Which of the following is an example of a direct cost center?

• A. Expenses associated with travel by departmental professionals and technicians to continuing education meetings
• B. Expenses associated with overhead costs
• C. Expenses associated with a specific type of anesthetic drug for swine
• D. Expenses associated with occupational health programs for animal care and research staff members

Answer: (C)

Direct costs are those that can be traced to a specific cost object, such as a particular protocol or animal. The expenses for a specific type of anesthetic drug used for swine fit this because you can clearly attribute that cost to that particular study and those animals. It’s not a shared expense across multiple projects, so it remains tied directly to the cost object.

Travel expenses for continuing education, overhead costs, and occupational health programs are not tied to a single protocol or animal; they support broader operations, departments, or safety across the facility. These are typically treated as indirect costs or overhead.