Definition of Work-in-process inventory

Work-in-process inventory

inventory that has been partially converted through the
production process, but for which additional work must be completed before it can
be recorded as finished goods inventory.

actual cost system

a valuation method that uses actual direct
material, direct labor, and overhead charges in determining
the cost of work in process inventory

applied overhead

the amount of overhead that has been assigned to work in process inventory as a result of productive activity; credits for this amount are to an overhead account

job order cost sheet

a source document that provides virtually
all the financial information about a particular job;
the set of all job order cost sheets for uncompleted jobs
composes the work in process inventory subsidiary ledger

material requisition form

a source document that indicates
the types and quantities of material to be placed into production
or used in performing a service; it causes materials
and its cost to be released from the Raw Material inventory
warehouse and sent to work in process inventory

normal cost system

a valuation method that uses actual
costs of direct material and direct labor in conjunction with
a predetermined overhead rate or rates in determining the
cost of work in process inventory

Blanket inventory lien

A secured loan that gives the lender a lien against all the borrower's inventories.

Corporate processing float

The time that elapses between receipt of payment from a customer and the
depositing of the customer's check in the firm's bank account; the time required to process customer
payments.

Days' sales in inventory ratio

The average number of days' worth of sales that is held in inventory.

Diffusion process

A conception of the way a stock's price changes that assumes that the price takes on all
intermediate values. dirty price. Related: full price

Inventory

For companies: Raw materials, items available for sale or in the process of being made ready for
sale. They can be individually valued by several different means, including cost or current market value, and
collectively by FIFO, LIFO or other techniques. The lower value of alternatives is usually used to preclude
overstating earnings and assets.
For security firms: securities bought and held by a broker or dealer for resale.

Inventory loan

A secured short-term loan to purchase inventory. The three basic forms are a blanket
inventory lien, a trust receipt, and field warehousing financing.

Inventory turnover

The ratio of annual sales to average inventory which measures the speed that inventory
is produced and sold. Low turnover is an unhealthy sign, indicating excess stocks and/or poor sales.

In-house processing float

Refers to the time it takes the receiver of a check to process the payment and
deposit it in a bank for collection.

Just-in-time inventory systems

Systems that schedule materials/inventory to arrive exactly as they are
needed in the production process.

Net working capital

Current assets minus current liabilities. Often simply referred to as working capital.

Price discovery process

The process of determining the prices of the assets in the marketplace through the
interactions of buyers and sellers.

Working capital

Defined as the difference in current assets and current liabilities (excluding short-term
debt). Current assets may or may not include cash and cash equivalents, depending on the company.

Working capital management

The management of current assets and current liabilities to maximize shortterm liquidity.

Working capital ratio

working capital expressed as a percentage of sales.

Workout

Informal arrangement between a borrower and creditors.

Workout period

Realignment period of a temporary misaligned yield relationship that sometimes occurs in
fixed income markets.

INVENTORY TURNOVER

The number of times a company sold out and replaced its average stock of goods in a year. The formula is:
(Cost of goods sold) / (Average inventory (beginning inventory + ending)/2 )

MERCHANDISE INVENTORY

The value of the products that a retailing or wholesaling company intends to resell for a profit.
In a manufacturing business, inventories would include finished goods, goods in process, raw materials, and parts and components that will go into the end product.

Inventory

Goods bought or manufactured for resale but as yet unsold, comprising raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods.

Process costing

A method of costing for continuous manufacture in which costs for an accounting compared are compared with production for the same period to determine a cost per unit produced.

Working capital

Current assets less current liabilities. Money that revolves in the business as part of the process of buying, making and selling goods and services, particularly in relation to debtors, creditors, inventory and bank.

Work-in-progress

Goods or services that have commenced the production process but are incomplete and unable to be sold.

Inventory

The cost of the goods that a company has available for resale.

Periodic inventory system

An inventory system in which the balance in the inventory account is adjusted for the units sold only at the end of the period.

Perpetual inventory system

An inventory system in which the balance in the inventory account is adjusted for the units sold each time a sale is made.

inventory shrinkage

A term describing the loss of products from inventory
due to shoplifting by customers, employee theft, damaged and
spoiled products that are thrown away, and errors in recording the purchase
and sale of products. A business should make a physical count and
inspection of its inventory to determine this loss.

inventory turnover ratio

The cost-of-goods-sold expense for a given
period (usually one year) divided by the cost of inventories. The ratio
depends on how long products are held in stock on average before they
are sold. Managers should closely monitor this ratio.

inventory write-down

Refers to making an entry, usually at the close of a
period, to decrease the cost value of the inventories asset account in
order to recognize the lost value of products that cannot be sold at their
normal markups or will be sold below cost. A business compares the
recorded cost of products held in inventory against the sales value of the
products. Based on the lower-of-cost-or-market rule, an entry is made to
record the inventory write-down as an expense.

