Managing expenses is a key for business success, and overhead costs play a pivotal role in realizing favorable profit margins. Almost all companies have some form of overhead consisting of specific categories of indirect expenses. The better organizations are able to manage overhead costs, the more competitive they are in the marketplace. It is incumbent in the Controller’s role to effectively manage, monitor and perform ongoing assessment of overhead costs, allocations and rates.
Overhead refers to the ongoing business expenses not directly attributed to creating a product or service. A company must pay overhead on an ongoing basis, regardless of how much or how little the company sells. It is important for budgeting purposes but also for determining how much a company must charge for its products or services to make a profit.
Overhead can be fixed, variable, or a hybrid of both. There are different categories of overhead, such as administrative overhead, which includes costs related to managing a business. In short, overhead is any expense incurred to support the business while not being directly related to a specific product or service.
Learning Objectives
- Explore and understand overhead costs.
- Discover and examine types of fixed and variable overhead costs.
- Identify and understand overhead rates and allocation methods.
- Explore overhead allocation measures and overhead rate calculation.
- Explore activity-based costing.
- Recognize and review responsibilities of the controller for overhead costs.
Included In Certifications
This course is included in the following Certification Programs:
22 CoursesThe Controllership Series Certification
- The Controllership Series: The Controller Function - Elevating the Role
- The Controllership Series: The Controller Function - Strategic and Annual Planning
- The Controllership Series: The Controllers Role in Financial Forecasting
- The Controllership Series: Future Role of the Controller – Part 1
- The Controllership Series: Future Role of the Controller – Part 2
- The Controllership Series: The Controller Function - Cash and Investments
- ASC 842 Accounting for Leases - Deep Dive
- The Controllership Series: The Controller Function - Inventory Part 1
- The Controllership Series: The Controller Function - Inventory Part 2 - Inventory Valuation, Physical Inventory Methods and Inventory fraud
- The Controllership Series: Overhead, Direct and Indirect Costs and Allocation Methods
- The Controllership Series: Financial Statement Preparation and Presentation
- The Controllership Series: The Controllers Role in the Procurement Function
- The Controllership Series: The Role of The Controller in ESG
- The Controllership Series: The Controllers Role in Pro Forma Financials
- The Controllership Series: The Controllers Role in Data Analytics and Big Data
- The Controllership Series: Introduction to the Financial Close Process
- The Controllership Series: Managerial Accounting Basics and Cost Principles
- The Controllership Series: Sales, Collections and Customer Credit
- The Controllership Series: Addressing Cash Flow and Forecasting Uncertainty
- The Controllership Series: The Controller’s Skillset
- The Controllership Series: The Controllers Role in Internal Controls
- Tools for The Controllership Series Certificate
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Prerequisites
No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.