CIMA
Paper P2
Advanced Management
Accounting
Study Text
Published by: Kaplan Publishing UK
Unit 2 The Business Centre, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 2QZ
Copyright © 2015 Kaplan Financial Limited. All rights reserved.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the CIMA for permission to reproduce past examination questions. The answers to
CIMA Exams have been prepared by Kaplan Publishing, except in the case of the CIMA November
2010 and subsequent CIMA Exam answers where the official CIMA answers have been reproduced.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 9781784153007
Printed and bound in Great Britain.
ii
Contents
Page
Chapter 1
ActivityBased Costing and ActivityBased
Management
Chapter 2
The Modern Business Environment
53
Chapter 3
Costing Techniques
93
Chapter 4
Learning Curves
123
Chapter 5
Responsibility Centres
151
Chapter 6
Performance Measures and Budgetary Control
177
Chapter 7
Alternative measures of performance
207
Chapter 8
The Pricing Decision
243
Chapter 9
Transfer Pricing
297
Chapter 10
Investment appraisal techniques
347
Chapter 11
Further aspects of investment appraisal
413
Chapter 12
The treatment of uncertainty and risk in decision 495
making
Chapter 13
Risk Management
559
Chapter 14
Collecting and using information
589
1
iii
iv
chapter
Intro
Introduction
v
How to use the materials
These official CIMA learning materials have been carefully designed to
make your learning experience as easy as possible and to give you the best
chances of success in your Objective Test Examination.
The product range contains a number of features to help you in the study
process. They include:
•
•
•
a detailed explanation of all syllabus areas;
extensive ‘practical’ materials;
generous question practice, together with full solutions.
This Study Text has been designed with the needs of home study and
distance learning candidates in mind. Such students require very full
coverage of the syllabus topics, and also the facility to undertake extensive
question practice. However, the Study Text is also ideal for fully taught
courses.
The main body of the text is divided into a number of chapters, each of
which is organised on the following pattern:
vi
•
Detailed learning outcomes. These describe the knowledge
expected after your studies of the chapter are complete. You should
assimilate these before beginning detailed work on the chapter, so that
you can appreciate where your studies are leading.
•
Stepbystep topic coverage. This is the heart of each chapter,
containing detailed explanatory text supported where appropriate by
worked examples and exercises. You should work carefully through this
section, ensuring that you understand the material being explained and
can tackle the examples and exercises successfully. Remember that in
many cases knowledge is cumulative: if you fail to digest earlier
material thoroughly, you may struggle to understand later chapters.
•
Activities. Some chapters are illustrated by more practical elements,
such as comments and questions designed to stimulate discussion.
•
•
Question practice. The text contains three styles of question:
– Examstyle objective test questions (OTQs)
–
‘Integration’ questions – these test your ability to understand topics
within a wider context. This is particularly important with
calculations where OTQs may focus on just one element but an
integration question tackles the full calculation, just as you would be
expected to do in the workplace.
–
‘Case’ style questions – these test your ability to analyse and
discuss issues in greater depth, particularly focusing on scenarios
that are less clear cut than in the Objective Test Examination, and
thus provide excellent practice for developing the skills needed for
success in the Management Level Case Study Examination.
Solutions. Avoid the temptation merely to ‘audit’ the solutions
provided. It is an illusion to think that this provides the same benefits as
you would gain from a serious attempt of your own. However, if you are
struggling to get started on a question you should read the introductory
guidance provided at the beginning of the solution, where provided, and
then make your own attempt before referring back to the full solution.
If you work conscientiously through this Official CIMA Study Text according
to the guidelines above you will be giving yourself an excellent chance of
success in your Objective Test Examination. Good luck with your studies!
Quality and accuracy are of the utmost importance to us so if you spot an
error in any of our products, please send an email to
with full details, or follow the link to the
feedback form in MyKaplan.
Our Quality Coordinator will work with our technical team to verify the error
and take action to ensure it is corrected in future editions.
Icon Explanations
Definition – These sections explain important areas of knowledge which
must be understood and reproduced in an assessment environment.
