Main challenges in the identification and measurement of indirect costs in projects: a multiple case study

Faria, Bruno Cardoso; Vale, João Walter Saunders Pacheco do; Facin, Ana Lucia Figueiredo; de Carvalho, Marly Monteiro

doi:10.1590/0104-530X4913

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE • Gest. Prod. 27 (1) • 2020 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-530X4913 copy

Main challenges in the identification and measurement of indirect costs in projects: a multiple case study

Principais desafios na identificação e mensuração dos custos indiretos em projetos: um estudo de múltiplos casos

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Projects have direct and indirect costs; the direct ones are easily identified and quantified, the indirect ones are difficult to control, because they are generated in favor of more than one project, and even if they are not directly related to the activities, they influence their budget. This study aims to present indirect cost identification methods, analyze the estimation models adopted for its measurement, and also analyze ways of appropriating costs in several projects. The method adopted was the analysis of multiple cases in companies of the industrial, commercial and services sectors. It was verified that projects with greater detail of the scope show less difficulty in identifying indirect costs, directly influencing the method of estimation adopted. The estimate for indirect costs is specific to each company, and its complexity is defined by the volume of data available. The appropriation of indirect costs differs between cases, but has similar objectives in its incorporation in the direct hours of the projects. It is worth highlighting the importance of project planning in the identification of indirect costs, in the choice of measurement methods, and also in the forms of costing for the budget.

Keywords:
Project management; Cost management; Indirect costs; Project costing; Cost Appropriation

Costing Methods	Special Features	References
Absorption Costing	All the costs (direct, indirect, fixed and variable) related to production efforts are apportioned to all goods and services. Indirect costs can be prorated in two ways: distributed proportionally in the total cost of the manufactured products or through distribution into production departments and production support departments.	Martins (2003)Martins, E. (2003). Contabilidade de custos (9. ed.). São Paulo: Atlas., Schier (2006)Schier, C. U. C. (2006). Gestão de custos. Curitiba: Ibpex. , Abbas et al. (2012)Abbas, K., Gonçalves, M. N., & Leoncine, M. (2012). Os métodos de custeio: vantagens, desvantagens e sua aplicabilidade nos diversos tipos de organizações apresentadas pela literatura. ConTexto , 12(22), 145-159. , Zahaikevitch et al. (2013)Zahaikevitch, E. V., Matos, S. N., & Gapinski, E. F. P. (2013). Métodos de custeio utilizados na precificação: um estudo de caso. In Anais do XXXIII Encontro Nacional de Engenharia de Produção (pp. 1-15). Rio de Janeiro: ABEPRO.
Variable Costing	Only the direct and indirect costs involved in the production of a given product are considered, neglecting the fixed costs of the organization. This method considers that fixed costs exist independently of production and do not influence the quantity of product produced.	Martins (2003)Martins, E. (2003). Contabilidade de custos (9. ed.). São Paulo: Atlas., Schier (2006)Schier, C. U. C. (2006). Gestão de custos. Curitiba: Ibpex. , Abbas et al. (2012)Abbas, K., Gonçalves, M. N., & Leoncine, M. (2012). Os métodos de custeio: vantagens, desvantagens e sua aplicabilidade nos diversos tipos de organizações apresentadas pela literatura. ConTexto , 12(22), 145-159. , Zahaikevitch et al. (2013)Zahaikevitch, E. V., Matos, S. N., & Gapinski, E. F. P. (2013). Métodos de custeio utilizados na precificação: um estudo de caso. In Anais do XXXIII Encontro Nacional de Engenharia de Produção (pp. 1-15). Rio de Janeiro: ABEPRO.
Homogeneous Sections Costing	It consists of the division of costs into cost centers, in which not only the production costs but also all the expenses of the company are apportioned in all the products developed. The apportionment techniques are similar to those of other methods, making the appropriations of the direct and indirect costs of production, based on the allocation of the expenses of the various departments of the company.	Martins (2003)Martins, E. (2003). Contabilidade de custos (9. ed.). São Paulo: Atlas., Schier (2006)Schier, C. U. C. (2006). Gestão de custos. Curitiba: Ibpex. , Abbas et al. (2012)Abbas, K., Gonçalves, M. N., & Leoncine, M. (2012). Os métodos de custeio: vantagens, desvantagens e sua aplicabilidade nos diversos tipos de organizações apresentadas pela literatura. ConTexto , 12(22), 145-159.
Unit of Production Effort	Uses a unit of measure of the efforts and resources applied to manufacturing one or several products. The unit of measurement should apply to all product types. The unit measure is obtained by dividing the shop floor into operative stations, which are responsible for generating work and transforming the raw material into finished products. Operational stations include direct and indirect labor, energy used in machinery, raw material, maintenance and quality control, intellectual planning work, among others intrinsically related to the production process.	Martins (2003)Martins, E. (2003). Contabilidade de custos (9. ed.). São Paulo: Atlas., Bornia (1995)Bornia, A. C. A. (1995). A fusão de postos operativos no método da unidade de esforços de produção. In Anais do IV Congresso Internacional de Custos e II Congresso Brasileiro de Gestão Estratégica de Custos (pp. 481-491). Campinas: UNICAMP.
Activity Based Costing	Activity-based costing aims to minimize the distortions caused by the apportionment of indirect costs of the traditional methods presented above. This method assumes that resources are consumed by activities that result in product development. Once the activities are defined, the costs are allocated through cost drivers, which represent the amount of resource that will be required to carry out the activity.	Martins (2003)Martins, E. (2003). Contabilidade de custos (9. ed.). São Paulo: Atlas., Abbas et al. (2012)Abbas, K., Gonçalves, M. N., & Leoncine, M. (2012). Os métodos de custeio: vantagens, desvantagens e sua aplicabilidade nos diversos tipos de organizações apresentadas pela literatura. ConTexto , 12(22), 145-159.

