Suppose a television station wants to use the R/3 System to manage the costs for a special telecast. The television station does the following:

1. The station first creates a general cost object for the telecast. This general cost object contains the following information:

– Name of the program

– Person responsible for the telecast

– Business area the program is assigned to

– Currency in which the costs will be carried

2. The station calculates the planned costs for the telecast by creating a unit cost estimate containing the following information:

– Planned expenses for travel, hotel, and so forth

– Services purchased from external providers

– Internal activities required to produce each newscast

– Materials required to produce each newscast

3. The station collects the following actual costs with reference to the general cost object:

– In the Financial Accounting component, the station enters the G/L account postings for expenses such as travel and hotel costs with reference to the telecast.

– In the Controlling component, the station specifies the telecast as the receiver for the allocation of internal activities.

– In the Materials Management component, the station specifies the telecast when it enters a material withdrawal.

4. Once the telecast has been produced, the station settles the actual costs incurred to a profitability segment. In Profitability Analysis, the costs of producing the telecast are compared with the revenues.