Modem Cost Management in the Transport Company Through the Activity-Based Costing （ABC） Method

Road transport is a flexible mode of transport and its importance in era of globalization increases. Management of road transport companies is, in this turbulent environment, exposed to many technical, legislative, and economic problems. Especially, the growing economic pressure leads to an urgent requirement of the manager and control system improvement. Activity-based costing （ABC） method is a very powerful tool to improve products, services, processes, and market strategies. ABC allows company management to understand what causes costs and how to manage them. Company under this scheme may get a glimpse of how efficiently a company converts the source value. The main objective of our research was to assess the possibility of application of the ABC method in a transport undertaking. ABC method as a fundamentally different view on the cost in the transport business helps to find the reasons of cost and thereby influences their levels to make better use of resources.. New managerial accounting methods aim to show management what information is needed, how and where this information can be obtained, and how they can be useful for the management of the company＇s proper planning, decision-making, and control. Information provided by management accounting is often a key factor in the analysis of alternative ways of solving problems. This article focuses on the transport enterprise management and helps to decide on the use of this method in business practice.

Integrating Activity-Based Costing （ABC） and Theory of Constraint （TOC） for Improved and Sustained Cost Management

Implementing effective cost management approaches has recently gained momentum due to intense competition and increasing customer demands. Moreover, effective cost management approaches have contributed to firms＇ competitive advantage in relation to cost leadership strategy. Consequently, firms have implemented contemporary cost management systems, such as activity-based management, business process re-engineering, life-cycle costing, target costing, and theory of constraint （TOC）, to enable them to become low-cost producers and compete effectively and sustain their performance. Furthermore, focusing on cost management to improve profitability has led to the integration of activity-based costing （ABC） and TOC. Therefore, the aim of this study is to review literature and discuss how integration of ABC and TOC can result in improved and sustained cost management. While these methods have different approaches in addressing cost management, treating them as complementary cost management approaches can result in improved cost management due to improved product costing, improved cost reporting, improved product-mix decisions, and improved cycle-time management. Improvement in cost management will then result in sustained cost management. Sustained cost management is further enhanced with the investment in information customer and shareholder value technology that supports cross-functional decision making to continue creating to remain competitive in the market.

An improved activity-based costing model for product cost estimation applied in a complex manufacturing environment

In order to evaluate and estimate me cosEs oi prouuct~ plt, uu^u e vironment properly, an improved activity-based costing （ABC） model is presented. By utilizing the input-output analysis method, the complex consumption relationships in a complex manufacturing environment are first expressed. The consumption characteristics （mainly presented by the activity rates） of all production activities are extracted by solving these relationships. Then with the con- sumption characteristics and operating parameters of these activities, the detailed cost consumption of a product in its manufacturing process is estimated. A case study is finally given based on the compressor products of a manufacturing company, and its effectiveness is shown. As the cost influ- ence of complex consumption relationships is fully considered, the limitation of traditional ABC method is overcome, and therefore a high accuracy in product cost estimation under the complex manufacturing environment can be achieved.

Activity-Based Costing of Library Services in Universities——A Case Study of a Private University

An organization’s costing system is a system that helps the management with the strategy planning while the system plays an important role in providing accurate cost information about the products and customers.In other words,the costing management system is important to provide timely and quality information to help managers in their decision-making process.Producing quality graduates is the main objective of any university and the cost of quality or the cost of poor quality is one that is often difficult to measure in higher education.This can be partly attributed to the fact that most accounting systems are not structured to capture important cost-of-quality information.In order to succeed,many organizations tend to shift from conventional or traditional costing system to Activity-based costing(ABC).ABC provides both higher education administrators and policymakers with better information on which to base decisions.The use of multiple cost pools and drivers under ABC leads to more detailed and accurate product costing than that provided by traditional cost systems.This paper attempts to investigate the possibilities and limitations of implementing ABC in universities.More specifically the study makes use of the case study method to illustrate the implementation of activity-based costing of library services in a private university in the Kingdom of Bahrain.The research methodology of the case study is a combination of both descriptive and quantitative analyses.The study identified six categories of cost pools which are related to the activities of the library as well as 17 relevant cost drivers.Accordingly,ABC should lead to a better understanding of what drives costs and,by extension,what changes are necessary to reduce costs.Unnecessary activities that do not add value to services can be identified and eliminated.Further ABC is feasible in an academic library and that much can be gained from the process of analyzing activities.However,more work needs to be done in terms of designing accounting and other information systems to capture cost and activity transaction data in a more routine and disaggregated form for ABC analysis.