Methods	Particular Features of Estimating Cost Methods	References
Bottom-up	It establishes criteria for estimating the duration and costs at the lower levels of the WBS, to obtain a list of resources needed for the project, allowing the sum of all smaller packages to establish the cost and duration of the project. This estimation model is usually considered the most labor-intensive, but also the most accurate.	PMI (2017)Project Management Institute – PMI. (2017). Um guia do conhecimento em gerenciamento de projetos (guia PMBOK) (6. ed.). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc., Santos (2015)Santos, J. A. (2015). Gestão de Projetos. Curitiba: Universidade Positivo.
Top-down or Analogy	The total cost of the project is considered for later detailing the activities and feasibility of executing the project;	Santos (2015)Santos, J. A. (2015). Gestão de Projetos. Curitiba: Universidade Positivo., Rad (2002)Rad, P. F. (2002). Project estimating and cost management. Vienna: Editora Management Concept. , PMI (2017)Project Management Institute – PMI. (2017). Um guia do conhecimento em gerenciamento de projetos (guia PMBOK) (6. ed.). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc. , Rad (2002)Rad, P. F. (2002). Project estimating and cost management. Vienna: Editora Management Concept. , PMI (2017)Project Management Institute – PMI. (2017). Um guia do conhecimento em gerenciamento de projetos (guia PMBOK) (6. ed.). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
	An analogous activity is the basis for duration estimation and costs estimation of one future activity;
	The purpose is to apply the estimation to situations of scarce information, allowing making assumptions about some environmental and functional characteristics of the project, even if its result is still imprecise;
	This model is more reliable when it uses previous projects that are really similar as a base, and require preparation and technical ability from the person responsible for the estimation.
Parametric and Modular	They are performed using the project characteristics in mathematical models and algorithms;	Barcellos et al. (2003)Barcellos, M. P., Figueiredo, S. M., Rocha, A. R., & Travassos, G. (2003). Utilização de métodos paramétricos, analogias, julgamento de especialistas e conhecimento original no planejamento de tempo, custo de projetos de software. In Anais do II Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software (pp. 1-15). São Paulo: SBC., PMI (2017)Project Management Institute – PMI. (2017). Um guia do conhecimento em gerenciamento de projetos (guia PMBOK) (6. ed.). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc. , Santos (2015)Santos, J. A. (2015). Gestão de Projetos. Curitiba: Universidade Positivo. , Rad (2002)Rad, P. F. (2002). Project estimating and cost management. Vienna: Editora Management Concept. , PMI (2017)Project Management Institute – PMI. (2017). Um guia do conhecimento em gerenciamento de projetos (guia PMBOK) (6. ed.). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc. , Rad (2002)Rad, P. F. (2002). Project estimating and cost management. Vienna: Editora Management Concept. , Barcellos et al. (2003)Barcellos, M. P., Figueiredo, S. M., Rocha, A. R., & Travassos, G. (2003). Utilização de métodos paramétricos, analogias, julgamento de especialistas e conhecimento original no planejamento de tempo, custo de projetos de software. In Anais do II Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software (pp. 1-15). São Paulo: SBC. , PMI (2017)Project Management Institute – PMI. (2017). Um guia do conhecimento em gerenciamento de projetos (guia PMBOK) (6. ed.). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
	Consider statistical relationships between historical data and variables (square meter, kilometer run, speed, etc.) necessary to calculate cost estimates for a work package;
	The results from these estimates are highly accurate and can be applied to an entire project or to parts of the project;
	These models are more appropriate in phases that have greater maturity of project objectives, and at more detailed levels of the WBS.
Proportion	It is one of the most basic forms of estimation in civil construction, in industrial and process projects. Its main premise is that there is a linear relationship between cost and duration of the project, as well as between one or more basic characteristics of the project. The basic features in this process are related to any physical or performance attribute. The quotients or factors are refined from personal experience, company archives or published scientific data.	Rad (2002)Rad, P. F. (2002). Project estimating and cost management. Vienna: Editora Management Concept.
Expert judgment	Developed through consultations with specialists in various areas of activity, related to the project activities, in order to prepare the cost estimates of these activities.	Rad (2002)Rad, P. F. (2002). Project estimating and cost management. Vienna: Editora Management Concept., Barcellos et al. (2003)Barcellos, M. P., Figueiredo, S. M., Rocha, A. R., & Travassos, G. (2003). Utilização de métodos paramétricos, analogias, julgamento de especialistas e conhecimento original no planejamento de tempo, custo de projetos de software. In Anais do II Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software (pp. 1-15). São Paulo: SBC. , Carvalho & Rabechini (2011)Carvalho, M. M., & Rabechini, R. J. (2011). Fundamentos em gestão de projetos: construindo uma competência para gerenciar projetos. São Paulo: Editora Atlas.
Interval Estimation	It results from obtaining three possible estimates of duration of activities, most likely, optimistic and pessimistic. The most probable estimative is based on the most probable scenario in which the allocated resources are available and the other assumptions of the project are also observed. The optimist is based on the use of more positive duration estimates. The pessimist, conversely, considers the duration estimates to be more negative, and thus longer;	Rad (2002)Rad, P. F. (2002). Project estimating and cost management. Vienna: Editora Management Concept., PMI (2017)Project Management Institute – PMI. (2017). Um guia do conhecimento em gerenciamento de projetos (guia PMBOK) (6. ed.). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc. , Santos (2015)Santos, J. A. (2015). Gestão de Projetos. Curitiba: Universidade Positivo. , Carvalho & Rabechini (2011)Carvalho, M. M., & Rabechini, R. J. (2011). Fundamentos em gestão de projetos: construindo uma competência para gerenciar projetos. São Paulo: Editora Atlas.
Interval Estimation	When a set of three estimates is obtained for all the elements of the WBS, a random number generation tool can be used, allowing evaluating the distributions and obtaining the most probable estimates based on the random selection of the estimates of each element.

