Costing Practices in the Furniturie Industry in Santa Catarina, Brazil

This study aims to verify how costing practices are employed in furniture manufacturers in the cluster of São Bento do Sul, Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil. It is a descriptive research study (survey) whose data were collected by means of applying a questionnaire to people in charge of business cost management. The research involved 25 of the 73 companies selected. The main results point to the use of the methods of absorption costing, variable costing, and RKW costing. As to the purpose, it appears that the costing systems are used for management aims, such as reducing costs and making decisions. Furthermore, the results indicate that micro-enterprises and small businesses have difficulty in controlling waste and allocating the expenses of small items for the efficient management of their costs, while medium-sized companies have specific difficulties that point to problems related to the need of internal control and improvement of information systems in order to develop better cost management. The study allowed the understanding of how costing methods are used by the furniture industry in the cluster of São Bento do Sul and what difficulties are faced by these companies when managing their costs