Fixed costs

Description

Fixed costs are not permanently fixed; they will change over time, but are fixed, by contractual obligation, in relation to the quantity of production for the relevant period. In other words, there is a recurring cost, but the value of this cost is not permanently fixed. For example, a company may have unexpected and unpredictable expenses unrelated to production, such as warehouse costs and the like that are fixed only over the time period of the lease. By definition, there are no fixed costs in the long run, because the long run is a sufficient period of time for all short-run fixed inputs to become variable. Investments in facilities, equipment, and the basic organization that cannot be significantly reduced in a short period of time are referred to as committed fixed costs. Discretionary fixed costs usually arise from annual decisions by management to spend on certain fixed cost items. Examples of discretionary costs are advertising, insurance premia, machine maintenance, and research & development expenditures. Discretionary fixed costs can be expensive.