Key point – Identifies topics which are key to success and are often
examined.
Supplementary reading – These sections will help to provide a deeper
understanding of core areas. The supplementary reading is NOT optional
reading. It is vital to provide you with the breadth of knowledge you will need
to address the wide range of topics within your syllabus that could feature in
an assessment question. Reference to this text is vital when self
studying.
Test your understanding – Following key points and definitions are
exercises which give the opportunity to assess the understanding of these
core areas.
vii
Illustration – To help develop an understanding of particular topics. The
illustrative examples are useful in preparing for the Test your understanding
exercises.
Exclamation mark – This symbol signifies a topic which can be more
difficult to understand. When reviewing these areas, care should be taken.
Study technique
Passing exams is partly a matter of intellectual ability, but however
accomplished you are in that respect you can improve your chances
significantly by the use of appropriate study and revision techniques. In this
section we briefly outline some tips for effective study during the earlier
stages of your approach to the Objective Test Examination. We also
mention some techniques that you will find useful at the revision stage.
Planning
To begin with, formal planning is essential to get the best return from the
time you spend studying. Estimate how much time in total you are going to
need for each subject you are studying. Remember that you need to allow
time for revision as well as for initial study of the material.
With your study material before you, decide which chapters you are going to
study in each week, and which weeks you will devote to revision and final
question practice.
Prepare a written schedule summarising the above and stick to it!
It is essential to know your syllabus. As your studies progress you will
become more familiar with how long it takes to cover topics in sufficient
depth. Your timetable may need to be adapted to allocate enough time for
the whole syllabus.
Students are advised to refer to the notice of examinable legislation
published regularly in CIMA’s magazine (Financial Management), the
students enewsletter (Velocity) and on the CIMA website, to ensure they
are uptodate.
The amount of space allocated to a topic in the Study Text is not a very
good guide as to how long it will take you. The syllabus weighting is the
better guide as to how long you should spend on a syllabus topic.
Tips for effective studying
(1) Aim to find a quiet and undisturbed location for your study, and plan as
far as possible to use the same period of time each day. Getting into a
routine helps to avoid wasting time. Make sure that you have all the
materials you need before you begin so as to minimise interruptions.
viii
(2) Store all your materials in one place, so that you do not waste time
searching for items every time you want to begin studying. If you have to
pack everything away after each study period, keep your study
materials in a box, or even a suitcase, which will not be disturbed until
the next time.
(3) Limit distractions. To make the most effective use of your study periods
you should be able to apply total concentration, so turn off all
entertainment equipment, set your phones to message mode, and put
up your ‘do not disturb’ sign.
(4) Your timetable will tell you which topic to study. However, before diving
in and becoming engrossed in the finer points, make sure you have an
overall picture of all the areas that need to be covered by the end of that
session. After an hour, allow yourself a short break and move away from
your Study Text. With experience, you will learn to assess the pace you
need to work at. Each study session should focus on component
learning outcomes – the basis for all questions.
(5) Work carefully through a chapter, making notes as you go. When you
have covered a suitable amount of material, vary the pattern by
attempting a practice question. When you have finished your attempt,
make notes of any mistakes you made, or any areas that you failed to
cover or covered more briefly. Be aware that all component learning
outcomes will be tested in each examination.
(6) Make notes as you study, and discover the techniques that work best
for you. Your notes may be in the form of lists, bullet points, diagrams,
summaries, ‘mind maps’, or the written word, but remember that you will
need to refer back to them at a later date, so they must be intelligible. If
you are on a taught course, make sure you highlight any issues you
would like to follow up with your lecturer.
(7) Organise your notes. Make sure that all your notes, calculations etc. can
be effectively filed and easily retrieved later.
Objective Test
Objective Test questions require you to choose or provide a response to a
question whose correct answer is predetermined.
The most common types of Objective Test question you will see are:
•
Multiple choice, where you have to choose the correct answer(s) from a
list of possible answers. This could either be numbers or text.
•
Multiple choice with more choices and answers, for example, choosing
two correct answers from a list of eight possible answers. This could
either be numbers or text.
