| Cost-Related Information Relevant to Management Accounting on the Internet previous page April 2003 Introduction. I have spent many hours searching for websites that provide useful cost-related information relevant to management accounting. This article presents what I have found about what the Internet has to offer, related to cost-related information. The websites identified are easily clicked to from the Management Accounting Information Center, beginning at the topics list on the front page. Or you can click to the site as you read through this article. On the basis of what I have found on the Internet, it is useful for me to place the available Internet cost-related information into one of four categories. These categories are useful in order to manage and understand the nature of the information, and how management accountants might use the information. The four categories are: Cost data Cost trends Cost forecasting Cost accounting Most of the rest of the article will further explain these four categories and identify websites hat provide information related to the categories. I also have found several Internet websites that search databases of articles and other publications containing information relevant to costs and accounting. These sites will be identified at the end of the article. Some “mega” websites are very good at directing the user to a large number of other websites. Such websites will also be identified at the end of the article. 1. Cost Data. In this category, I place those websites from which you can gain the costs (to you – prices to seller) of purchases, e.g. raw materials, services, and salary cost data. I look at these sites as sites where current, and historic, cost (price) data can be obtained. Websites in this category should be useful to the “purchasing” function in an organization. Sites presented in this category likely only represent a part of what is a available on the Internet for obtaining cost (price) information. This group of cost data sites is, hopefully, a good place to begin when seeking cost data, but also using a good Internet search engine, such as Google, is always a good idea in searching for certain types of data, such as cost data. Using the search system at The LogisticsWorld website, www.logisticsworld.com/default.asp will give you access to cost data for a variety of logistics functions, such as shipping and warehousing. Searching “shipping costs”, using the Virtual Library of Logistics database at this site, yielded 33 website links. Many of these are sites of logistics providers. This website is maintained by AT Kearney Co. Purchasing .com, Purchasing Magazine’s online site at www.manufacturing.net/, has a search system useful for finding cost data and information related to costs. Purchasing Magazine online articles are intended for purchasing professionals and include a lot of cost data. Costs related to construction can be obtained from the McGraw Hill construction site, enr.com, at www.enr.construction.com. Searching this site (using the category - All McGraw Hill Sites) for costs yielded 746 hits. Refining the search to "equipment and costs" gave 204 hits, including information on how much to charge for the use of your equipment, recent sales prices at auctions for equipment, and costs to own and operate equipment, from fuel to maintenance expenses. The site, www.get-a-quote.net, provides quick access to labor and material cost estimates for residential, commercial, and industrial construction projects. Other examples of cost data available on the Internet include energy costs (prices), employee benefit costs, postage costs, and interest rate costs. Cost (price) data on gasoline, propane, electricity, and other forms of energy can be obtained at the Department of Energy site, www.eia.doe.gov. This is a good site for determining recent energy costs by energy type and geographical area. At the United States Postal Service site, http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home_header&page=calculatepostage, you can get US postal rates. The current cost of money (capital) can be found at the Federal Reserve Board’s site, www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/update. At this site, you can get bank prime loan rates, from which you can estimate lending rates that you might have to pay for money. 2. Cost Trends. In this category, I place those websites from which you can gain trend cost data. Data at these sites generally have been aggregated, averaged, or in someway, compiled or assembled to give trends in costs for whatever the data represents. Also, included in my concept of trends, are cost comparisons or benchmarking data and cost statistics. The cost data information from these sites should be useful for looking at costs over a period to show trends. The US Department of Labor (DOL) has a lot of sites from which cost trend data can be obtained. A good place to start is the DOL site, www.bls.gov/bls/business.htm. This is the DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) site – An Overview of BLS Statistics on Business Costs. From this page, you can gain access to monthly data on goods and services selling prices; changes in labor costs, quarterly; trends in benefits participation; export and import price trends; and productivity output related to cost input. Another useful DOL site, which gives access to the most frequently requested DOL employment cost trend data, is www.data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ec. Two non-profit sites give employment-related cost trends. The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans maintains a site at www.ifebp.org/default.asp, where trend information on various benefits can be found. What looks to be a useful database of benefit costs trend data, called INFOSOURCE, requires registration for access. Two other useful information sources at this website are a glossary of benefit terms and a page of links to benefit-related websites. A search at the Integrated Benefits Institute site, www.ibiweb.org, using the terms “costs and benefits” yielded 268 hits. This non-profit does a lot of research, analysis, and reporting on what benefit programs cost employers and how to improve benefit programs, from the employer's perspective. Registration is required to access most of the reports. National and state hospital costs trends can be accessed at the US Department of Health and Human Services site, hcup.ahrq.gov/HCUPnet.asp. Cost trends for industry sectors can be obtained at the US Census site, www.census.gov/mcd/index.html. In annual surveys of manufacturers, accessible from this site, the Census Bureau estimates payroll, capital expenditures, cost of materials, inventories, and other cost-related data for various sectors. The Canadian Government maintains a similar site for sector trends in Canada at www.strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_ecnmy/sio/homepage.html. From this page, you can click down (drill down) and find graphs and charts that show Canadian cost trends in NAICS sectors. The US Department of Interior’s site, www.usbr.gov/pmts/estimate/cost_trend.html, provides cost trends on construction projects and land costs related to Interior Department activities. At www.valuationresources.com/industryreport.htm, maintained by ValuationResources.com, Inc., you can link to a lot of websites with industry sector data, including some cost trend data. The Institute for Supply Management Association’s website www.ism.ws, provides a lot of supply chain-related cost trend data in its databases. Unfortunately, you have to be an association member to access most of this cost data. Cost trends are also available at another supply chain website, www.manufacturing.net/, maintained by Purchasing Magazine. to continue to the next page click here |