Case	Activity Branch	Sales Representations	Level of Difficulty in Identifying Indirect Costs ¹	WBS Development	History of Indirect Cost Identification	Identification of Indirect Costs Criteria	Method for Estimating Indirect Costs	Method for Appropriating Indirect Costs
Company A	Industry	40% of new product projects 60% mass production	3 (Intermediate Difficulty). Regarding the large quantity of costs involved in their projects.	No, but the projects have a close control of the costs and of their progress, for history archiving	Project documents are archived electronically and are used for identifying and estimating indirect costs.	They identify the indirect costs for all the projects developed, based on the historical data.	Parametric and Modular Estimation. Based on mathematical models, past experience and project archives.	Production Effort Unit Method. All the overhead (indirect) costs are appropriated at the time of machine operation.
Company B	Commerce	20% of the projects for promotional campaigns and 80% for mass production.	1 (Low Difficulty). Attributed because the projects present great similarity among themselves, being able to be replicated and adjusted for the other projects.	Yes, in addition to other tools suggested by the project management manuals (schedule, cost control, among others).	Company B archives the history of previous projects, which are used to identify and to assist in the statistics for measuring indirect costs.	They identify the indirect costs for all projects using the WBS tool as a way of detailing the activities.	Bottom-up Estimate. Use of WBS, Brainstorming with experts and past project history.	Activity-Based Costing Method. Indirect costs are assigned to each activity and diluted for each project product.
Company C	Service Provision	100% of projects	5 (High difficulty). Linked mainly to the low similarity between the projects and short deadlines for planning their projects (from 1 to 2 days).	No, because the short period for sending their budgets to clients, makes it difficult to develop the WBS.	The histories of the previous projects are not archived by formal means, and are stored in form of learning (Know how) of the managers.	Indirect costs are not identified for all projects. More profitable projects outweigh the less profitable ones.	Estimate by Experience. It is applied according to the experience of the person in charge of planning (Heuristics).	Absorption Costing Method and Variable Costing Method. Costing of indirect costs in the direct technical hours or are considered only the direct costs of the projects.

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[1] Source: The authors (2018).