•
Single numeric entry, where you give your numeric answer, for example,
profit is $10,000.
•
Multiple entry, where you give several numeric answers.
ix
•
True/false questions, where you state whether a statement is true or
false.
•
Matching pairs of text, for example, matching a technical term with the
correct definition.
•
Other types could be matching text with graphs and labelling
graphs/diagrams.
In every chapter of this Study Text we have introduced these types of
questions, but obviously we have had to label answers A, B, C etc rather
than using click boxes. For convenience we have retained quite a few
questions where an initial scenario leads to a number of subquestions.
There will be questions of this type in the Objective Test Examination but
they will rarely have more than three subquestions.
Guidance re CIMA onscreen calculator
As part of the CIMA Objective Test software, candidates are now provided
with a calculator. This calculator is onscreen and is available for the
duration of the assessment. The calculator is available in each of the
Objective Test Examinations and is accessed by clicking the calculator
button in the top left hand corner of the screen at any time during the
assessment.
All candidates must complete a 15minute tutorial before the assessment
begins and will have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the
calculator and practise using it.
Candidates may practise using the calculator by downloading and installing
the practice exam at />accessed from the fourth sample question (of 12).
Please note that the practice exam and tutorial provided by Pearson VUE at
/>range of question types the Pearson VUE software supports, some of which
CIMA does not currently use.
Fundamentals of Objective Tests
The Objective Tests are 90minute assessments comprising 60 compulsory
questions, with one or more parts. There will be no choice and all questions
should be attempted.
Structure of subjects and learning outcomes
Each subject within the syllabus is divided into a number of broad syllabus
topics. The topics contain one or more lead learning outcomes, related
component learning outcomes and indicative knowledge content.
x
A learning outcome has two main purposes:
(a) To define the skill or ability that a well prepared candidate should be
able to exhibit in the examination.
(b) To demonstrate the approach likely to be taken in examination
questions.
The learning outcomes are part of a hierarchy of learning objectives. The
verbs used at the beginning of each learning outcome relate to a specific
learning objective, e.g.
Calculate the breakeven point, profit target, margin of safety and
profit/volume ratio for a single product or service.
The verb ‘calculate’ indicates a level three learning objective. The following
tables list the verbs that appear in the syllabus learning outcomes and
examination questions.
CIMA VERB HIERARCHY
CIMA place great importance on the definition of verbs in structuring
Objective Test Examinations. It is therefore crucial that you understand the
verbs in order to appreciate the depth and breadth of a topic and the level of
skill required. The Objective Tests will focus on levels one, two and three of
the CIMA hierarchy of verbs. However they will also test levels four and five,
especially at the management and strategic levels. You can therefore expect
to be tested on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis and
evaluation in these examinations.
Level 1: KNOWLEDGE
What you are expected to know.
VERBS
USED
DEFINITION
List
Make a list of.
State
Express, fully or clearly, the details of/facts of.
Define
Give the exact meaning of.
For example you could be asked to make a list of the advantages of a
particular information system by selecting all options that apply from a given
set of possibilities. Or you could be required to define relationship
marketing by selecting the most appropriate option from a list.
xi
Level 2: COMPREHENSION
What you are expected to understand.
VERBS
USED
DEFINITION
Describe
Communicate the key features of.
Distinguish
Highlight the differences between.
Explain
Make clear or intelligible/state the meaning or purpose of.
Identify
Recognise, establish or select after consideration.
Illustrate
Use an example to describe or explain something.
For example you may be asked to distinguish between different aspects of
the global business environment by dragging external factors and dropping
into a PEST analysis.
Level 3: APPLICATION
How you are expected to apply your knowledge.
VERBS
USED
DEFINITION
Apply
Put to practical use.
Calculate
Ascertain or reckon mathematically.
Demonstrate Prove with certainty or exhibit by practical means.
Prepare
Make or get ready for use.
Reconcile
Make or prove consistent/compatible.
Solve
Find an answer to.
Tabulate
Arrange in a table.
For example you may need to calculate the projected revenue or costs for a
given set of circumstances.
xii
Level 4: ANALYSIS
How you are expected to analyse the detail of what you have learned.
