The Problems and Countermeasures in Cost Accounting of Glass Deep Processing Enterprises.
1. Preface
With the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for glass curtain walls building is increasing, which drives the development of the entire glass deep-processing industry. As a part of the glass industry, the insulating glass industry has also experienced rapid development, which has also intensified the degree of competition in the entire industry. To increase the market share, it is necessary to reduce the sales price or improve the performance of the product. This requires enterprises to continuously increase R&D investment and improve product performance, on the one hand, thereby enhancing core competitiveness; on the other hand, it also requires strengthening cost control in the production process and improving product yield. At the same time, higher requirements are put forward for the accuracy and rationality of cost accounting. Whether the cost accounting method is reasonable and whether the cost accounting is correct or not directly affects the control work of the enterprise such as cost forecasting, cost planning, cost analysis, various assessments, and improvements, and also affects the correctness of the enterprise's sales decisions and business decisions. For example, cost accounting directly affects product sales quotations, and determines the type and quantity of products to be produced, and whether to stop producing a certain product.
2. Problems in cost accounting in insulated glass production enterprises
2.1 The bill of materials for cost accounting and the bill of materials for sales quotation are mixed
Insulating glass products have two obvious characteristics. One is that the yield rate is difficult to exceed 90% in the production process. In general, if the yield rate can exceed 80%, it means that the yield rate is very high. The second is that the yield rate of the same product in different batches varies greatly. For example, the yield rate in January is 70%, and the yield rate in the next month maybe 50% or 90%. However, judging from historical data, the annual yield rate does not change much, which conforms to the characteristics of normal distribution.The R&D department calculates the expected yield rate based on the proofing data and production process. The yield rate will affect the production cost of the product, and the defect rate will be taken into consideration when quoting new products. The estimated yield rate is also considered in the cost accounting. Due to the difference in the actual yield rate of each month, the material cost of the cross-month production work order is carried forward in the first month, which sometimes leads to a negative number for the finished product at the end of the month. For ease of understanding, the following examples are used for illustration. The standard unit consumption of plain glass raw materials (hereinafter referred to as raw materials) on the product bill of materials is 1.2 pieces, and 800 products are produced. The raw material of plain glass required for production is 1000 pieces (theoretical production quantity is possible from 0 to 1000), and the raw material unit cost is 1 dollar.The production status and cost carry-forward status of the first month: Production pick-up: 1000; Good products in production: 720; Defective products in production: 180; Cost of completed products carried forward: 900*1.25=1125; Quantity in process at the end of the month: 1000-1125=-125.The production status and cost carry-forward status of the second month: Production pick-up: 0; the number of good products in production and storage: 80; the number of defective products in production and storage: 20; cost of completed products carried forward: -125; quantity in process at the end of the month: 0.It can be seen that the unit cost of finished products put into storage in the first month is 1125/720=1.56, and the cost in the second month is low, with a negative number of -125/80=156. Before the company changed the cost accounting method, the unit cost of the product was often very small or even negative, and the unit cost in the first month was very high and the unit cost in the second month was very small.In the case of constant material prices, material consumption, labor, and manufacturing costs, the unit cost of products calculated each month should have little difference. The reason why the unit cost of each month varies greatly in the above cases is caused by the cost accounting method. The costing method should not be a factor for significant fluctuations in unit costs, so it is not reasonable to use the BOM directly from the sales quote.
2.2 The cost accounting process and system are imperfect, and the quality and thinking of personnel need to be improved
The accuracy of cost accounting depends on the accuracy and timeliness of inventory receipt and receipt accounts. Many enterprises have used ERP systems, but when relevant personnel operates the ERP systems, the accuracy is not high and the timeliness is not enough. The produced products have been put into storage in the ERP system, but the received materials have not been processed in the system, or the quantity is wrong or included in other production work orders. When enterprises recruit inventory accountants, they often consider the issue of cost, and the threshold is relatively low. There was no systematic training when entering the job, and the ERP system was not proficient in operation. Unaware of the effect or impact of one's operations on cost accounting. The cost accountant usually does not check the accounting operations of the inventory accountant, often finds a problem when calculating the cost in the next month, and then feeds it back to the accountant, and then performs corrective operations, resulting in low work efficiency.
