The organizations and managers are most of the times interested in and worrried for the costs. The control of the costs of the past, present and future is part of the job of all the managers in a company. In the companies that try to have profits, the control of costs affects directly to them. Knowing the costs of the products is essential for decision-making regarding price and mix assignation of products and services.

      The cost accounting systems can be important sources of information for the managers of a company. For this reason, the managers understand the forces and weaknesses of the cost accounting systems, and participate in the evaluation and evolution of the cost measurement and administration systems. Unlike the accounting systems that help in the preparation of financial reports periodically, the cost accounting systems and reports are not subject to rules and standards like the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. As a result, there is a wide variety in the cost accounting systems of the different companies and sometimes even in different parts of the same company or organization.