VERBS
USED
DEFINITION
Analyse
Examine in detail the structure of.
Categorise
Place into a defined class or division.
Compare/
contrast
Show the similarities and/or differences between.
Construct
Build up or compile.
Discuss
Examine in detail by argument.
Interpret
Translate into intelligible or familiar terms.
Prioritise
Place in order of priority or sequence for action.
Produce
Create or bring into existence.
For example you may be required to interpret an inventory ratio by selecting
the most appropriate statement for a given set of circumstances and data.
Level 5: EVALUATION
How you are expected to use your learning to evaluate, make decisions or
recommendations.
VERBS
USED
DEFINITION
Advise
Counsel, inform or notify.
Evaluate
Appraise or assess the value of.
Recommend Propose a course of action.
For example you may be asked to recommend and select an appropriate
course of action based on a short scenario.
xiii
xiv
PRESENT VALUE TABLE
(
Present value of 1.00 unit of currency, that is 1+ r
periods until payment or receipt.
)−n where r = interest rate; n = number of
Periods
(n)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
1%
0.990
0.980
0.971
0.961
0.951
0.942
0.933
0.923
0.914
0.905
0.896
0.887
0.879
0.870
0.861
0.853
0.844
0.836
0.828
0.820
2%
0.980
0.961
0.942
0.924
0.906
0.888
0.871
0.853
0.837
0.820
0.804
0.788
0.773
0.758
0.743
0.728
0.714
0.700
0.686
0.673
3%
0.971
0.943
0.915
0.888
0.863
0.837
0.813
0.789
0.766
0.744
0.722
0.701
0.681
0.661
0.642
0.623
0.605
0.587
0.570
0.554
4%
0.962
0.925
0.889
0.855
0.822
0.790
0.760
0.731
0.703
0.676
0.650
0.625
0.601
0.577
0.555
0.534
0.513
0.494
0.475
0.456
Interest rates (r)
5%
6%
0.952
0.943
0.907
0.890
0.864
0.840
0.823
0.792
0.784
0.747
0.746
0.705
0.711
0.665
0.677
0.627
0.645
0.592
0.614
0.558
0.585
0.527
0.557
0.497
0.530
0.469
0.505
0.442
0.481
0.417
0.458
0.394
0.436
0.371
0.416
0.350
0.396
0.331
0.377
0.312
7%
0.935
0.873
0.816
0.763
0.713
0.666
0.623
0.582
0.544
0.508
0.475
0.444
0.415
0.388
0.362
0.339
0.317
0.296
0.277
0.258
8%
0.926
0.857
0.794
0.735
0.681
0.630
0.583
0.540
0.500
0.463
0.429
0.397
0.368
0.340
0.315
0.292
0.270
0.250
0.232
0.215
9%
0.917
0.842
0.772
0.708
0.650
0.596
0.547
0.502
0.460
0.422
0.388
0.356
0.326
0.299
0.275
0.252
0.231
0.212
0.194
0.178
10%
0.909
0.826
0.751
0.683
0.621
0.564
0.513
0.467
0.424
0.386
0.350
0.319
0.290
0.263
0.239
0.218
0.198
0.180
0.164
0.149
Periods
(n)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
11%
0.901
0.812
0.731
0.659
0.593
0.535
0.482
0.434
0.391
0.352
0.317
0.286
0.258
0.232
0.209
0.188
0.170
0.153
0.138
0.124
12%
0.893
0.797
0.712
0.636
0.567
0.507
0.452
0.404
0.361
0.322
0.287
0.257
0.229
0.205
0.183
0.163
0.146
0.130
0.116
0.104
13%
0.885
0.783
0.693
0.613
0.543
0.480
0.425
0.376
0.333
0.295
0.261
0.231
0.204
0.181
0.160
0.141
0.125
0.111
0.098
0.087
14%
0.877
0.769
0.675
0.592
0.519
0.456
0.400
0.351
0.308
0.270
0.237
0.208
0.182
0.160
0.140
0.123
0.108
0.095
0.083
0.073
Interest rates (r)
15%
16%
0.870
0.862
0.756
0.743
0.658
0.641
0.572
0.552
0.497
0.476
0.432
0.410
0.376
0.354
0.327
0.305
0.284
0.263
0.247
0.227
0.215
0.195
0.187
0.168
0.163
0.145
0.141
0.125
