Hi Don,
Gosh, seems like we all have an opinion here. I like black and white. I like Mark's answer, but if I were learning this anew the phrase 'generally used with Perpetual inventory methods' would make me crazy.
Here's my answer as an adjustment (meaning copy) of Mark's answer.
Current Cost = The last cost that was used to record an increase in inventory quantity. This could be through an adjustment, receipt or variance, but not a return. If you are using the Average Perpetual inventory costing method, then the current cost is calculated as the average cost, like Mark explained.
Standard Cost = This is a cost that YOU enter (Like Richard said). The only way this cost changes is if you open up the item card and change it, or use the year-end close routine to update all of the standard cost items to equal their current cost (as described above).
Kind regards,
Leslie