A practical, applications-rich guide to this new cost management methodology Implementing Activity-Based MANAGEMENT In Daily Operations John Miller's lucid presentation of the principles and practice of activity-based management and activity-based costing makes this book required reading for all managers, accountants, and financial officers. Now generally recognized as a more accurate method of determining the relative profitability of various business activities, ABM has become a valuable new tool for management decision making. Miller, whose experience includes the implementation of ABM at Fortune 500 companies, provides step-by-step guidance to its use and benefits: Overview of ABM, including basic principles, benefits, uses, various approaches, and implementation models Basic techniques of activity/product costing, with comparisons between traditional methods and ABM Activity analysis—how to define processes, activities, cost-drivers, and goals Data gathering for ABM—collection techniques and interviews Examples of real-life implementation plans and situations, drawn from a variety of organizations Ongoing system requirements, planning, and performance measurement Activity-based management and activity-based costing (ABM/ABC) have brought about a sea change in cost management systems. Growing largely out of the work of the Texas-based Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International (CAM-I), ABC has, according to BusinessWeek, introduced "new rules for cost management as investment justification, product costing, the total life-cycle costs of products, and how to define better measures of manufacturing performance." Since it was first introduced in 1985, ABM/ABC has evolved considerably and has been applied in service companies, utilities, telecommunications, and government agencies. The use of activity-based management techniques has resulted in a much more accurate determination of the relative profitability of various business activities and, therefore, more profitable management decisions. This clearly written, example-rich book shows managers, accountants, and financial officers how to put activity-based accounting into practice as quickly and efficiently as possible. This book includes ABM Best Practices identified by CAM-I and the American Productivity and Quality Center in a recently completed land-mark study. Implementing Activity-Based Management in Daily Operations provides step-by-step guidance on how to implement ABM at the level of daily process operations, and demonstrates, through numerous detailed examples, its benefits for cost management. Applications to a variety of organizations are covered, including service companies, government agencies, and process industries. Practical linkages between ABM/ABC and Total Quality Management and Business Process Reengineering are explained and illustrated. Implementing Activity-Based Man-agement in Daily Operations covers all aspects of ABM, from activity/product costing, through activity analysis and data gathering, to on-going system requirements and full integration. It is designed for all members of an organization involved in reaping the significant benefits of this new cost management methodology.

"We believe the results of this work deliver up some valuable lessons for any company thinking about ABM, about to start ABM, or recovering from a failure with ABM. . . . We hope our views on the pitfalls that impede successful implementation of ABM help the reader and that by book's end, you'll be as convinced as we are that ABM can be a key weapon in today's international business arena."-from the Preface Now revised and expanded, Activity-Based Management covers the tools and techniques needed to implement ABM as smoothly as possible and use it to its maximum potential over the long-term. Along with revealing case studies from companies across industries, this comprehensive resource includes thirty lessons to be learned in three crucial areas: starting off right, developing the pilot, and moving from pilot to mainstream. Instrumental in decreasing or eliminating misallocation and misinformation, activity-based management (ABM) is a discipline that focuses on the management of activities as the route to improving the value received by the customer and the profit achieved by providing this value. While a host of Fortune 500 and other growth companies are using ABM, not all are doing so with maximum results, demonstrating clearly that proper application requires certain tools and techniques. The fundamentals needed for the effective deployment of ABM are presented and explained in this comprehensive resource, now completely revised and updated. Edited by Steve Player and David E. Keys, with cases written by members of Arthur Andersen's Advanced Cost Management Practice, Activity-Based Management defines what kind of organization should employ ABM, why it should be implemented, and how it can link with other improvement initiatives to enhance a company's management performance. Along with straightforward guidelines on ABM do's, Player and Keys offer important details on the don'ts, highlighting thirty lessons to be learned in three crucial areas: getting off to the right start, developing the pilot, and moving from pilot to mainstream. Covering potential pitfalls, as well as what to do to overcome them, the authors pinpoint such problems as unclear objectives, misallocation of costs, inadequate software, and poor project management. For a frontline perspective, Activity-Based Management features revealing case studies from various corporations. Presenting their experiences with ABM and activity-based costing (ABC), these firsthand accounts examine a wide range of topics, including using storyboarding to develop ABM systems, how to use ABM for profitability, using ABM to support reengineering, and using ABC for target-costing, activity-based budgeting, and benchmarking. In addition, the next wave of tools are examined. These include customer profitability, revenue profitability, performance management systems, target costing, and reporting ABC information. Packed with proven strategies and practical tips, this accessible and exhaustive resource is indispensable reading for anyone looking to implement activity-based management smoothly and successfully. Jacket Design: Andrew Liefer.

