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Activity-Based Costing Systems. Chapter 4. Traditional overhead allocation system. Single predetermined rate is used to allocate overhead to products Easy to use Assumes all overhead is correlated with the activity base Assumes all overhead costs are related to all products
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Activity-Based Costing Systems Chapter 4
Traditional overhead allocation system • Single predetermined rate is used to allocate overhead to products • Easy to use • Assumes all overhead is correlated with the activity base • Assumes all overhead costs are related to all products • Does not consider the product’s consumption of resources other than the base
An ideal system • Treat indirect costs like direct costs • Accurate assignment of the resources consumed by the individual cost objects • Different types and amounts of overhead charged to different cost objects • No allocation based on estimates • Not possible • Cost element shared by many cost objects • Cost element not related to cost objects • Not cost effective to trace accurately
Activity-based costing • Recognizes • Not all costs are related to the same cost driver • Not all costs are incurred at the unit level • Unit level • Batch level • Product level • Customer level • Facility level
Activity-based costing • Recognizes • That activities are performed to produce or support the cost object • Those activities consume resources • Can identify resources with the activities • Can identify the activities with the cost objects • Can be used for any cost object • Not GAAP for financial reporting
Activity-based costing • Traditional allocation method • Activity-based allocation method Costs Products Costs Activities Products First stage Second stage
Implementation of an ABC system • Step 1 – Develop activity dictionary • List of activities related to the cost object • How precise? • Only major activities if purpose is better cost information • More detailed if purpose is process improvement • Will probably have an “other” activity
Implementation of an ABC system • Identify activities (cost pools) • Interview employees • Process flowcharts • Etc. • At which level do they occur? • Unit, batch, etc. • May not want to allocate facility level costs to products
Implementation of an ABC system • How are the activities performed? • Inputs and outputs • What causes the activity to commence? • Production order, material requisition, etc. • How can the activity be measured? • Transactions, time, etc. • For use as possible cost drivers
Implementation of an ABC system • Step 2 – Determine the significant costs related to each activity • Resources used • Employee time • Wages and benefits • Assets • Depreciation, taxes, insurance, etc. • Consumables • Supplies, utilities, maintenance, etc. • “Other”
Implementation of an ABC system • Step 3 – Determine cost drivers and rates • What activity measures correlate with each cost? • Measurable • Statistically or logically have a cause-and-effect relationship with the cost • Predict or explain the consumption of resources with reasonable accuracy • Based on practical capacity for the activity • Unused capacity is its own “activity”
Implementation of an ABC system • Step 4 – Assign costs to cost objects • Determine the amount of each activity consumed by the cost object • Multiply by the rate for that activity • Total the activity costs for each cost object • Divide total by quantity of the cost object to determine unit cost
Advantages of ABC • Better allocation of costs • Not perfect • Useful for estimating costs of future projects • Can be extended to activity-based management • “Now that we know what it costs, how can we do it more efficiently?”
Advantages of ABC • Cost object can be anything • Product • Service • Process • Customer • Employee • Location • Etc.
Advantages of ABC • Aids in recognizing, measuring and controlling complexity • Promotes understanding of why costs are incurred • Shifts focus from managing costs to managing activities
When to use ABC • High proportion of indirect costs • Complex products or processes • High volume vs. low volume products • Diverse indirect costs • Cost accounting system hasn’t evolved • Distrust of current system • Different products place different demands on resources
Disadvantages of ABC • Costly to implement • Costly to maintain • Likely to meet substantial resistance • Not the “real” system • “Why do you want to know what I do?”