Chart of Accounts
A chart of accounts is a tool which refers to a specific numbering system that is used by project management teams to assist them in keeping track of and documenting project expenditures and costs. On a chart of accounts, these expenditures are typically broken down according to a number of pre-determined categories. This categorization makes it easier when attempting to reconcile to determine exactly where the money was spent, at which phase of the project different amounts of money were spent for different items, etc. The specific categories can range wildly, but some examples of often used categories are categories such as labor expenses, purchase of supplies, costs for materials, and costs for equipment purchase or rental. The project chart of accounts is typically based on the corporate chart of accounts of the company for which the project is being conducted, or if there are multiple, the primary performing organization. Contrast with code of accounts.
This term is defined in the 3rd edition of the PMBOK but not in the 4th.
Related Posts
- Cost
Cost refers to the monetary value or financial pricing of a specific project activity. This cost includes all anticipated expenditures that are expected to be part of the entire project, as well as the monetary value of the total sum of resources to be expended during the process. A specific cost can be broken down [...]
- Code of Accounts (in Project Management)
A code of accounts is an essential tool in the essential management of any project as it allows for the ability to easily distinguish multiple components of a project without need to remember lengthy names or terminologies. Specifically, a code of accounts is a unique lettering or numbering system in which letters or numbers are [...]
- Cost-Reimbursable Contract
A cost-reimbursable contract is a variant of a contract that involves making a payment from the buyer to the seller in reimbursement for the seller’s actual costs. Added to that is a fee that typically represents the seller’s profit. When analyzing costs they are typically broken down into two categories. Those categories are direct costs [...]
- Pareto Chart
When a project management team is working on a project’s many different components and aspects, there are a number of tools that can be utilized in order to make the best and most efficient use of all of the information and data that is being gathered across the board. Many of these tools are in [...]
- Compensation
Compensation refers, in general, to the exchange of something for services rendered. Traditionally, compensation will come in the form of money, although it can come in the form of something else of monetary value (such as in the case where a project manager may receive stock options or other forms of investment benefits in lieu [...]