At the same time, each company strives to obtain possibly greater profits from its activities. To do this, each company has two ways: try to sell its goods at the highest possible price. high price or try to reduce your production costs, i.e. production costs.

Depending on the time spent on changing the amount of resources used in production, short-term and long-term periods in the company’s activities are distinguished.

Short-term is a time interval during which it is impossible to change the size of the production enterprise owned by the company, i.e. the amount of fixed costs incurred by this firm. Over a short-term time interval, changes in production volumes can result solely from changes in the volume of variable costs. It can influence the progress and effectiveness of production only by changing the intensity of use of its capacities.

During this period, the company can quickly change its variable factors - the amount of labor, raw materials, auxiliary materials, fuel.

In the short run, the quantity of some production factors remains unchanged, while the quantity of others changes. Costs in this period are divided into fixed and variable.

This is due to the fact that the provision of fixed costs determines fixed costs.

Fixed costs get their name due to their nature of immutability and independence from changes in production volume.

However, they are classified as ongoing costs because they are a burden that the firm bears on a daily basis if it continues to rent or own the production facilities it needs to continue its production activities. In the case where these current costs take the form of periodic payments, they are classified as explicit monetary fixed costs. If they reflect the opportunity costs associated with owning certain production facilities acquired by the firm, they are implicit costs.

Fixed costs include:

1) labor costs for management personnel;
2) rent payments;
3) insurance premiums;
4) deductions for depreciation of buildings and equipment.

Fixed cost formula

Fixed costs are calculated “after the fact”, i.e. these are those costs that exist at zero production volume, do not depend on production volume and do not change in the short term (administration fees, rent of premises and/or equipment, etc.). In the long run, there are NO fixed costs - everything can change over time.

Possible various classifications production costs. First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between explicit and implicit costs.

Explicit costs (external or accounting) are cash payments to the owners of production resources and semi-finished products.

Implicit (internal) costs are lost alternative uses resources owned by the firm, taking the form of lost income.

Costs can also be classified depending on the volume of production. In the short term, some costs are constant, others are variable.

Fixed costs (FC) are costs that do not depend on the volume of output. These include the costs of maintaining buildings, major renovation, administrative and management expenses, rent, some types of taxes.

Average fixed costs are calculated using the formula AFC = FC / Q.

Variable costs (VC) are costs whose value changes depending on changes in production volumes. Variable costs include costs of raw materials, supplies, electricity, labor costs, and costs of auxiliary materials.

Variable costs increase or decrease in proportion to output. On initial stages production, they grow at a faster rate than manufactured products, but as optimal output is achieved, the growth rate of variable costs decreases, as the effect of scale of production operates. Subsequently, when the enterprise exceeds its optimal size, the law of diminishing returns comes into play and variable costs again begin to outstrip production growth.

The law of diminishing marginal productivity underlies the behavior of the profit-maximizing producer and determines the nature of the supply function on price (the supply curve).

Average variable costs (AVC) are determined by the formula AVC=VC/Q.

Total costs (TC) are the totality of the firm’s fixed and variable costs TC = FC + VC.

Average total costs are determined by the formula ATC = AFC + AVC.

Marginal cost (MC) is the cost associated with producing an additional unit of output. The category of marginal costs is of strategic importance because it allows you to show the costs that a company will have to incur if it produces one more unit of output or save if it reduces production by this unit. In other words, marginal cost is an amount that a firm can directly control. Marginal cost (MC) is obtained as the difference between the total cost of producing (n + 1) units and the cost of producing (n) units of the product.

Let us comment on the basic relationships between average and marginal costs:

1) marginal costs (MC) do not depend on fixed costs (FC), since the latter do not depend on the volume of production, and MC is incremental costs;
2) while marginal costs are less than average (MC 3) when marginal costs are equal to average (MC = AC), this means that average costs have stopped decreasing, but have not yet begun to grow. This is the point of minimum average cost (AC=min);
4) when marginal costs become greater than average costs (MC > AC), the average cost curve goes up, indicating an increase in average costs as a result of the production of an additional unit of output;
5) the MC curve intersects the average variable costs (AVC) and average costs (AC) curves at the points of their minimum values.

To calculate costs and evaluate the production activities of enterprises in the West and Russia, they use various methods. In our economy, methods based on the cost category, which includes the total costs of production and sales of products, have been widely used. To calculate the cost, costs are classified into direct, directly going towards the creation of a unit of goods, and indirect, necessary for the functioning of production as a whole. Based on the previously introduced concepts of costs (expenses), it is possible to determine added value, which is obtained by subtracting from total income or

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10.11 Types of costs

When we looked at the periods of production of a firm, we said that in the short run the firm can change not all the factors of production used, while in the long run all factors are variable.

