hallintakulut

Hallintakulut (administrative costs) refer to expenses incurred in the general management and administration of an organization that are not directly attributable to a specific product, service, or production process. They cover the cost of running the administration and governance functions that support the business as a whole rather than production activities.

They include salaries of executive and administrative personnel, office rents, utilities, information technology maintenance and licenses, office supplies, insurance, legal and audit fees, depreciation of administrative assets, travel and training related to governance, and compliance costs. In cost accounting, hallintakulut are treated as overhead or indirect costs and are allocated to cost objects using overhead rates, activity-based costing or other allocation methods.

In financial statements they appear as operating expenses, commonly listed as hallintakulut or hallinnon kustannukset within the income statement. The costs are often largely fixed in the short term, though some elements may vary with business activity.

Efficient administration aims to maintain necessary governance and support functions while minimizing unnecessary overhead. An informed budgeting and cost control process helps ensure that hallintakulut reflect the level of administration required to operate the entity effectively.

Example: a small enterprise might incur hallintakulut of 50,000 euros annually, including salaries 20,000 euros, rent 10,000 euros, IT and licenses 5,000 euros, office supplies 3,000 euros, insurance 2,000 euros, depreciation 5,000 euros and travel 5,000 euros.