Download Guide to Costing

Step 1—Cost Purpose Checklist*
1. What management decisions will be supported by the costing information? Please specify
these decisions.
2. What is the business issue or issues that triggered the need for cost information?
3. Are there any central agency, legislative, or policy requirements that may affect the
definition of the purpose or determination of the cost base? If yes, please describe these
requirements. Did you take them into consideration? If not, please justify this decision.
4. Who are the stakeholders in the costing project?
5. What is the scope of the costing exercise? Please list the organizations involved (internal
and external), the program activities, the program support services, and the specific IS
activities involved.
6. Are there any OGDs that will be affected by the initiative being costed, and have they
been consulted?
7. What is the time period to be covered by the costing exercise?
8. What assumptions were made while defining the costing purpose? Have all assumptions
been documented along with the supporting rationale?
9. Does the defined purpose require information on incremental costs, full costs, or both?
10. Is the cost information needed on a recurrent basis? If so, please specify the rate of
recurrence.
11. What are the deliverables? Please list and describe them along with the related timelines
and recipients.
12. Have all stakeholders been consulted in this step to define the purpose? If not, please
explain why not.
13. Has the defined purpose been confirmed by the ultimate end-user of the information?
14. Have you documented the defined purpose?
Signature
*Departments are encouraged to add to this checklist to satisfy their own needs.
1
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat