Creating statistical key figures for cost allocations

Statistical key figures are type of master record in overhead cost controlling you use to maintain planned and actual information for various measurable characteristics of a cost center, such as:

• Number of employees

• Kilowatt-hour consumption

• Square meters occupied

• Number of laptops

The most common use of statistical key figures is to use them as a basis for determining splitting ratios during allocations. Here statistical key figures work as tracing factors. For example, you allocate the heating bill based on the square meters occupied by each cost center, or the canteen costs based on the number of employees. Essentially the comparison between the key figures of different cost centers gives the percentage of the cost to be distributed to each cost center.

There are two key figure categories:

• Fixed Values (Category 1).

  Statistical key figures that are generally constant throughout a year are defined as category 1. For example, the number of employees of a cost center or the square meters occupied.

  You enter values for the first fiscal period of the fiscal year and the value is copied to all future posting periods. You only need to enter a new value on the period where a change occurs, and all future periods adopt this value. For example, your cost center has 10 employees at the beginning of the year in January. You enter 10 for the statistical key figure and this value is assumed to be the same for the whole year. However, you hire an employee in June. You now enter 11 as the value starting in June and this value is adopted until the end of the year in December.

  The fiscal year total for this category is an average of the period totals. So, the cost center had 10.5 employees on average for the year.

• Total Values (Category 2).

  Statistical key figures that have constantly variable values are posted for each current posting period and defined as category 2. For example, you track the kWh energy consumption for each cost center to allocate the energy bill expenses.

  Each month the smart meters you have installed update the system with the kWh consumed by each department. The fiscal year total for this category is the sum of all the period values. Meaning, in our example you add up the consumption value of all months for each cost center to get the total energy the cost center consumed in a year.