INTRODUCTIONImportant elements in the analysis of a company's activities and financial performance are (a) product cost analysis and (b) cost-effectiveness analysis in terms of identifying products with a low value of this indicator. There should be a methodology enabling a cost management system based on the analysis of the structure of fixed and variable costs and the marginal income, determination of responsibility centers, and development of indicators for each center. The methodology aims to identify responsibility centers and analyze and control costs for each center and, as a consequence, for the whole company.SUBJECT AND METHODS OF RESEARCHOOO Mariinskii Spirtovyi Kombinat (Mariinsk Distilling Plant; hereinafter referred to as the distilling plant), the largest company in the alcohol market of Kemerovo oblast, is the longest-standing enterprise in the industry in Siberia and the Far East. The plant was put into operation in 1937 and occupies a land plot of 38.1 ha.In August 1993 the company was incorporated. The authorized share capital is 252 978 rubles; the controlling stake is owned by the state and is part of the federal state unitary enterprise FGUP Rosspirtprom.The distilling plant is a diversified enterprise employing 830 people. The main products are ethyl alcohol, dried fodder yeast, food additive carbon dioxide, etc.The company's first priority is the production and supply of ethyl alcohol of the following varieties: highly refined, "Extra", "De Luxe", "Alpha", and "Denatured".The production capacity of the distilling plant is 3 558 355 dal of alcohol, 9882 t of carbon dioxide, and 7875.1 t of fodder yeast per year.The company was ranked first among the leading Russian alcohol producers in 2009 and 2010 in the rating of the National Alcohol Association of Russia.The financial and economic activities of the distilling plant in the last three years include current, investment, and financial operations. The analysis is based on comparing the distilling plant with peer companies and leading businesses in the industry. It is complicated to conduct an objective analysis of business activities due to a high level of privacy and the lack of analytical information on the activities of the competitors.The annual alcohol production capacity was used to 67.3% in 2008, 96.1% in 2009, and 100% in 2010. There is a tendency for the production of the main product---food-grade ethyl alcohol---to grow: 2 262 000 dal in 2008, 3 421 000 dal in 2009, and 4 607 000 dal in 2010.In 2010 the shipping volume increased by 167.9% compared to 2008 and by 82.5 % compared to 2009 and was 2997 million rubles with the excise duty and VAT and 1394 million rubles without the excise duty and VAT [1].The plant's production capacity is used to 96.1%. The costs of production and sales were 1361 million rubles in 2010 to exceed the 2009 level by 747 million rubles.The higher costs resulted from the increased production and higher prices for raw materials and services, which in turn leads to an increase in costs per unit of output.