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Safety stock Extra inventory carried to serve as insurance against fluctuations in demand.

Sales budget A budget that describes expected sales in units and dollars for the coming period.

Sales mix The relative combination of products (or services) being sold by an organization.

Scattergraph A plot of (X, Y) data points. For cost analysis, X is activity usage and Y is the associated cost at that activity level.

Scatterplot method A method to fit a line to a set of data using two points that are selected by judgment. It is used to break out the fixed and variable components of a mixed cost. Secondary activity Activity that is consumed by primary activities and/or other secondary activities. Segment A subunit of a company of sufficient importance to warrant the production of performance reports. Segment margin The contribution a segment makes to cover common fixed costs and provide for profit after direct fixed costs and variable costs are deducted from the segment’s sales revenue.

Segmented reporting The preparation of financial performance reports for each segment of importance within a firm.

Sell or process further Relevant costing analysis that focuses on whether a product should be processed beyond the split-off point.

Selling and administrative expenses budget A budget that outlines

planned expenditures for nonmanufacturing activities.

Sensitivity analysis The “what if”

process of altering certain key variables to assess the effect on the original outcome.

Sequential (or step) method A method that allocates service costs to user de- Standard quantity of materials allowed The quantity of materials that should have been used to produce the actual output (Unit materials standard _ Actual output).

Static budget A budget for a particular level of activity.

Step cost A cost function in which cost is defined for ranges of activity usage rather than point values. The function has the property of displaying constant cost over a range of activity usage and then changing to a different cost level as a new range of activity usage is undertaken.

Stockout costs The costs of insufficient inventory.

Strategic-based responsibility accounting system (Balanced Scorecard) A

responsibility accounting system objectives and measures for four

different perspectives: the financial perspective, the customer perspective, the process perspective, and the learning and growth (infrastructure) perspective.

Strategic cost management The use of cost data to develop and identify superior strategies that will produce a competitive advantage.

Strategic decision making Choosing among alternative strategies with the goal of selecting a strategy or strategies that provide a company with a reasonable assurance for long-term growth and survival.

Strategic plan The long-term plan for future activities and operations, usually involving at least five years.

Strategy The process of choosing a business’s market and customer segments, identifying its critical internal business processes, and selecting the individual and organizational capabilities needed to meet internal,

customer, and financial objectives. Subjective measures Measures that are nonquantifiable and whose values are judgmental in nature.

Sunk cost A cost for which the outlay has already been made and that cannot be affected by a future decision. partments in a sequential manner. It gives partial consideration to interactions among support departments. Sequential processing A processing pattern in which units pass from one process to another in a set order. Service A task or activity performed for a customer or an activity performed by a customer using an

organization’s products or facilities. Serviceability The ease of maintaining and/or repairing a product. Setup costs The costs of preparing equipment and facilities so that they can be used for production. Short run A period of time in which at least one cost is fixed.

Simplex method An algorithm that identifies the optimal solution for a linear programming problem. Single-loop feedback Information

about the effectiveness of strategy implementation. Slope parameter The variable cost per unit of activity usage, represented by V in the cost formula Y _ F _ VX. Special-order decisions Relevant costing analyses that focus on whether a specially priced order should be accepted or rejected.

Split-off point The point at which products become distinguishable after

passing through a common process. Spot rate The exchange rate of one currency for another for immediate delivery.

Staff positions Positions that are supportive in nature and have only

indirect responsibility for an organization’s basic objectives.

Standard cost per unit The per-unit cost that should be achieved given materials, labor, and overhead standards. Standard cost sheet A listing of the standard costs and standard quantities of direct materials, direct labor, and overhead that should apply to a single product.

Standard hours allowed The direct labor hours that should have been used to produce the actual output (Unit labor standard _ Actual output). 858 ?

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Supplies Those materials necessary for production that do not become part of the finished product or which are not used in providing a service.

Supply chain management The management of material flows beginning with suppliers and their upstream suppliers, moving to the transformation of materials into finished goods, and finishing with the distribution of finished goods to customers and their downstream customers.

Support departments Units within an organization that provide essential support services for producing departments. Sustainable development Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. T