0.123
0.108
0.107
0.093
0.093
0.080
0.081
0.069
0.070
0.060
0.061
0.051
17%
0.855
0.731
0.624
0.534
0.456
0.390
0.333
0.285
0.243
0.208
0.178
0.152
0.130
0.111
0.095
0.081
0.069
0.059
0.051
0.043
18%
0.847
0.718
0.609
0.516
0.437
0.370
0.314
0.266
0.225
0.191
0.162
0.137
0.116
0.099
0.084
0.071
0.060
0.051
0.043
0.037
19%
0.840
0.706
0.593
0.499
0.419
0.352
0.296
0.249
0.209
0.176
0.148
0.124
0.104
0.088
0.079
0.062
0.052
0.044
0.037
0.031
20%
0.833
0.694
0.579
0.482
0.402
0.335
0.279
0.233
0.194
0.162
0.135
0.112
0.093
0.078
0.065
0.054
0.045
0.038
0.031
0.026
Please check the CIMA website for the latest version of the maths
tables and formulae sheets in advance of sitting your live assessment.
Cumulative present value of 1.00 unit of currency per annum, Receivable or Payable at the end of
each year for n years
Periods
(n)
1
2
3
4
5
1− (1+ r ) − n
r
1%
0.990
1.970
2.941
3.902
4.853
2%
0.980
1.942
2.884
3.808
4.713
3%
0.971
1.913
2.829
3.717
4.580
4%
0.962
1.886
2.775
3.630
4.452
Interest rates (r)
5%
6%
0.952
0.943
1.859
1.833
2.723
2.673
3.546
3.465
4.329
4.212
7%
0.935
1.808
2.624
3.387
4.100
8%
0.926
1.783
2.577
3.312
3.993
9%
0.917
1.759
2.531
3.240
3.890
10%
0.909
1.736
2.487
3.170
3.791
6
7
8
9
10
5.795
6.728
7.652
8.566
9.471
5.601
6.472
7.325
8.162
8.983
5.417
6.230
7.020
7.786
8.530
5.242
6.002
6.733
7.435
8.111
5.076
5.786
6.463
7.108
7.722
4.917
5.582
6.210
6.802
7.360
4.767
5.389
5.971
6.515
7.024
4.623
5.206
5.747
6.247
6.710
4.486
5.033
5.535
5.995
6.418
4.355
4.868
5.335
5.759
6.145
11
12
13
14
15
10.368
11.255
12.134
13.004
13.865
9.787
10.575
11.348
12.106
12.849
9.253
9.954
10.635
11.296
11.938
8.760
9.385
9.986
10.563
11.118
8.306
8.863
9.394
9.899
10.380
7.887
8.384
8.853
9.295
9.712
7.499
7.943
8.358
8.745
9.108
7.139
7.536
7.904
8.244
8.559
6.805
7.161
7.487
7.786
8.061
6.495
6.814
7.103
7.367
7.606
16
17
18
19
20
14.718
15.562
16.398
17.226
18.046
13.578
14.292
14.992
15.679
16.351
12.561
13.166
13.754
14.324
14.878
11.652
12.166
12.659
13.134
13.590
10.838
11.274
11.690
12.085
12.462
10.106
10.477
10.828
11.158
11.470
9.447
9.763
10.059
10.336
10.594
8.851
9.122
9.372
9.604
9.818
8.313
8.544
8.756
8.950
9.129
7.824
8.022
8.201
8.365
8.514
Periods
(n)
1
2
3
4
5
11%
0.901
1.713
2.444
3.102
3.696
12%
0.893
1.690
2.402
3.037
3.605
13%
0.885
1.668
2.361
2.974
3.517
14%
0.877
1.647
2.322
2.914
3.433
Interest rates (r)
15%
16%
0.870
0.862
1.626
1.605
2.283
2.246
2.855
2.798
3.352
3.274
17%
0.855
1.585
2.210
2.743
3.199
18%
0.847
1.566
2.174
2.690
3.127
19%
0.840
1.547
2.140
2.639
3.058
20%
0.833
1.528
2.106
2.589
2.991
6
7
8
9
10
4.231
4.712
5.146
5.537
5.889
4.111
4.564
4.968
5.328
5.650
3.998
4.423
4.799
5.132
5.426
3.889
4.288
4.639
4.946
5.216
3.784
4.160
4.487
4.772
5.019
3.685
4.039
4.344
4.607
4.833
3.589
3.922
4.207
4.451
4.659
3.498
3.812
4.078
4.303
4.494
3.410
3.706
3.954
4.163
4.339
3.326
3.605
3.837
4.031
4.192
11
12
13
14
15
6.207
6.492
6.750
6.982
7.191
5.938
6.194
6.424
6.628
6.811
5.687
5.918
6.122
6.302
6.462
5.453
5.660
5.842
6.002
6.142
5.234
5.421
5.583
5.724
5.847
5.029
5.197
5.342
5.468
5.575
4.836
4.988
5.118
5.229
5.324
4.656
4.793
4.910
5.008
5.092
4.486
