From Cost to Control

The Practical Guide to Understanding True Business Costs, Pricing with Confidence, and Protecting Every Rupee You Spend

Learn exactly what your products and services truly cost

Use cost data to price better, control spending, and improve margins

From Cost To Control Is The Solution To All Problems

The Cost Problem Most Businesses Don’t See (Until Profits Shrink)

Most businesses focus on increasing sales. Very few focus on understanding and controlling costs. That’s where profits are actually decided.

Pricing products based on competitor pricing, without knowing full material, labour, and overhead cost

Ignoring small cost increases that slowly reduce profits over time.

Paying for labour without measuring productivity or time actually spent on work.

Making decisions based on sales numbers instead of understanding real profit.

Buying too much stock and locking money that could be used elsewhere in the business.

Not tracking which products actually earn money and which only look busy.

Creating budgets but not checking what goes over or why it happened.

Keeping old processes that waste time and money just because they’re familiar.

Businesses that integrate cost accounting into operations are 2× more likely to maintain stable margins during market fluctuations.

How This Book Fits Into Your Daily Business Reality

This book is not meant to be read once and forgotten.
It becomes a reference tool you return to when you need to:

Decide whether to increase prices or volumes

Check if a product is actually worth continuing

Plan inventory orders without blocking cash

Understand why labour costs feel high

Review overheads that keep increasing

Build budgets that teams actually follow

What You’ll Learn Inside the Book

Calculate the True Cost of Every Product

Understand how materials, labour, and overheads reveal accurate product cost and profitability.

Build clear cost sheets using correct cost units, centres, and classifications

Separate fixed, variable, direct and indirect costs.

Identify hidden cost leakages impacting margins across products and services

Control Material and Inventory Costs

Learn proven inventory models to reduce waste, avoid stockouts, and unlock working capital.

Apply EOQ, EBQ, and reorder levels with quantity discount considerations

Use JIT systems and inventory control methods for cost-efficient operations

Select correct material valuation methods to reflect true consumption costs

Manage Labour and Overheads

Gain control over labour efficiency and overhead absorption using practical costing techniques.

Calculate effective wage rates and understand labour turnover cost impact

Choose suitable remuneration methods aligned with productivity and cost control

Allocate overheads accurately using blanket and departmental absorption rates

Use Costing Methods That Fit Your Business Model

Apply the right costing method based on how your business actually operates.

Implement unit, batch, job, and process costing with real business relevance

Understand joint products, by-products, and service costing scenarios clearly

Select appropriate responsibility centres to improve cost accountability

Make Confident Decisions Using Cost Data

Turn cost data into confident decisions about pricing, product mix, and profitability.

Compare marginal and absorption costing for different business situations

Use contribution and break-even analysis to evaluate product performance

Manage limiting factors and choose optimal product mix logically

Build Control Through Budgets and Variances

Build financial discipline using budgeting, standard costing, and variance analysis.

Prepare functional budgets using principal budget factor logic

Analyze material, labour, overhead, and sales variances to identify inefficiencies

Reconcile budgeted and actual profits using responsibility accounting

The Cost Problem Most Businesses Don’t See (Until Profits Shrink)

QR for additional insights and quizzes

Case studies of brands like McDonald’s, P&G, Starbucks and more

Checklists and templates to save time

What You’ll Learn Inside the Book

Introduction to Cost Accounting

What is Cost Accounting?
What are the Various Responsibility centers in Cost Accounting?
What is a Cost Unit?
What is a Cost Sheet?
How Do You Classify Costs?

Accounting for Materials

- Introduction
- What Are Materials?
- What is EOQ?
- What is EBQ?
- Calculating the Optimal Reorder Quantity with Discounts
- Inventory Management Methods
- Just-In-Time (JIT) Inventory
- Methods of Costing/Valuation of Materials
- Control of Inventory

Labour Costing

- What is Labour Costing?
- Importance of Workers in a Business
- What are Remuneration Methods?
- Effective Wage Rate
- What is Labour Turnover?

