Fixed vs. Variable Costs: A Managerial Accounting Guide

Cost is something that can be classified in several ways, depending on its nature. One of the most popular methods is classification according to fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs do not change with increases/decreases in units of production volume, while variable costs fluctuate with the volume of units of production. Fixed and variable costs are key terms in managerial accounting, used in various forms of analysis of financial statementsAnalysis of Financial StatementsHow to perform Analysis of Financial Statements. This guide will teach you to perform financial statement analysis of the income statement,.

The first illustration below shows an example of variable costs, where costs increase directly with the number of units produced.

In the second illustration, costs are fixed and do not change with the number of units produced.

 

 

Graphically, we can see that fixed costs are not related to the volume of automobiles produced by the company. No matter how high or low sales are, fixed costs remain the same.

On the other hand, variable costs show a linear relationship between the volume produced and total variable costs.

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Financial Accounting vs. Managerial Accounting

While financial accounting is used to prepare financial statements that benefit external users, managerial accounting is used to provide useful information to people within an organization, mainly management, to help them make more informed business decisions.

A clear comparison can be seen in the following table:

 

 

Financial AccountingManagerial AccountingPurpose of informationTo communicate the company’s financial position to external users (i.e. investors, banks, regulators, government)To help management make better decisions to fulfill the company’s overall strategic goalsPrimary usersExternal usersInternal (management)Focus and emphasisPast orientedFuture orientedTime spanAnnual or quarterly financial reports depending on companyVaries from hourly to years of information

 

Variable Costs vs. Fixed Costs

The table below summarizes the key difference between fixed and variable costs:

 

 

Variable CostFixed CostDefinitionCosts that vary/change depending on the company’s production volumeCosts that do not change in relation to production volumeWhen Production IncreasesTotal variable costs increaseTotal fixed cost stays the sameWhen Production DecreasesTotal variable costs decrease Total fixed cost stays the sameExamplesDirect Materials (i.e. kilograms of wood, tons of cement)RentDirect Labor (i.e. labor hours)AdvertisingInsuranceDepreciation

 

Example 1 – Fixed vs. Variable Costs

The following table shows various costs incurred by a manufacturing company:

 

CostVariableFixedDepreciation of executive jetxCost of shipping finished goods to customersxWood used in manufacturing furniturexSales manager’s salaryxElectricity used in manufacturing furniturexPacking supplies for shipping productsxSand used in manufacturing concretexSupervisor’s salaryxAdvertising costsxExecutive’s life insurancex

 

Example 2

Let’s say that XYZ Company manufactures automobiles and it costs the company $250 to make one steering wheel. In order to run its business, the company incurs $550,000 in rental fees for its factory space.

Let’s take a closer look at the company’s costs depending on its level of production.

 

Number of Automobiles ProducedVariable Cost per Steering WheelTotal Variable CostTotal Fixed Cost1$250$250$550,000500$250$125,000$550,0001000$250$250,000$550,0001500$250$375,000$550,000

 

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Applications of Variable and Fixed Costs

Classifying costs as either variable or fixed is important for companies because by doing so, companies can assemble a financial statement called the Statement/Schedule of Cost of Goods Manufactured (COGM)Cost of Goods Manufactured (COGM)Cost of Goods Manufactured (COGM) is a term used in managerial accounting that refers to a schedule or statement that shows the total. This is a schedule that is used to calculate the cost of producing the company’s products for a set period of time.

The COGM is then transferred to the finished goods inventory account and used in calculating the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)AccountingOur Accounting guides and resources are self-study guides to learn accounting and finance at your own pace. Browse hundreds of guides and resources. on the income statement.

By analyzing variable and fixed cost prices, companies can make better decisions on whether to invest in Property, Plant, and Equipment (PPE)PP&E (Property, Plant and Equipment)PP&E (Property, Plant, and Equipment) is one of the core non-current assets found on the balance sheet. PP&E is impacted by Capex,. For example, if a company incurs high direct labor costs in manufacturing their products, they may look to invest in machinery, which will reduce these high variable costs in exchange for more stable and known fixed costs.

This decision should be made with volume capacity and volatility in mind as trade-offs occur at different levels of production.  High volumes with low volatility favor machine investment, while low volumes and high volatility favor the use of variable labor costs.

If sales were low, even though unit labor costs remain high, it would be wiser not to invest in machinery and incur high fixed costs because the high unit labor costs would still be lower than the machinery’s overall fixed cost.

The volume of sales at which the fixed costs or variable costs incurred would be equal to each other is called the indifference point. Finally, variable and fixed costs are also key ingredients to various costing methods employed by companies, including job order costing, process costing, and activity-based costing.

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