A Framework to Accomplish Strategic Cost Management

Abstract

Currently, economic and technological developments are growing faster in an unprecedented way. The outcome is changing a great deal of concepts, transactions, and increasing competition allover the world. GATT agreement and emerging of large conglomerates extending competition zone to encompass the whole world. In addition, the improvements in information technology, communication means, and production systems open new horizons. The main consequence is to concentrate on quality and attain consumer's satisfaction. To respond, Companies pay a great attention to accomplish strategic cost management in order to overcome tough competition in local, international, and online markets. Traditional cost systems, those concentrate only on measuring and controlling products/services cost, are not sufficient to deal with new economic and technological developments. Therefore, companies shifted to strategic cost management as a powerful tool to attain competitive advantage and to maximize earnings and in short run and in long run as well. Prior research is constrained to develop and evaluate different tools to accomplish strategic cost management. There is no integrated framework to combine those tools and could be accepted from interested researcher in cost/management accounting and strategic management. This study aims to analyze tools of strategic cost management to introduce an integrated framework that could be useful to companies' stakeholder in short run and in long run as well.