Use Of Cost Information Research Articles

Factors affecting the adoption of activity-based costing in a South African state university

Orientation: There is a lack of empirical studies regarding the adoption and implementation of the activity-based costing (ABC) system in South African state universities, despite its advantages.Research purpose: This study reports the perceptions on the factors influencing the adoption of ABC held by finance and academic staff at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), KwaZulu-Natal.Motivation for the study: The lack of empirical studies demanded understanding of those factors that influence the adoption of ABC at state-owned universities in South Africa. Therefore, this study examined the factors influencing the adoption of ABC in a South African state university using the DUT as a case study.Research approach/design and method: The study adopted a mixed research method conducted with 202 staff members: 129 academics, 41 heads of departments and 32 finance staff.Main findings: The positive factors influencing the adoption of ABC included the organisational strategy, information technology, decision usefulness of cost information, contextual orenvironmental factors and the organisational structure. However, the systems adaptability theme was considered a barrier to the adoption of ABC.Practical/managerial implications: The information could inform strategic initiatives related to the adoption and implementation of ABC in the university or similar state-funded universities.Contribution/value-add: The study provided an empirical understanding of the factors that would hinder and assist the adoption and execution of the ABC system.

The Use of Cost Information to Determine Prices at Feed Mills in Northern Vietnam

Vietnam's animal feed market is a potential market, but competition pressure between domestic companies and competition with foreign companies is increasing. Product price is the factor that creates the competitiveness of each animal feed producer in the market. Applying cost information to product pricing in feed companies is a key issue in helping managers make the right decisions. The author collects information at 28 feed mills in Northern Vietnam to understand the use of cost information in pricing by Northern Vietnam feed producers. Through descriptive statistical analysis, the study shows that feed producers in the North of Vietnam are using cost information to determine the selling price of their products, but to varying degrees. And business managers are also aware of the importance of cost information in pricing decisions.

The Use of Cost Information to Determine Prices at Feed Mills in Northern Vietnam

The Use of Cost Information to Determine Prices at Feed Mills in Northern Vietnam

A Study on the Impact of the Usage of Cost Information on Business Performance of Enterprises in Vietnam

Purpose: The primary objective of the research was to investigate the correlation between the utilization of cost information and business performance of enterprises in Vietnam, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted, involving a sample of 380 participants consisting of CEOs, CFOs, managers, board of directors, and individuals in charge of accounting and finance departments. The study employed a structure equation model to analyze the relationship between the use of cost information and business performance. Findings: The study revealed a significant and positive impact of cost information utilization on business performance among the surveyed enterprises in Vietnam. Additionally, the study provided recommendations for enterprises in Vietnam on how to make use of cost information for various purposes, including planning, evaluating, decision-making, and cost control, to optimize their business performance. Research, Practical & Social implication: The study's results suggest that utilizing cost information effectively can lead to improved business performance and may provide valuable insights for Vietnamese enterprises on how to navigate the challenging and competitive post-Covid-19 economic environment. Originality/value: The research employed a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach, and a test for univariate normality demonstrated an outstanding critical skewness ratio value. Furthermore, the kurtosis indicated that the data followed a normal distribution, making it suitable for analysis. Since SEM employs rigorous criteria to evaluate model fit, it can be inferred that the measurement model exhibited a high level of fit. The findings affirm the beneficial impact of utilizing cost information on business performance and offer significant recommendations for Vietnamese businesses in the current post-COVID era.

A Tudy of Impacts of the Use of Cost Information on Business Performance of Fishery Processing Enterprises in Vietnam


 
 
 This study aims to examine the relationship between the Use of Cost Information (UCI) and the Business Performance (BP) of Fishery Processing Enterprises (FPEs) in Vietnam. The authors approach the needs of managers to use cost information in performing their functions of planning, business activities control, performance evaluation, and business decision making. By quantitative research method, using survey data from managers at FPEs, the authors examine the impact direction and level of impact of UCI on the BP these enterprises. From there, the author proposes solutions to improve the efficiency of using cost information for administrative purposes, in order to improve BP of FPEs.
 
