The general ledger of a manufacturing concern contains the same accounts found in any general ledger plus a small number of cost accounts. As transactions are recorded, manufacturing costs flow through the accounts in a way that largely parallels the flow of resources through production. Cost accounting systems differ as to with cost elements are included in product cost and how those cost elements are measured. External reporting rules require actual absorption cost. In most cost accounting system, costs are accumulated by the job order method, the process method, or by a blend of the two.