It is precisely these differences in the possibility of changing the volume of resources when changing production volumes that forced economists to divide all types of costs into two categories:

1. fixed costs;
2. variable costs.

Fixed costs(FC, fixed cost) are those costs that cannot be changed in the short term, and therefore they remain the same with small changes in the volume of production of goods or services. Fixed costs include, for example, rent for premises, costs associated with maintaining equipment, payments to repay previously received loans, as well as all kinds of administrative and other overhead costs. Let's say it is impossible to build a new oil refining plant within a month. Therefore, if next month an oil company plans to produce 5% more gasoline, then this is only possible on existing production facilities and with existing equipment. In this case, a 5% increase in output will not lead to an increase in the costs of servicing equipment and maintaining production facilities. These costs will remain constant. Only the amounts of wages paid, as well as the costs of materials and electricity (variable costs) will change.

The fixed cost graph is a horizontal line.

Average fixed costs (AFC, average fixed cost) are fixed costs per unit of output.

Variable costs(VC, variable cost) are those costs that can be changed in the short term, and therefore they grow (decrease) with any increase (decrease) in production volumes. This category includes costs for materials, energy, components, and wages.

Variable costs show the following dynamics depending on the volume of production: up to a certain point they increase at a killing pace, then they begin to increase at an increasing pace.

The variable cost schedule looks like this:

Average variable costs (AVC, average variable cost) are variable costs per unit of output.

The standard Average Variable Cost graph looks like a parabola.

The sum of fixed costs and variable costs is total costs (TC, total cost)

TC = VC + FC

Average total costs (AC, average cost) are the total costs per unit of production.

Also, average total costs are equal to the sum of average fixed and average variable costs.

AC = AFC + AVC

AC graph looks like a parabola

Marginal costs occupy a special place in economic analysis. Marginal cost is important because economic decisions typically involve marginal analysis of available alternatives.

Marginal cost (MC, marginal cost) is the increment in total costs when producing an additional unit of output.

Since fixed costs do not affect the increment in total costs, marginal costs are also an increment in variable costs when producing an additional unit of output.

As we have already said, formulas with derivatives in economic problems are used when smooth functions are given, from which it is possible to calculate derivatives. When we are given individual points (discrete case), then we should use formulas with increment ratios.

The marginal cost graph is also a parabola.

Let's plot the marginal cost graph together with the graphs of average variables and average total costs:

The above graph shows that AC always exceeds AVC since AC = AVC + AFC, but the distance between them decreases as Q increases (since AFC is a monotonically decreasing function).

The graph also shows that the MC graph intersects the AVC and AC graphs at their minimum points. To justify why this is so, it is enough to recall the relationship between average and marginal values ​​already familiar to us (from the “Products” section): when the marginal value is below the average, then average value decreases with increasing volume. When the marginal value is higher than the average value, the average value increases with increasing volume. Thus, when the marginal value crosses the average value from bottom to top, the average value reaches a minimum.

Now let’s try to correlate the graphs of general, average, and maximum values:

These graphs show the following patterns.

At the center of the cost classification is the relationship between production volume and costs, the price of this type goods. Costs are divided into independent and dependent on the volume of products produced.

Fixed costs do not depend on the volume of production; they exist even at zero production volume. These are the previous obligations of the enterprise (interest on loans, etc.), taxes, depreciation, security payments, rent, equipment maintenance costs with zero production volume, salaries of management personnel, etc. The concept of fixed costs can be illustrated in Fig. 1.

Rice. 1. Fixed costs Chuev I.N., Chechevitsyna L.N. Enterprise economy. - M.: ITK Dashkov and K - 2006. - 225 p.

Let us plot the quantity of output (Q) on the x-axis, and the costs (C) on the y-axis. Then the fixed cost line will be a constant parallel to the x-axis. It is designated FC. Since with an increase in production volume, fixed costs per unit of output decrease, the average fixed cost (AFC) curve has a negative slope (Fig. 2). Average fixed costs are calculated using the formula: AFC = FС/Q.

They depend on the quantity of products produced and consist of the costs of raw materials, materials, wages to workers, etc.

As optimal output volumes are achieved (at point Q1), the growth rate of variable costs decreases. However, further expansion of production leads to accelerated growth of variable costs (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3.

The sum of fixed and variable costs forms gross costs- the amount of cash costs for production certain type products.