 

Evaluating the usefulness of cost accounting in selected business entities in light of the Covid-19 pandemic — results of the author’s survey research

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyze and evaluate the usefulness of the cost accounting system of selected enterprises in the Świętokrzyskie voivodeship for managing their costs under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The article presents the results of the author’s survey research. This research was carried out using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview survey method. Business entities from the Świętokrzyskie voivodeship with an entry in the National Court Register were invited to the survey via e-mail. These were commercial companies, mainly limited liability companies and joint-stock companies. Findings: The main conclusion of the study is that the full cost accounting used in business entities is partially useful for effective cost management of the studied entities. With the COVID-19 pandemic, there was little impact on the usefulness of cost information extracted from applied costing. Originality/value: The COVID-19 pandemic has destabilized all areas of economic and social life in Poland. Therefore, an important issue is the analysis and evaluation of its impact, which is still faced today by representatives of various industries and sectors of the Polish economy. The considerations presented here concern evaluating the utility of cost accounting systems in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This information can be useful for those dealing with cost accounting issues and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in theory, as well as business owners, controlling managers or accounting services staff. Keywords: cost accounting, commercial companies, COVID-19 pandemic. Category of the paper: research paper, surveys.

Understanding Firm Growth and Revival through Ambidexterity: An Accounting and Organizational Perspective

Young firms and established firms have a tendency to emphasize one type of organizational learning to their detriment. This reduces organizational ambidexterity and makes them susceptible to failure. This study explores how two high-tech manufacturing firms use cost information from an accounting system to balance exploitation and exploration learning for ambidexterity. A successful growth firm and a revival firm are examined since both of these business life-cycle stages focus on a strategy of aggressive building. The evidence shows that the use of cost information to balance learning and achieve ambidexterity is different between a growth firm and revival firm. The use of cost information for exploitation and exploration is undertaken by taking each firm’s learning pre-disposition, pivoting organizational culture, and utilizing a functional structure to realize contextual and structural ambidexterity. This study provides preliminary models for future research on accounting and the organizational elements for achieving organizational ambidexterity.

The Application of Activity-Based Costing Method in Hairdressing Service Industry

Compared with the traditional costing method, the activity-based costing method makes the product cost close to the period cost and improves the authenticity and usefulness of cost information by reforming the distribution of manufacturing costs. This paper applies activity-based costing method to hairdressing service industry, which divides the five operations of washing, cutting, blowing, perming and dyeing, and carries out cost calculation and cost management for various hairdressing products, highlighting the basic principles of activity-based costing method. The study found that the application of activity-based costing method in hairdressing service industry could adjust the pricing according to the actual situation, and had the advantage of increasing the value of the product and reducing unnecessary costs.

China's Healthcare Costing in Times of Crisis: Conflicts, Interactions, and Hidden Agendas

This paper presents a longitudinal interpretive case study on the development of healthcare costing in China over the period 2002 to 2015. Adopting a middle‐range theory lens, the study explores dynamic interactions in the use of cost information among societal institutions and organizations. It reports the successful internalization of costing systems in public hospitals in Beijing, which supports the effectiveness of a hybrid steering mechanism combining both transactional and relational features; however, such successful internalization does not indicate the success of steering the lifeworld of institutions and organizations towards change. Notably, hospitals' responses to steering alter over time, from passive absorption to active manipulation, revealing how cost information may underpin hospital beliefs in marketization. At an institutional level, the paper provides empirical evidence for relational steering among societal institutions, where a reaction of ‘rebuttal’ is observed. It offers insights on how accounting can be a powerful tool in legitimizing such rebuttal, while keeping political considerations as hidden agendas. The findings suggest the importance of understanding lifeworld complexity at both societal and organizational levels, and cross‐institutional collaboration in using accounting as a steering mechanism. The findings have important policy implications for public sector reform, both in China and worldwide.

