Direct costing and absorption costing systems: comparative characteristics

Relevance of the research topic. In the conditions of a market economy, the main conditions for effective management of production enterprises are the integrity, reliability and timeliness of information about costs, which is the cost of production. This information is provided by product cost accounting, which is the central subsystem of the accounting information system. The level of economic management of the enterprise largely depends on the rational organization of costs, the degree of influence of the results of the activities of various divisions on increasing the efficiency of production, the rationality of planning qualitative and quantitative indicators, the optimality of pricing, etc. The efficiency of production, in turn, largely depends on the reduction of the unit cost products under the condition of preservation and improvement of their quality. The purpose of the study is to: study the essence of cost calculation methods in the «direct– costing" system and in the «absorption–costing» system, compare them and identify the main advantages and disadvantages. Research methods. The following methods were used for the research: comparative analysis and generalization – to study the essence of the «direct costing» and «absorption costing» categories; grouping and logical analysis – in order to determine the main features of the studied methods for the needs of the management system; dialectical cognition – to study the development of the concepts of cost accounting and costing based on the full and partial cost of production. Research results. The article reveals the essence of cost calculation methods in the «direct costing» system and in the «absorption costing» system, as well as their comparison and identification of the main advantages and disadvantages. Field of application of results. In the field of economic sciences and in the practical activities of economic entities. Conclusions according to the article. A study of the methods of allocating costs according to the «absorption costing» and «direct costing» systems was carried out, and the main advantages and disadvantages of each of them were revealed