Cost is one of the basic elements of accounting, which reflects the consumption of various resources in the process of production and operation, and ultimately leads to the reduction of the net assets of geological prospecting units, while cost is the objectification of cost. The former is the concept of period, that is, all kinds of expenses occurred in a certain period, while the latter is the concept of objectification, that is, collecting and distributing all kinds of expenses according to cost objects to reveal the consumption level of specific objects. Various expenses incurred by geological prospecting units in the process of completing geological exploration work are geological exploration work expenses, and collecting and distributing various expenses according to cost objects are geological exploration work costs.

The cost of geological exploration includes all kinds of expenses incurred in the whole process of collecting data, investigation and demonstration, compiling design, organizing exploration and construction, sorting out and analyzing data, comprehensive research, compiling geological report and submitting geological results.

In terms of the composition of the cost of geological exploration, the composition of the cost is different because of the different management requirements of geological exploration, social geological exploration and self-raised geological exploration in the national budget. The cost of geological exploration in the national budget includes both direct cost and indirect cost, as well as the management cost that should be shared, that is, the total cost is calculated; Social geological exploration work cost and self-raised geological exploration work cost only include direct costs and indirect costs, excluding management costs, that is, only manufacturing costs are calculated. The reason why the current system stipulates this is mainly based on the following considerations: ① At that time, for a considerable period of time, mainland geological exploration units still focused on completing national geological exploration tasks, and the national geological exploration expenditure was subject to budget management. The budget of geological projects includes management fees, and the cost of geological exploration in the national budget should also adopt absorption cost method to maintain the consistency of accounting caliber; (2) Geological exploration and geological achievements are gradually entering the market, and paid service and use is the inevitable result of deepening reform. In order to meet the requirements of this reform and development, the current system uses manufacturing cost method to calculate the operating cost, which is consistent with the enterprise accounting system and the characteristics of geological prospecting units' operating activities.

Second, the determination of the cost accounting object of geological exploration work

The object of cost accounting of geological exploration work should be determined according to the nature of geological exploration work and the different ways of cost compensation.

(1) undertakes the geological survey within the national budget, and its funds are allocated by the national budget, and its cost accounting objects include two levels:

The first level, that is, geological projects, is at the highest level and is the ultimate object of cost accounting of geological prospecting work.

The second level, that is, the work items (working methods) used to complete geological projects, is in the middle level and is the intermediate object of geological prospecting cost accounting.

The total cost of the geological project cost calculation, including the cost of the work project and the management expenses that should be shared; Work item cost calculates manufacturing costs, including direct costs and indirect costs.

(2) The contracted social geological exploration work and the geological exploration work carried out by self-financing belong to the business nature, and the cost can be compensated by the settlement price obtained, and the cost accounting object can be determined according to different situations: if a geological project is constituted, the cost accounting object should be based on the geological project (contracted project) and the work project; If it is only a single exploration project, the cost accounting object is the work item.

Social geological exploration work and self-raised geological exploration work calculate manufacturing costs.

Third, the cost project setting of the work project

According to the means of geological exploration, the work items include topographic mapping, geological survey, geophysical and geochemical exploration, trench well exploration, pit exploration, drilling, experimental testing, comprehensive research and report writing, other geological work, on-site construction, etc. Different geological prospecting units and different geological projects adopt different means, and geological prospecting units can increase or decrease work items according to accounting needs.

The current accounting system of geological prospecting units stipulates that geological prospecting units should set up cost items according to the economic attributes of expenses when accounting the cost of work items.

(1) Labor cost: including salary, bonus, employee welfare, salary subsidy, labor protection, etc.

(2) Material cost: including consumables such as materials, fuel, power, production tools, appliances, spare parts and pipes consumed in the process of geological exploration.

(3) Other direct costs: including transportation costs, external construction costs, data and maps costs, mining area relocation costs, depreciation costs and production fixed assets repair costs. On-site installation fee of production facilities and equipment, compensation fee for land and young trees, land reclamation fee, etc.

(4) Indirect expenses: including various expenses incurred by subordinate units (or project departments) of geological prospecting units and other secondary units for organizing and managing geological prospecting work, such as wages, bonuses, employee benefits, wage subsidies, heating expenses, utilities, office expenses, travel expenses, property insurance fees, administrative expenses, depreciation expenses of fixed assets, repair expenses, etc.

Four, geological exploration work cost accounting

(1) Cost accounting of work items

Geological exploration units should set up the subject of "geological exploration and production" to collect, account and carry forward the cost of each work item. The establishment of geological prospecting production account books should be based on meeting the needs of cost accounting of geological prospecting units. Generally, accounts are set according to work items (or social exploration projects), columns are set according to cost items, and accounts can also be set according to production units under work items. Due to the specific requirements of the central and provincial special fund projects in accounting, it can also be accounted for according to the expense project, and the work project is set as auxiliary accounting (the accounting of special fund projects will be introduced as a special chapter).