Incorporating costing study results into district and service planning to enhance immunization programme performance: a Zambian case study

Donors, researchers and international agencies have made significant investments in collection of high-quality data on immunization costs, aiming to improve the efficiency and sustainability of services. However, improved quality and routine dissemination of costing information to local managers may not lead to enhanced programme performance. This study explored how district- and service-level managers can use costing information to enhance planning and management to increase immunization outputs and coverage. Data on the use of costing information in the planning and management of Zambia’s immunization programme was obtained through individual and group semi-structured interviews with planners and managers at national, provincial and district levels. Document review revealed the organizational context within which managers operated. Qualitative results described managers’ ability to use costing information to generate cost and efficiency indicators not provided by existing systems. These, in turn, would allow them to understand the relative cost of vaccines and other resources, increase awareness of resource use and management, benchmark against other facilities and districts, and modify strategies to improve performance. Managers indicated that costing information highlighted priorities for more efficient use of human resources, vaccines and outreach for immunization programming. Despite decentralization, there were limitations on managers’ decision-making to improve programme efficiency in practice: major resource allocation decisions were made centrally and planning tools did not focus on vaccine costs. Unreliable budgets and disbursements also undermined managers’ ability to use systems and information. Routine generation and use of immunization cost information may have limited impact on managing efficiency in many Zambian districts, but opportunities were evident for using existing capacity and systems to improve efficiency. Simpler approaches, such as improving reliability and use of routine immunization and staffing indicators, drawing on general insights from periodic costing studies, and focusing on maximizing coverage with available resources, may be more feasible in the short-term.

Desenvolvendo Tecnologia de Gestão via Pesquisa-Ação: Uma forma alternativa de demonstrar o Resultado Operacional no Custeio Variável

Admitindo a Pesquisa-Ação como uma estratégia de investigação que contempla geração de conhecimento de base empírica, este artigo faz uso de tal estratégia para explorar a temática uso da informação de custo para fins de decisão. O presente estudo foi realizado em uma loja de departamentos de grande porte. A situação-problema que demandou o desenvolvimento da tecnologia de gestão apresentada apontava para a necessidade de acompanhar o resultado dos departamentos. Os Custeios Variável e Direto foram considerados como soluções previamente disponíveis na literatura. A inquietação teórica foi como melhorar a informação da contribuição do objeto de custo à formação do resultado no Custeio Variável quando na estrutura de gastos se tem de forma representativa a presença de gastos fixos próprios/vinculados? Uma forma alternativa de demonstrar o resultado foi desenvolvida a partir do Custeio Variável, gerando a Margem de Contribuição Líquida (MCL) como resultado intermediário na apuração do resultado.

지방자치단체 성과관리를 위한 원가정보의 산출 및 활용에 관한 연구 : 부천시 국제영화제 운영사업 원가분석 및 제언

지방자치단체 성과관리를 위한 원가정보의 산출 및 활용에 관한 연구 : 부천시 국제영화제 운영사업 원가분석 및 제언

The Impact of Managers’ Participation in Costing System Design on Their Perceived Contributions to Process Improvement

The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of managers’ participation in costing system design on their perceived contributions to process improvement. Drawing on the literature on business process management, participative decision-making and self-determination theory, we propose that participation in costing system design fosters managers’ perceived contributions to process improvement through their autonomous motivation for cost management and their perceived usefulness of cost information. Questionnaire data obtained from 170 Belgian managers were used to test the proposed model. The results suggest that participation in costing system design increases managers’ autonomous motivation for cost management and enhances their perceived usefulness of cost information. Managers’ perceived usefulness of cost information is, in turn, positively associated with their perceived contributions to process improvement. The effect of managers’ autonomous motivation for cost management on their perceived contributions to process improvement is, however, not significant. Taken together, our findings imply that contributions to process improvement mainly emerge through informational mechanisms rather than motivational mechanisms triggered by the participation process.

