Accounting for Costs and Expenses: Problems of Theory and Practice

The organization and maintenance of accounting require accurate methods and the most accurate results of their application, which entails the need to use generally accepted economic categories. Inaccurate or incorrect use of the categories “expenses” and “costs” leads to a distortion of a number of key performance indicators of the enterprise, primarily the financial result. In certain accounting standards there is inconsistency in the definition of the concept of “expenses”, its economic meaning, there is no definition of the category “expenses”. The purpose of the article is to determine the relationship between the concepts of “expenses” and “costs”, clarify their wording, identify differences in regulations on cost accounting systems RAS and IFRS and give them an assessment, analyze the inclusion models in the cost of indirect expenses. System analysis of the relevant segments of theory and practice of accounting led to the conclusion that it is necessary to bring all documents, regulatory and regulatory costs and expenses in line, to improve the methodology for recording expenses in the cost of finished goods and work in process, the inclusion in the accounting standards of the cost accounting in the cost of finished goods, products and work in progress.