Cost

1. Accounting.

The expenses payable to produce the firm’s sales.

2. Accounting.

In relation to fixed assets, the original cost of acquisition.

The net book value of fixed assets, in simple terms, is the difference between cost and accumulated depreciation.

3. Financial decision making.

In financial decision making cost is the expected return or benefit that is foregone by investing in a project, rather than in the next best use of capital or other resources.

This type of cost is often known as the 'opportunity cost'.

It is the opportunity cost of capital and of other resources that is the relevant economic measure for financial decision making purposes.

4.

To estimate the price of something.

5.

More generally, the amount paid to acquire or buy something.

See also

• Amortised cost
• Average total cost
• Charge
• Cost and freight
• Cost and management accounting
• Cost behaviour
• Cost centre
• Cost effective
• Cost of capital
• Cost of carry
• Cost of debt
• Cost of equity
• Cost of financial distress
• Cost of goods sold
• Cost of living adjustment
• Cost of sales
• Cost push
• Current cost accounting
• Cost saving centre
• Current service cost
• Depreciation
• Expenditure
• Expense
• Fixed assets
• Fixed cost
• Historical cost accounting
• Impairment
• Interest cost
• Inventory
• Marginal cost
• Negative cost collar
• Net book value
• Net realisable value
• Opportunity cost
• Price
• Replacement cost
• Revaluation
• Revenue costs
• Standard cost
• Sunk cost fallacy
• Transaction cost analysis
• Variable cost
• Weighted average cost of capital
• Zero cost