2.3 Some important materials are not included in the bill of materials
In the production process of insulating glass, some products need to use materials such as argon gas inflation. Although the quantity is not large, the unit value is relatively high, and it accounts for a large proportion of the composition of material costs. During the storage and transfer process of argon gas, it is usually in cans or bottles. When it is used, the whole tank or bottle is often used. The production order cannot be determined when it is used, so when it is used, it is not necessary to pick via work order. In cost accounting, the ERP system will separately include direct material and manufacturing expenses according to whether there are production work orders, and the manufacturing expenses will be apportioned among all products according to the working hours.
2.4 The method of apportionment of manufacturing costs is unreasonable
In traditional industries, the production process is relatively fixed. For example, in the plastic inflatable industry, no matter what type of product it is, it has to go through cutting, high-frequency, packaging, and other processes. The type of product is mainly determined by the different molds. The automatic insulating glass production process is relatively long. In the same production center, different production processes are different, and some products only require certain processes.
Figure 1 How to properly apportion the manufacturing expenses of automation equipment 1
3. Relevant countermeasures for cost accounting of insulated glass production enterprises
3.1 Changing the product bill of materials
3.1.1 The standard demand quantity of the bill of materials for production does not take into account the estimated defect rate
The finance department communicated with the design department and the planning department to explain the significance of the bill of materials to cost accounting. The material standard consumption of the production bill of materials only considers unavoidable losses.
After changing the standard consumption of the bill of material requirements, the cost accounting is more accurate and reasonable. For easy understanding, the above example is used.
The production status and cost carry-forward status of the first month:
Production pick-up: 1000; the number of good products in storage: 720; defective products in production: 180; cost of completed products carried forward: 900*1=900; quantity in process at the end of the month: 1000-900=100.
The production status and cost carry-forward status of the second month:
Production pick-up: 0; the number of good products in production and storage: 80; the number of defective products in production and storage: 20; cost of completed products carried forward: 100; quantity in process at the end of the month: 0.The unit cost of finished products put into storage in the first month is 900/720=1.25, and the cost in the second month is 100/80=1.25. According to common sense, if the unit price of materials remains unchanged, and the consumption and yield rate remains unchanged, the unit material cost calculated every month should be equal. According to the above calculation, before the BOM is changed, the unit cost is L56 in the first month and .1.56 in the second month, and the unit cost fluctuates greatly. After the BOM is changed, the unit material cost of the first month and the second month is 1.25 yuan. By changing the bill of materials, the cost accounting is more accurate and reasonable.
3.1.2 Important auxiliary materials enter the bill of materials
The important auxiliary material is mainly argon gas inflation, and the unit value is very high. A tank of argon gas may be used for multiple production work orders, and it is not sure which production work orders are consumed when it is picked up from the warehouse. To solve this problem, a line-side warehouse is added to the ERP system. When the production workshop is used from the warehouse, it is transferred from the warehouse to the line side warehouse through the transfer order in the ERP system. In cost accounting, the accounting treatment of this step is:
Borrow: Raw Material
Loan: Raw Materials
After the argon gas is used up, or at the end of the month, check the inventory of argon gas in the line side warehouse, calculate the consumption of argon gas, and then allocate the consumption of argon gas to the corresponding production work order. In cost accounting, the accounting treatment for this step is:
Borrow: Production Cost - Direct Materials
Loan: Raw Materials
Through the change of the above accounting method, the consumption of argon-gas filling is all collected into the actual consumption production work orders, and the production work orders that are not used will not share the cost of argon gas filling, and the cost accounting is more accurate and reasonable.
3.2 Establish a supervision mechanism for inventory purchase, sale, and storage
To improve the standardization, timeliness, and accuracy of ERP operations, make better use of the ERP system to provide the basis for the company's business decisions, reduce and avoid waste, and accelerate material turnover, according to the actual situation of the company, relevant operational regulations have been formulated. Sexual reward and punishment system. The operation of the ERP system of the front-end business department directly affects the accuracy of cost accounting. Written specifications are provided for whether the production work order is closed in time, the billing cycle of the production work order, production picking, material return, and production warehousing. The Finance Department will check whether the ERP documents of the front-end business department meet the requirements of the system from time to time, and punish those who do not meet the requirements. At the same time, provide training for relevant positions, not only mastering the operating procedures and specifications of the ERP system but also training some basic knowledge of cost accounting for the front-end business department. On the one hand, improve the operation skills of the ERP system, on the other hand, let the front-end business department realize how their operations affect cost accounting. Through the system + training, the front-end business department has re-recognized the importance of its position and improved the accuracy and timeliness of the ERP system operation.
