# Cost object

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cost_object.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_object
> Source revision: 1356915871
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{{Short description|Something to which costs are assigned}}
{{Original research|date=January 2008}}
A '''cost object''' is a term used primarily in [cost accounting](/source/cost_accounting) to describe something to which [costs](/source/accounting_cost) are assigned.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 November 2023 |title=Cost object definition |url=https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/what-is-a-cost-object.html |access-date=1 February 2024 |website=AccountingTools}}</ref> Common examples of cost objects are product lines, geographic territories, customers, departments or anything else for which management would like to quantify cost.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Averkamp |first=Harold |title=Cost object definition |url=https://www.accountingcoach.com/terms/C/cost-object |access-date=1 February 2024 |website=AccountingCoach}}</ref>

The use of cost objects is common within [activity based costing](/source/activity_based_costing) and [Grenzplankostenrechnung](/source/Grenzplankostenrechnung) systems.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

==See also==
* [Cost centre (business)](/source/Cost_centre_(business))

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

Object
Category:Management accounting

{{accounting-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cost object](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_object) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_object?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.