A certified public accountant is one who has earned a license in his or her state that attests to a high degree of skill, training, and experience. In addition to passing an accounting examination, a candidate must have the proper business experience, education, and moral character in order to qualify for the license. The letters CPA are commonly used and generally recognized to be the abbreviation for the title Certified Public Accountant.
For manufactured goods, direct costs also include raw materials, labor, and production expenses. Other costs, such as transportation and advertising, are not included in COGS. To calculate COGS, beginning inventory is added to current period purchases, and ending inventory is then deducted.
Cost of sales, or cost of goods sold, measures the cost of goods or services supplied in a period. It is sometimes abbreviated to COGS. The cost of what a company sells is accrued with the cost of producing or supplying it. The cost of sales is the difference between sales and gross profit. The cost of goods sold is one of two costs deducted in arriving at the operating profit. The other is sales, general and administrative costs.