4.611
4.715
4.802
4.876
4.327
4.439
4.533
4.611
4.675
16
17
18
19
20
7.379
7.549
7.702
7.839
7.963
6.974
7.120
7.250
7.366
7.469
6.604
6.729
6.840
6.938
7.025
6.265
6.373
6.467
6.550
6.623
5.954
6.047
6.128
6.198
6.259
5.668
5.749
5.818
5.877
5.929
5.405
5.475
5.534
5.584
5.628
5.162
5.222
5.273
5.316
5.353
4.938
4.990
5.033
5.070
5.101
4.730
4.775
4.812
4.843
4.870
chapter
1
ActivityBased Costing and
ActivityBased Management
Chapter learning objectives
Syllabus Link
Lead A: Evaluate techniques for analysing and managing costs for
competitive advantage
Component A1 (a): Evaluate activitybased management
•
Activitybased costing to derive 'longrun' costs appropriate for
use in decisionmaking.
•
Activitybased management and its uses in improving the
efficiency of repetitive overhead activities.
•
Direct and activitybased cost methods in tracing costs to 'cost
objects' such as customers or distribution channels, and the
comparison of such costs with appropriate revenues to establish
'tiered' contribution levels, as in the activitybased cost hierarchy.
•
Direct customer profitability and distribution channel profitability.
1
Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based Management
1 Chapter summary
2 Knowledge brought forward
You will already have covered ActivityBasedCosting in previous CIMA
papers. It is an important technique. In this chapter, we will explore ABC
approaches such as ActivityBased Management, Direct Product
Profitability, Direct Customer Profitability and Distribution Channel
Profitability.
3 ActivityBased Costing: Basics revisited
In traditional absorption costing, overheads are charged to products using a
predetermined overhead recovery rate. This overhead absorption rate
(OAR) is based upon the volume of activity. A full unit cost is computed in
order to satisfy financial accounting requirements.
However, it is always stressed that full product costs, using financial
accounting principles, are not suitable for decisionmaking purposes.
Instead, decisions should be based on a decisionrelevant approach
incorporating relevant/incremental cash flows.
With this approach, decisions such as introducing new products and special
pricing decisions should be based on a study of only those incremental
revenues and expenses that will vary with respect to the particular decision.
This approach requires that special studies be undertaken when the need
arises. However, studies have shown that the majority of companies base
their decision making upon full product cost.
In the late 1980s Cooper and Kaplan developed a more refined approach
for assigning overheads to products and computing product cost. This new
approach is called activity based costing (ABC). It is claimed that ABC
provides productcost information that is useful for decisionmaking
purposes.
2
chapter 1
ActivityBased Costing is 'an approach to the costing and monitoring
of activities which involves tracing resource consumption and
costing final outputs. Resources are assigned to activities, and
activities to cost objects based on consumption estimates. The latter
utilise cost drivers to attach activity costs to outputs'.
