Kustannustieto

Kustannustieto is a Finnish term meaning "cost information" or "cost data." In economics and business, kustannustieto refers to information about the costs associated with producing, purchasing, or using goods and services. It encompasses unit costs, total and average costs, capital and operating expenses, and life-cycle costs. The term is used in budgeting, cost accounting, procurement, project management, and financial analysis to support decision making and forecasting.

Sources of kustannustieto include supplier price lists, invoices and accounting records, public procurement documents, government statistics, and cost databases. In public sector contexts, published kustannustieto helps evaluate tenders, set budgets, and perform cost-benefit analyses. In private sector use, it supports cost estimation, benchmarking, and cost control.

Consequently, kustannustieto relies on consistent definitions and timeframes to be comparable; inflation, regional price differences, and scope assumptions can affect comparability. Analysts may separate direct and indirect costs, fixed and variable costs, and consider opportunity costs to obtain meaningful insights.

Open data initiatives may provide kustannustieto for public sector commodities and services. Limitations include confidentiality and proprietary considerations, which can restrict access to detailed cost data.

See also: cost accounting, cost estimation, life-cycle cost, benchmarking, open data, price index.