ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING (ABC)

What is Activity-Based Costing (ABC)?

• 📊 Definition: What does Activity-Based Costing entail and how does it differ from traditional costing methods?

Key Principles of Activity-Based Costing

• 🎯 Cost Allocation: How does ABC allocate costs to products or services based on the activities required to produce them?
  • ABC assigns costs to activities, and then activities to products or services based on their usage of those activities.
• 📈 Cost Hierarchy: What is the concept of cost hierarchy in ABC, and how does it classify costs based on their relationship to activities?
  • ABC classifies costs into different categories such as unit-level, batch-level, product-level, and facility-level costs, based on their behavior and relationship to activities.
• 🏢 Resource Drivers: What are resource drivers in ABC, and how are they used to allocate costs to activities?
  • Resource drivers represent the factors that cause the consumption of resources in activities, and they are used to allocate costs more accurately.

Implementation of Activity-Based Costing

• 💼 Activity Identification: How are activities identified in ABC, and what criteria are used to determine their significance?
  • Activities are identified based on their contribution to the production process and their consumption of resources.
• 📊 Cost Allocation: What steps are involved in allocating costs to activities and then to products or services?
  • Costs are allocated to activities using cost drivers, and then the costs of activities are allocated to products or services based on their consumption of those activities.
• 🎯 Performance Measurement: How does ABC contribute to performance measurement by providing more accurate cost information?
  • ABC provides a better understanding of the cost of activities and the drivers of those costs, allowing for more informed decision-making and performance evaluation.

Benefits of Activity-Based Costing

• 📈 Cost Accuracy: How does ABC provide more accurate cost information compared to traditional costing methods?
  • ABC identifies the true cost drivers of activities, leading to a more accurate allocation of costs to products or services.
• 🏢 Better Decision-Making: In what ways does ABC support better decision-making by providing insights into the cost and profitability of products or services?
  • ABC helps managers understand the cost structure of their operations and make more informed decisions about pricing, product mix, and resource allocation.
• 💼 Process Improvement: How does ABC facilitate process improvement by identifying inefficiencies and opportunities for cost reduction?
  • ABC highlights activities that are consuming resources inefficiently, allowing for targeted process improvements to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Challenges and Limitations

• 📉 Resource Intensive: What challenges arise from the resource-intensive nature of implementing and maintaining ABC systems?
  • ABC requires significant time and effort to identify and allocate costs to activities accurately.
• 📊 Complexity: How can the complexity of ABC systems pose challenges for organizations, particularly those with diverse product lines or services?
  • ABC systems can be complex to implement and understand, especially in organizations with multiple products or services and intricate cost structures.
• 🎯 Resistance to Change: What resistance might organizations face from stakeholders accustomed to traditional costing methods?
  • Stakeholders may resist the adoption of ABC due to the perceived complexity and the need for changes in processes and systems.