CIMA Official Terminology
Traditional systems accurately measure volumerelated resources that are
consumed in proportion to the number of units produced of the individual
products. Such resources include direct labour, materials, energy and
machinerelated costs.
However, many organisational resources exist for activities that are
unrelated to physical volume. Nonvolume related activities consist of
support activities such as:
•
•
•
•
•
materials handling
material procurement
setups
production scheduling
firstitem inspection activities.
Traditional productcost systems, which assume that products consume all
activities in proportion to their production volumes, thus report distorted
product costs.
Cooper and Kaplan – The Pen Factory
The distortions arising from the use of traditional productcosting
systems are most pronounced in organisations that produce a diverse
range of products which differ in volume and complexity. Cooper and
Kaplan (1991) use the following example to illustrate the inability of
traditional systems to report accurate product costs:
3
Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based Management
'Consider two hypothetical plants turning out a simple product: ball
point pens. The factories are the same size and have the same
capital equipment. Every year plant I makes 1 million units of only
one product: blue pens. Plant II, a fullline producer, also produces
blue pens, but only 100,000 a year. Plant II also produces a variety
of similar products: 80,000 black pens, 30,000 red pens, 5,000
green pens, 500 lavender pens, and so on. In a typical year plant II
produces up to 1,000 product variations, with volumes ranging
between 100 and 100,000 units. Its aggregate annual output equals
the 1 million pens of plant I'.
The first plant has a simple production environment and requires limited
manufacturing support facilities. With its higher diversity and complexity
of operations, the second plant requires a much larger support structure.
For example 1,000 different products must be scheduled through the
plant, and this requires more people for scheduling the machines,
performing the setups, inspecting items, purchasing, receiving and
handling materials, and handling a large number of individual requests.
Expenditure on support overheads will therefore be much higher in the
second plant, even though the number of units produced and sold by
both plants is identical. Furthermore, since the number of units produced
is identical, both plants will have approximately the same number of
direct labour hours, machine hours and material purchases. The much
higher expenditure on support overheads in the second plant cannot
therefore be explained in terms of direct labour, machine hours operated
or the amount of materials purchased.
Traditional costing systems, however, use volume bases to allocate
support overheads to products. In fact, if each pen requires
approximately the same number of machine hours, direct labour hours or
material cost, the reported cost per pen will be identical in plant II. Thus
blue and lavender pens will have identical product costs, even though the
lavender pens are ordered, manufactured, packaged and despatched in
much lower volumes.
The smallvolume products place a much higher relative demand on the
support departments than a low share of volume might suggest.
Intuitively, it must cost more to produce the lowvolume lavender pen than
the highvolume blue pen. Traditional volumebased costing systems
therefore tend to overcost highvolume products and undercost low
volume products. To remedy this discrepancy ABC expands the second
stage assignment bases for assigning overheads to products.
4
chapter 1
4 The ABC procedure
Cooper and Kaplan stated that it was the support activities that were the
cause of many overheads, for example, material handling, quality inspection,
setting up machinery, material acquisition, etc. Thus a simple threestep
philosophy was developed:
•
•
•
support activities cause cost
the products consume these activities
cost should, therefore, be charged on the basis of consumption of the
activities.
5
Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based Management
6
chapter 1
Example 1: I Co
An insurance company, I Co, is considering changing to Activity Based
Costing ("ABC") and is concerned what effect this will have on the fees
charged to a key client, Z Co.
I Co currently calculates the fees as total cost plus 15%, as costs are
allocated to the clients on the basis of how long it takes to prepare the
insurance documents. The annual costs and the drivers have been
analysed:
Z Co
New client visits
40 visits
Hours spent to prepare documents
200 hours
Hours spent chasing payments
4 hours
I Co
I Co
New client visits
$400,000
80 meetings
Hours spent to prepare
documents
$600,000
350 hours
Hours spent chasing
payments
$150,000
30 hours
What is the change in fee charged to Z Co, if ABC is undertaken, to
the nearest $?
$
7