Series A Funding
Startup funding is not a one-time activity. Instead, it is a long-drawn process that encompasses many years in the initial life of any startup firm. It is important to realize that the funding of any startup company happens in multiple stages. Up until now, we have understood the pre-seed funding as well as the seed […]
Types of Risks in Commercial Banking
Banking activity is generally considered to be risky. Banks earn money by borrowing money from people and then lending them to other people at a higher rate of interest. However, commercial banking activity is considered to be even riskier. This is generally because of the huge dollar value of the transactions in commercial banking. Hence, […]
Calculating Free Cash Flows: The Case of Preferred Shares
In the previous few articles we understood how to calculate free cash flows which accrue to the firm as a whole as well as to equity shareholders. However, while conducting this analysis we made an implicit assumption. We assumed that there are only two classes of funds available to the firm, this is equity and […]
The TikTok Business Model
When we talk about social media, we often refer to companies like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, in the past few years, another company has emerged as a huge player in the social media space. This company has created an application that is known for having high levels of user engagement. The application being […]
Problem with Private Securities Offerings
The average person believes that they are legally allowed to make any investment that a rich person can. However, this is not true in America, and this is certainly not true in many parts of the developed world. The reality is that the average American population is only legally allowed to purchase securities which are […]
The first four stages are done before the job is being performed. The final purpose of this is to give a quotation to the clients. The calculation is done based on very little information. However, it needs to be precise. Here is the procedure:
Stage 1: List the Cost ObjectsAt the first stage, organizations need to identify all the possible cost objects that will be affected by taking this job. The idea is to get as close as possible to the perfect estimate
Stage 2: Estimate The Direct Costs:At the second stage, cost objects are segregated into direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are easy to estimate. The company needs to be aware of the amount of material and labour that the job will consume. Once these facts are known, it is easy to determine the amount of direct costs that will go into a job. These estimates are very accurate and seldom need to be revised.
Stage 3: Use Pre-determined Overhead:In the third stage, companies estimate the amount of overheads that will be incurred in the particular job. This estimate is done based on the information that is empirical. This can be contrasted with the direct costs which are estimated based on prevailing market rates. Hence these overhead estimates are almost never accurate. They need to be adjusted at later stages. However, companies try to make the estimates as accurate as possible. This helps them in the next stage.
Stage 4: Give QuotationThe direct and indirect cost estimates are collated. Companies then bid for the job with their quotation. The costs need to be accurate to ensure that the contract is won and also that the company makes a decent profit out of doing so.
When the job is being performed, companies maintain job sheets. They track whether the actual material and labour used as per the quotation. If they are not as per the quotation, then it is an anomaly. Companies can easily trace out the cause. It is either incorrect implementation or incorrect estimation.
After the job is completed, companies check the actual overheads with the estimated overheads. They, then remove the effect of over and under applied overheads to arrive at the final cost of performing the job.
This is quite a lengthy procedure. However, it creates control within the organization and helps ensure that resources are not wasted.
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