(a) Purpose of Cost Accounting The purpose of cost accounting is to provide detailed information for control, planning and decision-making.

(b) Attributes of Costing Information i. The cost accounting system must be appropriate to the organisation in which way services are provided or goods manufactured. ii. The reports, statements and analyses produced by the costing system must contain relevant information for the intended purpose. iii. The reports and statements must be produced at appropriate intervals and early enough to be effective. iv. The reports and statements must be addressed to the person responsible for planning/decision making /control. v. The information produced must be in a relevant form and to a sufficient degree of accuracy for the intended purpose. vi. Completeness: Information should include all information necessary for its purpose. However, information in management reports should not be excessive, because important information may be hidden in the unimportant information, and it will take managers too long to read and understand. vii. Timeliness. If information is provided too late for its purpose, it has no value. With the widespread computerization of accounting systems, including cost accounting systems, it might be appropriate for up-to-date management accounting information to be available on line and on demand whenever it is needed. viii. Comparability. In accounting, it is often useful to make comparisons, such as comparisons of current year results with previous years, or comparisons of actual results with planned results. Its value must exceed its cost (Information must be cost effective).

(c) Three major parts of cost accounting process i. Cost Accumulation: Cost accounting is concerned with gathering data about the costs of products or services and the cost of activities. ii. Cost Allocation: Assigning cost objects to specific areas of the business e.g Department, products. iii. Cost Analysis: The cost accounting data is captured, stored and subsequently analysed to provide cost information to management.

(d)