Inventory Turnover Ratio

Provides a measure of how often a company's inventory is sold or
"turned over" during a period. It is calculated by dividing the sales
figure for the period by the book value of the inventory at the end of
the period.

business process reengineering (BPR)

the process of combining information technology to create new and more effective
business processes to lower costs, eliminate unnecessary
work, upgrade customer service, and increase
speed to market

cost-benefit analysis the analytical process of comparing the

relative costs and benefits that result from a specific course
of action (such as providing information or investing in a
project)

dollar days (of inventory)

a measurement of the value of inventory for the time that inventory is held

economically reworked

when the incremental revenue from the sale of reworked defective units is greater than
the incremental cost of the rework

FIFO method (of process costing)

the method of cost assignment that computes an average cost per equivalent
unit of production for the current period; keeps beginning
inventory units and costs separate from current period production
and costs

joint process

a manufacturing process that simultaneously
produces more than one product line
joint product one of the primary outputs of a joint process;
each joint product individually has substantial revenuegenerating
ability

modified FIFO method (of process costing)

the method of cost assignment that uses FIFO to compute a cost per
equivalent unit but, in transferring units from a department,
the costs of the beginning inventory units and the
units started and completed are combined and averaged

multiprocess handling

the ability of a worker to monitor
and operate several (or all) machines in a manufacturing
cell or perform all steps of a specific task

network organization

a flexible organization structure that
establishes a working relationship among multiple entities,
usually to pursue a single function

process benchmarking

benchmarking that focuses on practices and how the best-in-class companies achieved their results

process complexity

an assessment about the number of processes through which a product flows

process costing system

a method of accumulating and assigning costs to units of production in companies producing large quantities of homogeneous products;
it accumulates costs by cost component in each production department and assigns costs to units using equivalent units of production

processing time

the actual time consumed performing the
functions necessary to manufacture a product

process map

a flowchart or diagram indicating every step
that goes into making a product or providing a service

process productivity

the total units produced during a period
using value-added processing time

process quality yield

the proportion of good units that resulted from the activities expended

product- (or process-) level cost

a cost that is caused by the development, production, or acquisition of specific products or services

statistical process control (SPC)

the use of control techniques that are based on the theory that a process has natural variations in it over time, but uncommon variations
are typically the points at which the process produces "errors", which can be defective goods or poor service

strict FIFO method (of process costing)

the method of cost assignment that uses FIFO to compute a cost per equivalent unit and, in transferring units from a department, keeps the
cost of the beginning units separate from the cost of the
units started and completed during the current period

vendor-managed inventory

a streamlined system of inventory
acquisition and management by which a supplier can
be empowered to monitor EDI inventory levels and provide
its customer company a proposed e-order and subsequent
shipment after electronic acceptance

weighted average method (of process costing)

the method of cost assignment that computes an average cost per
equivalent unit of production for all units completed during
the current period; it combines beginning inventory units
and costs with current production and costs, respectively,
to compute the average

working capital

total current assets minus total current liabilities

Ito process

Statistical assumptions about the behavior of security prices. For
details, see the book by Hull listed in the “Bibliography”.

Average inventory

The beginning inventory for a period, plus the amount at the end of
the period, divided by two. It is most commonly used in situations in which just
using the period-end inventory yields highly variable results, due to constant and
large changes in the inventory level.

Book inventory

The amount of money invested in inventory, as per a company’s
accounting records. It is comprised of the beginning inventory balance, plus the
cost of any receipts, less the cost of sold or scrapped inventory. It may be significantly
different from the actual on-hand inventory, if the two are not periodically
reconciled.

Finished goods inventory

Goods that have been completed by the manufacturing
process, or purchased in a complete form, but which have not yet been sold to
customers.

Moving average inventory method

An inventory costing methodology that calls for the re-calculation of the average cost of all parts in stock after every purchase.
Therefore, the moving average is the cost of all units subsequent to the latest purchase,
divided by their total cost.

