Activity-Based Costing (ABC) for a New Management Accounting System is a report on a matrix model. The model combines traditional financial data from the accounting system with non-financial data from production, administration and marketing. The financial dimension is divided into cost centers at a foreman level. The two dimensions are combined at the lowest organizational level by using Cost drivers in an Activity-Based Costing technique. In doing so we create “foreman centers” where each operation is matched with a certain expenditure or income. These “foreman centers” are later accumulated into divisions and subsidiaries. The results from the matrix model can be used as measurements for:
Gunnebo Fastening AB invited us to test the matrix model in reality. Step by step the hypothetical model is conceptualized into a system for management accounting. Gunnebo Fastening AB produces about 6000 different types of nails per year. The matrix model show that only about 50% of them are profitable. The rest are non-profitable articles. Customers have a vast range of discounts. This together with other special deals turns many of them into non-profitable customers. As the model points out which articles and customers are “in the red”, Gunnebo have shown interest in adopting the matrix model in a new system on a regular basis. The matrix model is compared with other literature in the field of management accounting. Important sources include the Harvard Business School with Professors Kaplan, Cooper and Porter, who all contributed to ABC and management accounting development in general. Another valuable source is Professor Paulsson Frenckner. The literature shows that both academics and practitioners seek ways to provide more detailed and accurate calculations for product profitability.
The report concludes with an analysis and conclusions about the matrix model. It also indicates future opportunities for the model in decision support systems (DSS).