Praise for Case Studies in Performance Management "With this book, Tony Adkins has made an important contribution to the body of knowledge of managerial accounting." --From the Foreword by Gary Cokins, lead strategist, Business Performance Management Solutions group with SAS Institute and internationally recognized expert in advanced cost management and performance improvement systems "If you want to achieve direction, traction, and speed in business, Case Studies in Performance Management: A Guide from the Experts is a must-read . . . jam-packed with golden nuggets you can put to work immediately." --Jason Jennings, bestselling author of Think Big, Act Small, Less Is More and It's Not the Big That Eat the Small . . . It's the Fast That Eat the Slow "Tony has the insight found only from actual implementations of ABC/PM.Using this as lens, he has brought the collective experience of experts into focus." --Mohan Nair, author of Essentials of Balanced Scorecard and Activity-Based Information Systems "Tony Adkins has lived the life of a true ABC/PM road warrior. His collection of case studies reaches beyond the theory to capture the harsh reality of what it takes to successfully implement performance management. A must-read for anyone wise enough to learn from those who have gone before." --Chris M. Pieper, CEO, FormRouter, Inc. (former founder and CEO of ABC Technologies) "Everyone who reads this book will gain a solid appreciation of the substance and value of performance management in varied industry settings and applications." --Dr. Peter B. B. Turney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cost Technology, Inc. and author of Common Cents If you're looking for a way to dramatically improve your company's performance and get back its competitive edge, Case Studies in Performance Management: A Guide from the Experts will show you how other businesses, driven to remain competitive by changes in their industries, learned to work smarter using ABC/PM in today's tough business environment. Noteworthy commentary from experts in the field including Ashok Vadgama and Alan Stratton helps you understand ABC/PM and how to execute its sound strategies in your own business.

The Third edition is the updated version of the book as per the latest CBCS syllabus.

This handbook is intended primarily for practitioners such as accountants, auditors, financial analysts, business managers, and chief executives. The primary focus of this book is on techniques and concepts of cost and management accounting for strategic business decisions. In order to survive in the changing business environment, organizations should rethink their strategic philosophy and the role of management accounting. Management accounting systems exist to help managers make economic decisions. In preparing and assessing their strategic plans, organizations need information on many areas of their business environment. Management accounting is also in a process of change. While some businesses continue to use conventional methods of costing, performance measurement and cost analysis, increasing numbers are adopting activity based cost allocation system, strategic oriented investment decisions models, and multiple performance measures such as the Balanced Scorecard. This handbook focuses on both conventional and contemporary issues in cost and management accounting. It presents an intriguing combination of 20 chapters, separated for presentation purpose into seven themes, dealing respectively with: organizational planning and controls; costing for business decisions; pricing decisions; capital budgeting decisions; performance measurement and benchmarking; contemporary management accounting tools; and management accounting for the public sector. All chapters in this handbook provide both retrospective and modern views and commentaries by knowledgeable scholars in the field, who are able to offer unique insights on the changing role of cost and management accounting in today's businesses.

Cost and Effect is written for the general manager, and explains activity-based costing systems. It focuses on creating integrated, knowledge-based systems that provide managers with meaningful information, not just data.

Incorporate the Benefits of Activity-Based Costing into the Efficiencies of Your SAP R/3 System Given SAP's dominance in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market, many companies and their managers encounter SAP AG applications in some form or another. Many of these organizations have recognized the value of utilizing Activity-Based Costing/Management concepts to perform more accurate cost assignments or drive performance initiatives. Managers are then faced with trying to determine how Activity-Based Costing can be incorporated into the SAP environment. The 123s of ABC in SAP is the first book of its kind designed to help business managers understand the capabilities of the SAP R/3 business application to support Activity-Based Costing, Management, and Budgeting. Divided into three parts-the conceptual foundation, the capabilities of SAP ABC, and integration with other tools-the book provides readers with the following: * An explanation of how Activity-Based Costing can be used with SAP * Helpful hints for implementing ABC into SAP * Insights into the most common difficulties and potential solutions when implementing ABC into SAP * Summary tables that highlight key decisions to be made, implementation hints, and organizational challenges * Detailed descriptions of SAP software applications to support the Activity-Based Costing approach as well as the integration of SAP R/3 with Oros software * Examples of the tandem usage of Resource Consumption Accounting with Activity-Based Costing