Conventional costs are the costs that are taken into account in the decision-making process. This
information is generally derived from the formal bookkeeping or management accounting system
of an organisation. Private costs are the costs a business incurs or for which a business can be held
accountable. Societal costs are in general more difficult to measure and represent the costs of
business’ impacts on the environment and society for which business is not legally accountable.
These costs are also called externalities or external costs.