Perpetual inventory

A system that continually tracks all additions to and deletions
from inventory, resulting in more accurate inventory records and a running total for
the cost of goods sold in each period.

Process

A series of linked activities that result in a specific objective. For example, the
payroll process requires the calculation of hours worked, multiplication by hourly
rates, and the subtraction of taxes before the final objective is reached, which is the
printing of the paycheck.

Process costing

A costing methodology that arrives at an individual product cost through the calculation of average costs for large quantities of identical products.

Raw materials inventory

The total cost of all component parts currently in stock that
have not yet been used in work-in-process or finished goods production.

Rework

Refers to a product that does not meet a company’s minimum quality standards,
but which is then repaired in order to meet those standards.

Working capital

The amount of a company’s current assets minus its current liabilities;
it is considered to be a prime measure of its level of liquidity.

net working capital

Current assets minus current liabilities.

workout

Agreement between a company and its creditors establishing the steps the company must take to avoid bankruptcy.

Discouraged Worker

An unemployed person who gives up looking for work and so is no longer counted as in the labor force.

Inventory

Goods that a firm stores in anticipation of its later sale or use as an input.

Make-Work Project

A project, such as digging holes and filling them up again, that has no useful purpose other than to make work.

Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act

A federal Act requiring federal contractors to pay overtime for hours worked exceeding 40 per week.

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

A federal Act requiring the reporting of new hires into a national database.

Work Week

A fixed period of 168 consecutive hours that recurs on a consistent basis.

Workers' Compensation Benefits

Employer-paid insurance that provides their employees with wage compensation if they are injured on the job.

Average-Cost Inventory Method

The inventory cost-flow assumption that assigns the average
cost of beginning inventory and inventory purchases during a period to cost of goods sold and
ending inventory.

First-In, First-Out (FIFO) Inventory Method

The inventory cost-flow assumption that
assigns the earliest inventory acquisition costs to cost of goods sold. The most recent inventory
acquisition costs are assumed to remain in ending inventory.

Inventory

The cost of unsold goods that are held for sale in the ordinary course of business or
that will be used or consumed in the production of goods to be sold.

Inventory Days

The number of days it would take to sell the ending balance in inventory at the
average rate of cost of goods sold per day. Calculated by dividing inventory by cost of goods sold
per day, which is cost of goods sold divided by 365.

Inventory Shrinkage

A shortfall between inventory based on actual physical counts and inventory
based on book records. This shortfall may be due to such factors as theft, breakage, loss, or
poor recordkeeping.

Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) Inventory Method

The inventory cost-flow assumption that assigns the most recent inventory acquisition costs to cost of goods sold. The earliest inventory
acquisition costs are assumed to remain in ending inventory.

Purchased In-Process Research and Development

Unfinished research and development that is acquired from another firm.

Working Capital

Current assets minus current liabilities

ABC inventory classification

A method for dividing inventory into classifications,
either by transaction volume or cost. Typically, category A includes that 20% of
inventory involving 60% of all costs or transactions, while category B includes
the next 20% of inventory involving 20% of all costs or transactions, and category
C includes the remaining 60% of inventory involving 20% of all costs or
transactions.

Distribution inventory

inventory intended for shipment to customers, usually
comprised of finished goods and service items.

Ending inventory

The dollar value or unit total of goods on hand at the end of an
accounting period.

Finished goods inventory

Completed inventory items ready for shipment to
customers.

Fluctuation inventory

Excess inventory kept on hand to provide a buffer against
forecasting errors.

Hedge inventory

Excess inventories kept on hand as a buffer against contingent
events.

Inactive inventory

Parts with no recent prior or forecasted usage.

In-transit inventory

inventory currently situated between its shipment and delivery
locations.

Inventory

Those items included categorized as either raw materials, work-inprocess,
or finished goods, and involved in either the creation of products or service
supplies for customers.

Inventory adjustment

A transaction used to adjust the book balance of an inventory
record to the amount actually on hand.

Inventory diversion

The redirection of parts or finished goods away from their intended
goal.

Inventory issue

A transaction used to record the reduction in inventory from a location,
because of its release for processing or transfer to another location.

Inventory receipt

The arrival of an inventory delivery from a supplier or other
company location.

Inventory returns

inventory returned from a customer for any reason. This receipt
is handled differently from a standard inventory receipt, typically into an inspection
area, from which it may be returned to stock, reworked, or scrapped.

Inventory turnover

The number of times per year that an entire inventory or a
subset thereof is used.

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