Book excerpt: Introduce students to the essentials of cost accounting using the clear, concise and practical approach in PRINCIPLES OF COST ACCOUNTING, 17E. The book's unique 10-chapter format provides a thorough understanding of cost concepts, cost behavior, and cost accounting techniques as applied to manufacturing and service businesses. The authors ensure students master fundamentals before progressing to more complex topics. Students begin with job order costing, and advance to process costing before delving into specialized topics, such as budgeting, standard costing and variance analysis, costing for service businesses, and cost analysis for management decisions. The book introduces concepts in small, manageable sections that are immediately reinforced with proven questions, demonstration problems, exercises, and self-study quizzes. Updated examples and current data keep the content relevant to todays times. Students learn how to determine the costs of products and services and set selling prices. Students also discover how to bid on products and analyze the relative profitability of products and services. In addition, the book teaches how to measure the performance of managers, design an accounting system, and use accounting to further organizational goals. Count on PRINCIPLES OF COST ACCOUNTING, 17E for the most logical, relevant approach to your cost accounting course. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.