There is some controversy about including traceable common costs in profitability analysis because it lumps together costs that would and would not change with the scale of the marketing activity.

Question

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Traceable common costs are costs that can be specifically identified with a particular marketing activity or product, but may be shared across multiple products or activities. Including these costs in profitability analysis can be controversial because it can be difficult to distinguish which costs are truly variable with the scale of the activity and which may remain constant regardless of the level of sales.

There Is Some Controversy About Including Traceable Common Costs in Profitability