Cost System Design and Profitabillity Analysis in UK Companies

Executive Summary v 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background to the study 1 1.2 Outline of the report 2 2 Cost System Design Issues 5 2.1 Functions of a cost system 5 2.2 Different accuracy requirements 6 2.3 Identifying cost information that is relevant for decision-making 7 2.4 Types of cost system 9 3 Summary of Recent Product-costing Literature 11 3.1 Comparison of traditional and ABC systems 11 3.2 Hierarchy of activities 13 3.3 Profitability analysis and attention-directing information 14 3.4 Resource consumption models 16 3.5 Capacity levels for establishing cost driver rates 17 3.6 Costs versus benefits considerations 18 3.7 Limitations of ABC systems 18 4 Previous Research Related to the Study 21 4.1 Factors influencing the emergence of product costing research 21 4.2 Usage of different costing methods 21 4.3 Accuracy of product costs 22 4.4 Influence of financial accounting 22 4.5 ABC usage 23 5 Factors Influencing the Design of Cost Systems 25 5.1 Classification of cost systems 25 5.2 Different levels of sophistication and accuracy 26 5.3 Factors influencing choice of cost systems 28 6 An Overview of the Study 37 6.1 Missing information on cost systems 37 6.2 Sample selection 38 6.3 Data collection 39 6.4 Questionnaire content 40 7 Survey Findings Relating to Cost Information for Periodic Profitability Analysis 43 7.1 Respondents' organisational and professional background 43 7.2 Maintaining separate databases for different purposes 45 7.3 Cost structures 45 7.4 Role of profitability analysis 46 7.5 Cost information used within profitability analysis 48 7.6 Importance of alternative reported profitability measures 49 7.7 Information included in the special studies 50 7.8 Accuracy of observed cost systems 52 7.9 Treatment of facility-sustaining costs 53 7.10 Extent of ABC usage 54 7.11 Analysis of profitability by product lines and individual products 57 8 Survey Findings Relating to Cost Information for Stock Valuation and Pricing Decisions and the Activity Levels used for Cost Assignment 59 8.1 Cost accumulation for stock valuation 59 8.2 Cost information for setting selling prices 61 8.3 Defining activity levels for cost assignment 64 9 Survey Findings Relating to the Influence of Potential Explanatory Variables on Cost System Design and the Information Extracted from the System 67 9.1 Different cost accumulation systems for different purposes 67 9.2 Level of sophistication and accuracy in assigning costs to cost objects 68 9.3 Impact of potential explanatory factors 69 10 Conclusions 75 10.1 Summary of major findings 75 10.2 Generalising research findings 76 10.3 Measurement of explanatory variables and sophistication of the cost systems 77 10.4 Areas for further research 77 References 81 Appendix I: Initial Questionnaire 85 Appendix II: Questionnaire - Research into Cost System Design and Profitability Analysis 87 Appendix III: Respondents' Comments on Question B10 of Appendix II 107