Patent ID: 8458057

Claim:
An automated cost accounting reporting method for allocating the cost of a meeting, comprising the steps of: a) obtaining an electronic device equipped with a processing module, a timing module, an input device and a display device, b) obtaining data about individuals attending a meeting and inputting the data into the processing module, wherein the data includes at least; i) an identification of each individual, ii) a currency value per unit time for each identified individual, and iii) an identification of a business unit to which the identified individual is assigned, c) timing the duration of each identified individual's actual attendance at the meeting within the timing module, d) calculating within the processing module a cost of the business meeting per business unit by (i) multiplying each identified individual's duration of attendance at the meeting by that individual's currency value per unit time to obtain an individual cost, and (ii) summing individual costs for all identified individuals from the same business unit to obtain a business unit cost, e) generating at least one cost report containing at least the business unit cost for at least one business unit correlated with an identification of the business unit, f) transmitting at least one of the reports to the display module, and g) displaying the at least one transmitted report in a human perceptible format.