3.3 Change the allocation method of direct labor and manufacturing costs
3.3.1 Allocate direct labor and overhead according to reasonable cost drivers
Each cost center has multiple processes, and the degree of mechanization of each process is different. Manufacturing costs cannot be apportioned by man-hours, but by machine man-hours. The production department is required to report not only man-hours but also machine hours when reporting work hours. Direct labor is apportioned according to man-hours, and manufacturing costs are apportioned according to machine hours. Through the change of apportionment method, cost accounting is more reasonable and accurate. In addition, even if the working hours of each worker are the same, the monthly manufacturing costs are not necessarily the same, that is, the unit rate is different. For example, in the same work center, the machine start-up time of process A and process B is the same every month, but the equipment of process A has a high value, high power, and high daily maintenance costs. In this way, the unit rate of manufacturing costs is different. If the manufacturing overhead is allocated directly by the proportion of man-hours, the manufacturing overhead allocated to the products that have undergone the process is relatively small compared with the actual situation. To solve this problem, the finance department and the production center work together to determine the standard rate of each process based on historical data such as equipment value, electricity costs, and maintenance costs. When doing cost accounting, first multiply the working hours of each production work order by the corresponding rate, and then use this as a basis to allocate the manufacturing cost to each production work order. In addition, to be able to accurately attribute manufacturing costs to each production center. Individual electricity meters are installed in each production center. When reading the meter every month, the person in charge of the production center will sign for confirmation. When the equipment department receives the maintenance parts to repair the equipment, the maintenance cost should be accurate to the beneficiary department, and the person in charge of the beneficiary department should sign for confirmation.
3.3.2 Work in progress should also share direct labor and manufacturing costs
The main material used for insulating glass is ordinary glass, which is processed with automatic equipment by glass cutting machine, glass washing and drying machine, tempering glass production line and insulating glass production line, etc. During the processing, in addition to the use of chemicals, it is mainly through precision equipment that the physical and chemical changes of ordinary glass occur. Compared with ordinary glass, the resulting product can improve the clarity and light transmittance of the screen image, reduce screen reflection and dizziness, and make the image clearer. Production equipment has a high value, high power consumption, frequent daily repairs and maintenance, and high monthly depreciation, electricity, and maintenance costs, resulting in a high proportion of manufacturing costs and a relatively large fluctuation in the number of products in progress each month. To make cost accounting more reasonable, direct labor and manufacturing costs need to be included in finished and unfinished products. At the end of each month, each workshop counts the unfinished quantity of each process of each production work order according to the unfinished production work order, and the workshop and the R&D department jointly determine the degree of completion of each process. According to the quantity of each process multiplied by the degree of completion, the equivalent output of the work in progress is obtained, and finally, the direct labor and manufacturing costs are allocated between the finished product and the unfinished product. The use of equivalent output not only makes cost accounting more accurate and reasonable but also enables the workshop to close the production work orders that meet the closing conditions in time and can also check whether the inventory account is correct.
Figure 2 The horizontal automatic glass washing and drying equipment 1
3.4 Strengthen quality cost management
According to the quality cost management system, the quality cost is divided into prevention cost, appraisal cost, internal loss cost, and external loss cost. The quality cost is counted according to the above four categories every month, and a quality cost report is formed. Various analysis methods such as proportion analysis and chain analysis are adopted for the four quality costs. Through the above analysis, it can reflect the weak links in the quality of the production process and take better-targeted measures. The first three quality costs are covered in product manufacturing costs, while external loss costs are generally included in period expenses, so focus on external loss costs, such as compensation fees, return fees, and warranty fees. The cost of external losses needs to be taken into account when quoting, which increases the accuracy of quotes.
4. Epilogue
Through the improvement of the above measures, cost accounting is closer to accuracy. After the cost accounting method of some products is improved, the unit cost changes greatly compared with before the change. According to these changes, the company adjusted the offer price of the product. Appropriately reduce the price of products with a high gross profit margin to increase market share. For loss-making products, increase the price or stop the production of such products. In addition, the company intends to enter the capital market, which also puts forward high requirements for the company's cost accounting. It is necessary to choose a cost accounting method suitable for the company, and the regulatory authorities should pay attention to the rationality of the cost accounting method.
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