Accounting of Overheads

- Introduction
- What are Overheads?
- Classification of Overheads
- Distribution of Overhead
- What is a Blanket Rate?

A Guide to Absorption and Marginal Costing

- Introduction
- A Brief on Absorption and Marginal Costing
- What is Absorption Costing?
- Introduction to Marginal Costing
- Marginal and Absorption Costing Differentiated
- What is Contribution?
- Understanding Breakeven Point with a Scenario

Cost Accounting Methods

- What is Unit Costing?
- What is Batch Costing?
- What is Job Costing?
- A Guide to Process Costing
- Joint Products and By-Products
- What are the Various Centres in Cost Accounting?
- What is Service Costing?

Alternative Methods of Costing

- Introduction
- What are Alternative Methods of Costing?
- What is Activity-Based Costing?
- What is Life Cycle Costing?
- What is Target Costing?
- Difference Between Margin and Markup

Decision Making

- Introduction 258
- What are Alternative Methods of Costing? 260
- What is Activity-Based Costing? 261
- What is Life Cycle Costing? 268
- What is Target Costing? 277
- Difference Between Margin and Markup 284

Budgeting

- Introduction
- Why Marginal Costing is a Decision-Making Tool?
- Understanding Limiting Factors in the Real World
- Types of Decisions in Cost Accounting

Standard Costing

- What is Budgeting?
- The Role of the Principal Budget Factor in Building an Effective Budget
- Preparing Functional Budgets (Production, Raw Materials, Labour, Overheads)
- Essentials of Effective Budgeting
- Approaches of Budgeting in Cost Management
- Importance of Choosing the Right Budgeting Approach

Standard Costing

- Essential Ratios in Standard Costing
- What is Standard Costing?
- Variance Analysis and Responsibility Accounting
- Advance Variances
- The Sales / Revenue Side
- Reconciliation of Budgeted Profit and Actual Profit

How This Book Impacts Your Business

Pricing

Understand margin vs markup, contribution, and break-even to price products sustainably.

Inventory

Reduce excess stock, prevent shortages, and improve working capital efficiency.

Operations

Identify inefficiencies in labour, materials, and overhead usage.

Decision-Making

Evaluate alternatives using marginal costing and limiting factor analysis.

Financial Discipline

Build accountability using responsibility centres, budgets, and variance monitoring.

The Cost Problem Most Businesses Don’t See (Until Profits Shrink)

Entrepreneurs & Business Owners
Want to protect margins and scale profitably

Managers & Operations LeadersLooking to improve efficiency and accountability

Finance & Accounting ProfessionalsWho want practical mastery of cost concepts

CA, ACCA & Finance StudentsSeeking real-world clarity beyond exams

Meet The Author

Founder of Anu Agrawal Classes (AAC): A pioneer in finance education who has mentored thousands of CA and ACCA achievers across India and overseas.

Accomplished Chartered Accountant with 25+ years of expertise: A trusted professional in cost accounting, budgeting, financial audits, and forensic finance.

Internationally qualified finance leader: Holds the prestigious CPA (Australia) credential, bringing global perspectives to Indian business practices.

Proven academic and industry experience: 22+ years of teaching, consulting, and shaping future-ready finance careers through real-world insights.

Advocate for financial literacy and ethical growth: Dedicated to empowering students, entrepreneurs, and professionals to excel with confidence, clarity, and strong financial discipline.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is this book useful if I don’t have a finance background?

Yes. The book starts from fundamentals and explains concepts in simple language, making it suitable for business owners, managers, and students without deep finance knowledge.

Does this book apply only to manufacturing businesses?

No. The book includes costing methods and examples relevant to manufacturing, service businesses, startups, and growing enterprises.

What makes this book different from regular cost accounting books?

Unlike traditional textbooks, this book focuses on application, decision-making, and control, helping readers use cost accounting to manage real business situations effectively.

Is there a refund policy?

In case you don't like your purchase, we offer a No-Questions-Asked Money Back Guarantee on the digital copy within first 24 hours. There is no refund policy on the hard copy of the product.

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