1. Collection and distribution of geological exploration production costs

(1) Collection and distribution of direct expenses. The direct costs incurred in the process of geological exploration and production that can directly determine the object of collection shall be directly included in the cost of related work items. For * * * expenses or expenses that need to be allocated in summary, they should be included in the cost of related work items according to the original expense vouchers or expense summary allocation tables, such as salary and employee welfare expenses allocation tables, material expenses and labor protection articles allocation tables, pipe amortization expenses allocation tables, depreciation expenses allocation tables and auxiliary production expenses allocation tables.

(2) Collection and distribution of indirect expenses. All expenses incurred by subordinate units of geological prospecting units or secondary units such as project departments should be collected in the subject of "indirect expenses". "Indirect expenses" shall be accounted for in detail according to the expense items. At the end of the month, it will be allocated according to certain allocation standards (such as direct cost rate and labor cost rate) and included in the cost of each work item. When allocating indirect expenses, an allocation table should be prepared.

2. Carry-over of work item cost

Work project cost is not the end point of geological exploration work cost accounting, but an intermediate link, and it is also necessary to allocate work project cost to related geological project cost according to its ownership object. The cost carry-forward of different work items should be determined according to different situations:

(1) In order to meet the needs of budget management and reflect the expenditure of geological exploration work in time, the current system has set up two subjects: "expenditure of completed geological projects" and "expenditure of unfinished geological projects". Therefore, the cost of work items that should be borne by geological projects in the national budget is generally carried forward at the end of the month.

(2) For the social geological exploration work, the carry-over time of its expenses shall be determined according to the settlement method stipulated in the contract. If the contract stipulates a one-time settlement after the project is completed and accepted, the cost will be carried forward when the project is completed and accepted and the settlement income is confirmed; If the contract stipulates that the settlement shall be based on a single project, the cost of the project income shall be carried forward at the time of completion acceptance settlement; If the contract stipulates installment settlement, the cost of realized income in the current period shall be carried forward during installment settlement. It can be seen that the carry-over time of social geological exploration work cost depends on the settlement method and the confirmation of income. In addition, before the completion of social geological exploration work, or although it has been completed and accepted but has not yet gone through the settlement procedures, it should be retained as an unfinished project in the subject of "geological exploration and production" and reflected as inventory in the balance sheet.

(3) The actual cost of self-raised geological exploration shall be carried forward after the project acceptance and recorded as "geological achievements".

Geological prospecting units should compile a "geological project cost distribution table" when carrying forward the cost of work projects, through which the current and accumulated costs of various geological projects can be calculated as the basis for carrying forward.

(2) Cost accounting of geological projects

The cost of geological projects is calculated separately for each geological project. The accounting process of geological project cost is also the collection process of geological project cost. Because the cost between geological projects is not comparable, only the total cost of geological projects is calculated, not the unit cost.

In terms of cost composition, due to different management requirements, geological projects in the national budget are also different from social geological projects and self-raised geological projects. As mentioned above, the cost of geological projects in the national budget consists of two parts: the manufacturing cost of work projects and management expenses, while the cost of social geological projects and self-raised geological projects only includes the manufacturing cost of work projects, and the management expenses that should be borne by operating income are directly included in the current profits and losses.

The accounting of geological project cost is mainly to carry forward and allocate the work project cost to related geological projects according to the beneficiaries, and calculate the current cost and accumulated cost of each geological project through the collection and allocation of the above costs.

1. Accounting Treatment of Cost of Carry-over Work Items

(1) The expenses of geological projects in the national budget shall be collected through the subject of "Unfinished Geological Project Expenditure", and then transferred from "Unfinished Geological Project Expenditure" to "Completed Geological Project Expenditure" after the project is completed. Therefore, when carrying forward the cost of work items, according to the number of occurrences in this period, the account of "Unfinished Geological Project Expenditure" is debited and the account of "Geological Exploration and Production" is credited.

(2) The actual cost of social geological exploration is carried forward after the price settlement. Carry-over should be handled according to different situations: all projects based on submitted geological achievements should be accounted as assets when they are completed, and then transferred from the subject of "geological achievements" to the subject of "operating costs" after the price is settled. When recording geological achievements, debit "geological achievements" and credit "geological exploration and production". When the price is settled, the account of "operating cost" shall be debited and the account of "geological achievements" shall be credited. For projects with exploration projects as the basis for price settlement, the actual cost should be directly transferred to the subject of "operating cost" according to the settlement method stipulated in the contract, that is, the subject of "operating cost" should be debited and credited to the subject of "geological exploration and production".

(3) For self-raised geological projects, at the end of acceptance, they should be transferred to the subject of "Geological Achievements" according to their actual costs, debited to the subject of "Geological Achievements" and credited to the subject of "Geological Exploration and Production".

2. Accounting treatment of management expense allocation.

Geological projects within the national budget should bear management fees according to regulations, and should be included in the cost of each geological project at the end of the month, that is, according to the management fees to be allocated, debit the account of "unfinished geological project expenditure" and credit the account of "management fees".