New development: Putting a 25-year experiment to the test

This article explains the current state of accounting by the US federal government. Key hurdles for the US reporting model and financial management are discussed. An open data system, able to aggregate cost by programme, would greatly improve the usefulness of cost information and facilitate integration of cost with performance information.

Advertising appeals across varying economic and regulatory conditions: A longitudinal content analysis in the mutual fund industry

This research investigates the relationship between the utilization of various appeals in mutual fund advertisements and prevailing market, and regulatory conditions during the period 2000—2009. Mutual fund firms promote their investment products utilizing an array of advertising appeals, including those that highlight performance, product and consistency. We hypothesize that the application of these appeals varies over time and according to market conditions. In addition, the research considers the 2007 regulatory efforts mandating the inclusion of mutual fund expense information in advertisements that promote fund performance. A longitudinal content analysis is utilized to survey the presence and prevalence of various advertising appeals by mutual fund providers in Money magazine from 2000 to 2009. Results reveal that appeal usage varies over time and by market performance. Appeals focusing on performance and product are strongly correlated with market performance, whereas appeals relating to trust are correlated with subpar market performance. In addition, the use of cost information, broadly defined, has become more important over the 2000–2009 period independent of market performance. The implications of these findings and their relationship to government regulation are also discussed.

Change in the relevance of cost information and costing systems: evidence from two Italian surveys

This paper aims to contribute to the stream of the “costing system change” research agenda by studying the role played by contextual factors, adopting a demand-side approach (Ax and Bjornenak in Issues in management accounting. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2007), and by highlighting the movements of change in the adoption and use of Activity-Based Costing (ABC) and Target Costing (TC) (Burns and Vaivio in Manag Account Res 12(4):389–402, 2001; Schoute in Br Account Rev 43:120–134, 2011). Thus, the possibility of costing change with ramifications beyond those typically studied in the literature concerning the functional view of cost accounting is discussed and demonstrated (Sturdy in Manag Learn 35(2):155–179, 2004; Tsoukas and Chia in Organ Sci 13(5):567–582, 2002). This paper compares the results of two surveys over a decade apart on two samples of large-size manufacturing companies (132 and 86 companies, respectively) that investigated changes in cost objects, costing purposes and the adoption and use of two advanced costing techniques, ABC and TC. The findings reveal an increase in the number of cost objects considered, a wider use of cost information for managerial purposes and a slight increase in the use of ABC and TC in the sample. The discussion shows an increase of awareness of potentiality of cost information to support decision-making, and a refinement of cost allocation processes. The presence of “forward” and “backward” movements of ABC and TC changes in adoption and use, addresses the possibility that costing change has different directions than those usually considered under a rational view of cost accounting.

Decision making process and modes of governance: A comparative study between Brazilian and British hospitals

This study was carried out to investigate similarities and differences in the decision-making process of managers (both, administrative and/or clinicians) within hospitals, taking as references Brazil and Great Britain and considering the cost information use. Exploratory and quantitative survey methods were used to test research questions. The research was undertaken in hospitals of the West Midlands Region/Great Britain and Minas Gerais State/Brazil. Hence, 26 hospitals in Great Britain and 22 in Brazil were detected as eligible and 150 intermediate level managers were randomly selected as units of research in each country. These organisations were considered public and possessing common and compatible characteristics with the intended research. After conducting the survey, using a structured questionnaire, semi-structured interviews with middle managers at chosen case study hospitals were undertaken. This work used quantitative survey methods to test the research questions but further understanding is gained through the use of case study interviews. In the cases analyzed, it was possible to identify significant differences in the decision making process considering the use of cost information in hospitals. This work also allowed inferences between the modes of governance in terms of the decision making process. The hospitals managers should curb situations that increase opportunism in decision-making process due to efficiency of process and control of costs procedures