The difference between fixed and variable costs is essential for every businessman. Variable costs are costs that an entrepreneur can control, the value of which can be changed over a short period of time by changing the volume of production. On the other hand, fixed costs are obviously under the control of the company's administration. Such costs are mandatory and must be paid regardless of the volume of production 11 See: McConnell K. R. Economics: principles, problems, policies / McConnell K. R., Brew L. V. In 2 volumes / Translated from English . 11th ed. - T. 2. - M.: Republic, - 1992, p. 51..

To measure the cost of producing a unit of output, the categories of average, average fixed and average variable costs are used. Average costs equal to the quotient of total costs divided by the quantity of products produced. determined by dividing fixed costs by the number of products produced.

Rice. 2.

Determined by dividing variable costs by production volume:

АВС = VC/Q

Upon reaching optimal size production, average variable costs become minimal (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4.

Average variable costs play important role in the analysis of the economic state of the company: its equilibrium position and development prospects - expansion, reduction in production or exit from the industry.

General costs - the totality of a firm's fixed and variable costs ( TC = FC + VC).

Graphically, total costs are depicted as a result of the summation of fixed and variable cost curves (Fig. 5).

Average total costs are the quotient of total costs (TC) divided by production volume (Q). (Sometimes the average total costs of ATS in economic literature are denoted as AC):

AC (ATC) = TC/Q.

Average total costs can also be obtained by adding average fixed and average variable costs:

Rice. 5.

Graphically, average costs are depicted by summing the curves of average fixed and average variable costs and have a Y-shape (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6.

The role of average costs in a company's activities is determined by the fact that their comparison with the price allows one to determine the amount of profit, which is calculated as the difference between total revenue and total costs. This difference serves as a criterion for choosing the right strategy and tactics for the company.

The concepts of total and average costs are not enough to analyze the behavior of a company. Therefore, economists use another type of cost - marginal.

Marginal cost - This is the increment in the total cost of producing an additional unit of output.

The category of marginal costs is of strategic importance because it allows you to show the costs that a company will have to incur if it produces one more unit of output or save if it reduces production by this unit. In other words, marginal cost is the amount that a firm can control directly.

Marginal costs are obtained as the difference between production costs n + 1 units and production costs P units of product.

Since when output changes, fixed costs FV do not change, the change in marginal costs is determined only by the change in variable costs as a result of the release of an additional unit of output.

Graphically, marginal costs are depicted as follows (Fig. 7).

Rice. 7. Marginal and average costs Chuev I.N., Chechevitsyna L.N. Enterprise economy. - M.: ITK Dashkov and K - 2006. - 228 p.

Let us comment on the basic relationships between average and marginal costs.

The size of marginal and average costs are extremely important, since they primarily determine the firm's choice of production volume.

MS do not depend on FC , since FC do not depend on the volume of production, and MS are incremental costs.

As long as MC is less than AC, the average cost curve has a negative slope. This means that producing an additional unit of output reduces average cost.

When MC is equal to AC, this means that average costs have stopped decreasing, but have not yet begun to increase. This is the point of minimum average costs (AC = min).

5. When MC becomes larger than AC, the average cost curve goes up, indicating an increase in average costs as a result of producing an additional unit of output.

6. The MC curve intersects the AVC curve and the AC curve at the points of their minimum values ​​(Fig. 7).

Under average refers to the plant’s costs for the production and sale of a unit of goods. Highlight:

* average fixed costs A.F.C., which are calculated by dividing the firm's fixed costs by production volume;

* average variable costs AVC, calculated by dividing variable costs by production volume;

* average gross costs or the total cost of a unit of a vehicle product, which are determined as the sum of average variable and average fixed costs or as the quotient of dividing gross costs by output volume (their graphic expression is in Appendix 3).

* according to the methods of accounting and grouping costs, they are divided into simple(raw materials, materials, wages, wear and tear, energy, etc.) and complex, those. collected in groups or functional role in the production process or at the place where costs are incurred (shop expenses, factory overhead, etc.);

* the terms of use in production differ from daily, or current, costs and one-time, one-time costs incurred less than once a month and for economic analysis costs, marginal costs are used.

Average total cost (ATC) is the total cost per unit of output and is commonly used for comparison with price. They are defined as the quotient of total costs divided by the number of units produced:

TC = ATC / Q (2)

(AVC) is a measure of the cost of a variable factor per unit of output. They are defined as the quotient of gross variable costs divided by the number of units of production and are calculated using the formula:

AVC = VC / Q. (3)

Average fixed cost (AFC) is a measure of fixed costs per unit of output. They are calculated using the formula:

AFC=FC/Q. (4)

Graphic dependences of quantities various types average costs based on production volume are presented in Fig. 2.

