Some accountants ask this question about COQ: Are we really making a difference, or is COQ just another Maker report? Evaluate these claims about the value of COQ.

a. COQ allows the organization to focus on the reduction or elimination of non-value-added costs of quality.

b. COQ is a better measure of performance than traditional operating income because costs of quality are not buried in FIFO cost of sales.

ce. COQ provides a target (e.g., 4 percent of sales for total COQ) that really measures the progress of quality improvements in concrete terms. Source: Adapted from S. Brinkman and M. Appelbaum, “The Quality Cost Report: It’s Alive and Well at Gilroy Foods.”