Strategic Choices: The Case Of Management Accounting System

<p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">While the popularity of strategic management accounting (SMA) has been growing over the last decade, there is still not an extensive literature, which directly addresses the relationship between management accounting system and strategy. The Management Accounting Research (MAR) constructed a special issue on SMA and concluded that (1) there <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">were less</span> than 20 key articles on this subject in <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">the</span> mainstream academic journals; (2) there <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">was</span> a lack of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>comprehensive conceptual framework for SMA; and (3) there <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">was</span> limited empirical evidence. To explore this and related issues, a study of the relative significance of the use of cost information for strategic considerations in relation to two levels of competitive analysis <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">-</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span>corporate competitive intelligent information, and business competitive intelligent information<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> -</span> was undertaken. The<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> findings </span>of the study relate managers<span style="text-decoration: underline;">’</span> perceptions of two dimensions of their environmental changes (stability and certainty) to the two levels of competitive analysis. In order to gain a wider understanding of this relationship, a random sample of 110<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> large</span> Saudi companies were selected and data collected from senior managers. The results <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">showed</span> that (1) the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">perceptions</span> of managers <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">differ</span> between their environmental certainty and stability; (2) the relative significance accorded to business competitive intelligent information <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">was</span> positively associated with rising instability; (3) the use of corporate competitive intelligent information <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">was a </span>common practice. An interpretation of the results is that market instability stimulates strategic movement and cost information is being used in management thinking to support strategic development in meeting competitive pressures and in restructuring and reconfiguration of business strategy.</span></span></p>

Perceptions of occupational injury and illness costs by size of organization

Little is known about how organizations perceive and monitor occupational injury and illness costs. To explore perceptions of injury and illness costs, the extent to which organizations monitor their impact, attitudes towards this practice and views on using cost information in health and safety campaigns. Interviews were conducted with 212 representatives from 49 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 80 large organizations from a range of industry sectors. Health and safety investments were driven by a range of factors, of which cost reduction was only one. Human costs were also considered important. Injuries were perceived to represent a substantial business cost by 10% of respondents from SMEs and 56% of those from large organizations. Most were uncertain about the financial impact of work-related illness. No organizations had attempted to monitor occupational illness costs. Injury costs had been assessed within 3 SMEs and 30 large organizations. Only 12% of SME representatives recognized the benefits of costing health and safety failures and around half were unreceptive to the use of cost information in health and safety promotions. Two-thirds of those from large organizations recognized some benefit in measuring costs, and over three-quarters welcomed the provision of industry-specific information. Provision of information that focuses solely on the economic implications of occupational injury and illness may be of limited value and agencies involved in the promotion of health and safety should incorporate a range of information, taking into account the needs and concerns of different sectors.

Modes of governance and the use of cost information: a comparative study between Brazilian and British hospitals

Cost information can be considered an important tool to benchmarking, planning and control, improving the management of expenditures, mainly in a public institution that are known by having scarce resources. This study was carried out to investigate different modes of governance within Brazilian and British hospitals and the usefulness of cost information in terms of managerial plannig and control. The research was conducted by cross cultural analysis, using several statistical methods for measuring organisation characteristics, seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the profile of both hospitals and respondents. This study showed the dominance of hierarchy and clan as being the most relevant modes of governance in Brazilian and British hospitals. This discussion is relevant considering the congruence level of goals and the ambiguity level of performance measurement. Also, it defines which form of governance is more predominant. The exploratory and quantitative survey methods were used to test the research questions. After conducting a survey using a structured questionnaire, semi-structured interviews with middle managers at chosen case study hospitals were undertaken. In the cases analyzed, it was possible to identify a significant difference between the use of cost information in hospitals, allowing inferences between different modes of governance. The lack of studies about the use of cost information in planning and control regarding public hospitals impedes any other comparison or assessment considering empirical data. One of the objectives of this paper was to generate initial material for future researchers. Besides, the knowledge about the current scenario of the usefulness of cost information mainly in planning and control is relevant when associated with modes of governance.