Rice. 2

From the data analysis in Fig. 2 we can draw conclusions:

1) the AFC value, which is the ratio of the constant FC to the variable Q (4), is a hyperbola on the graph, i.e. with an increase in production volume, the share of average fixed costs per unit of output decreases;

2) the AVC value is the ratio of two variables: VC and Q (3). However, variable costs (VC) are almost directly proportional to product output (since the more products planned to be produced, the higher the costs will be). Therefore, the dependence of AVC on Q (volume of products produced) looks like an almost straight line parallel to the x-axis;

3) ATC, which is the sum of AFC + AVC, looks like a hyperbolic curve on the graph, located almost parallel to the AFC line. Thus, as with AFC, the share of average total cost (ATC) per unit of output decreases as production volume increases.

Average total costs first decrease and then begin to increase. Moreover, the ATC and AVC curves are getting closer. This is because average fixed costs over the short run decrease as output increases. Consequently, the difference in the height of the ATC and AVC curves at a certain volume of production depends on the value of AFC.

In the specific practice of using cost calculation to analyze the activities of enterprises in Russia and in Western countries, there are both similarities and differences. The category is widely used in Russia cost price, representing the total costs of production and sales of products. Theoretically, the cost should include standard production costs, but in practice it includes excess consumption of raw materials, materials, etc. Cost is determined based on the addition of economic elements (costs that are homogeneous in terms of their economic purpose) or by summing up costing items that characterize the direct directions of certain expenses.

Both in the CIS and in Western countries, to calculate costs, a classification of direct and indirect costs (expenses) is used. Direct costs- These are the costs directly associated with the creation of a unit of goods. Indirect costs necessary for the general implementation of the production process of this type of product at the enterprise. The general approach does not exclude differences in the specific classification of some articles.

Due to the volume of output, costs in the short term are divided into fixed and variable.

Constants do not depend on the volume of output (FC). These include: depreciation costs, wages for employees (as opposed to workers), advertising, rent, electricity bills, etc.

The variables depend on the volume of output (VC). For example, costs for materials, wages of main production workers, and others.

Fixed costs (costs) exist even with zero output (therefore they are never equal to zero). For example, regardless of whether the product is produced or not. You still need to pay rent for the premises. On the graph of the dependence of the value of costs (C) on the volume of production (Q), fixed costs (FC) look like a horizontal straight line, since they are not related to the manufactured products (Fig. 1).

Since variable costs (VC) depend on output, the more products are planned to be produced, the more costs need to be incurred for this. If nothing is produced, then there are no costs. Thus, the value of variable costs is in direct positive dependence on the volume of output and on the graph (see Fig. 1) represents a curve emerging from the origin.

The sum of fixed and variable costs is equal to total (gross) costs:

TC=FC+VC.(1)

Based on the above formula, on the graph the total cost (TC) curve is plotted parallel to the variable cost curve, but it does not start from zero, but from a point on the y-axis. the corresponding amount of fixed costs. We can also conclude that as production volume increases, total costs also increase proportionally (Fig. 1).

All types of costs considered (FC, VC and TC) relate to the entire output.

Rice. 1 Dependence of total costs (TC) on variable (VC) and fixed (FC).

At the beginning of any course in economic theory, the study of costs is given great attention. This is explained by the high importance of this element of the enterprise. In the long run, all resources are variable. In the short run, some resources remain unchanged, while others change to reduce or increase output.

In this regard, it is customary to distinguish two types of costs: fixed and variable. Their sum is called total costs and is most often used in various calculations.

Fixed costs

They are independent of the final release. That is, no matter what the company does, no matter how many clients it has, these costs will always have the same value. On the chart they are in the form of a straight horizontal line and are designated FC (from English Fixed Cost).

Fixed costs include:

Insurance payments;
- salary of management personnel;
- depreciation deductions;
- payment of interest on bank loans;
- payment of interest on bonds;
- rent, etc.

Variable costs

They directly depend on the quantity of products produced. It is not a fact that the maximum use of resources will allow the company to obtain maximum profit, so the issue of studying variable costs is always relevant. On the graph they are depicted as a curved line and are designated VC (from English Variable Cost).

Variable costs include:

Raw material costs;
- costs of materials;
- electricity costs;
- fare;
- etc.

Other types of costs

Explicit (accounting) costs are all costs associated with the purchase of resources that are not owned by a particular company. For example, labor, fuel, materials, etc. Implicit costs are the cost of all resources that are used in production and that the firm already owns. An example is the salary of an entrepreneur, which he could receive as an employee.

There are also return costs. Refundable costs are those whose value can be returned during the course of the company's activities. The company cannot receive non-refundable payments even if it completely ceases its activities. For example, costs associated with registering a company. In a narrower sense, sunk costs are those that have no opportunity cost. For example, a machine that was custom-made specifically for this company.