| Summary: | 碩士 === 中原大學 === 會計研究所 === 97 === Since the globalization tide in middle 1970s’, business environment has changed violently. Therefore, firms naturally show more demands on dynamic information about operation, workflow, products and customers. After 1988, activity-based cost (ABC) and activity-based management (ABC/M) have been developed gradually. Because of following the globalization tide, there have been numerous firms implementing various dimensional researching efforts on cost, customer and capacity management.
About using the ABC method, in 1998, Peter Drucker supposed that in upcoming 10 to 15 years, the ABC method can develop reliable management tools to provide business runners with the availability to manage and evaluate the cost of most knowledge-based and service work such as R&D staffs and customer service givers. The correlation between cost and performance is therefore established.
In 2004, the masters in ABC systems, Kaplan and Andersen, proposed time-driven ABC ideas for ABS systems and a book titled “Time-driven Activity-based Cost (TDABC) was published in April 2007. It was then expected through comprehensive TDABC structures, ABC would be promoted more easily.The development of ABC systems is posterior to the development of traditional cost systems.However, for 20 more years, ABC systems still cannot entirely replace traditional cost systems. As this situation indicated, ABC systems face the phase required for adjustment consideration. Therefore, how to obtain more precise information is still an issue worthy of research. Currently, in view of local and international scientific lectures, ABC systems have been applicable to some industries like manufacture, service, banking and hospitals. ABC systems are based on operation workflows.However, in practical application, it is required to take the difficulties caused by ABC systems implementation into consideration so as to highlight the functions of ABC systems.
The firm in our case study is a mechanical equipment maker and it has been established for nearly 30 years. In the early period, this company mainly specialized in hoisting equipment production.Recently,with local booming economic development, this company has cross over the boundary of traditional industries and become an equipment maker for high technology industries. Due to divergent demands from markets, the company under case study has adopted the management mode with divergent product items but fewer quantities. Recently, because indirect cost has gradually increased remarkably, this company under case study is suitable for promoting ABC systems. However, the establishment of ABC systems oftentimes faces the difficulties with overall modes established or the complexity unable to entirely reflect actual operation situations. Furthermore, the assessment rate of drivers cannot reflect actual utilization of production capacity.
Time-oriented ABC systems view time as resource for production capacity in the assessment of operation cost. Therefore, operation cost is calculated on the basis of operation time. For operation complexity, time-oriented ABC systems can be captured by using time equations. Under TDABC, there are two parameters required for estimation. One is cost per cent time unit of capacity and the other is the time required by activities. By using the estimation for these two parameters, TDABC simplifies more complex cost assessment progress for past ABC systems. Through the design of time equations, the business management with higher complexity can be captured.
Can TDABC designed with time-based driver rates meet the demands of violently changeable business situations? Are there any defects like over-estimated cost, no efficiency or cost adding? Therefore, based on aforementioned ABC system development, in view of major indirect operation expenditures for the company under case study in the same period, the cost difference between traditional ABC systems and time-based ABC systems can be calculated. It is expected that results can be served as the reference available for practical business affairs of relevant business organizations. Furthermore, this research also implements internal questionnaires by focusing on the co-working respondents who have no engineering and financial professional academic background to explore the promotion plausibility for ABC systems internally. It is expected the application of ABC systems can be further improved.
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