A Study on Cost Control of Agricultural Water Conservancy Projects Based on Activity-based Costing

Based on the theory of activity-based costing and the idea of value chain,activity optimization and cost control are carried out on the whole construction process of agricultural water conservancy projects. Through the use of literature review,case analysis and statistical analysis and other methods,with agricultural water conservancy projects as the research object,and comparing activity-based costing with the traditional model of cost accounting,the writer carries out the corresponding value chain analysis,and comes to the following conclusion: the statistical calculation and analysis of the entire construction process based on activity-based costing can accurately and effectively control the costs of water conservancy projects. Through the use of activity-based costing,the cost data of agricultural water conservancy projects is more detailed and accurate,and cost management personnel can also find non-value-added activities,optimize the enterprise's value chain and achieve cost control objectives through the analysis of the activity chain and value chain of agricultural water conservancy projects.

Mass scale screening of common arboviral infections by an affordable,cost effective RT-PCR method

Objective:To develop a rapid,cost effective RT-PCR method for the mass scale diagnosis of such diseases at the vireraia stage to find out the actual disease burden in that area.Methods:For this purpose,cases with the history of only short febrile illness were considered.Thus 157 samples with the history of dengue/chikungunya like illness and only 58 samples with a history of acute encephalitis syndrome(AES)were selected.Results:Out of 157 samples,42 and 74 were detected as dengue and chikungunya,respectively and out of 58 AES cases only 23 could be detected as Japanese encephalitis by this RT-PCR method.Conclusions:This cost effective RT-PCR method can detect the total positive cases that remain undetected by EL1SA method.Moreover,this method is capable to detect the viral RNA from patients'sera even after the appearance of IgM antibody at one fifth costs as compared with the other commercially available kits.

An ideal point method adopting grey relational entropy to estimate life cycle cost with effectiveness of torpedo

To making the decision of the developing blue prints,ideal point method was selected to estimate the life cycle cost with effectiveness of torpedo.At the same time,the concept of grey relational entropy of the grey system theory was adopted to compute the distance between each blue print and the ideal point(or negative ideal point).The blue print,nearest to the ideal point and farthest to the negative ideal point,is the best one.As an example,four blue prints of torpedo were estimated.The result indicates the practical value of this method.

A Review of Deepwater Pipeline Construction in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico-Contracts, Cost, and Installation Methods

The offshore pipeline network in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is the largest and most transparent system in the world. A review of deepwater projects in the region provides insight into construction cost and installation methods and the evolution of contract strategies. Pipeline projects are identified as export systems, infield flowline systems, and combined export and infield systems, and three dozen deepwater pipeline installations from 1980–2014 are described based on Offshore Technology Conference(OTC) and Society of Petroleum Engineers(SPE) industry publications and press release data. Export lines and infield flowlines are equally represented and many projects used a combination of J-lay, S-lay and reel methods with rigid steel, flexible line, and pipe-in-pipe systems. The average 2014 inflation-adjusted cost for pipeline projects based on OTC/SPE publications was $2.76 million/mi and ranged from $520 000/mi to $12.94 million/mi. High cost pipelines tend to be short segments or specialized pipeline. Excluding the two cost endpoints, the majority of projects ranged from $1 to $6 million/mi. The average inflation-adjusted cost to install deepwater pipelines in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico based on available public data is estimated at $3.1 million/mi.

Analysis of Appraising Agricultural Intangible Asset Value by Cost Method

On the basis of describing the connotation of agricultural intangible asset and cost method,the technical ideas of appraising by cost method are introduced.The article analyzes the advantages(simple appraisal principle and easy to understand and grasp;overall consideration of various factors related to appraisal result value) and disadvantages(high appraisal cost;difficult to appraise and grasp various appraisal factors) of appraising by cost method.The article also summarizes the precondition of appraising by cost method:it is applicable to appraise the agricultural intangible asset which can be reproduced and afresh developed.Based on the cognition of agricultural intangible asset and the relevant rules of Ministry of Finance on appraisal of intangible asset by using cost method,the model of appraising agricultural intangible asset by cost method is constructed.That is:agricultural intangible asset value = replacement cost of agricultural intangible asset ×newness rate + opportunity cost of agricultural intangible asset.Determine and analyze parameters of the model,in order to offer references for appraisers to appraise agricultural intangible asset value more reasonably.

Research on selection methods of cost driver

In the implementation of activity-based costing, cost driver is the true reason to determine the occurrence of costs and the consumption of resources, and correctly selecting the cost driver is the key to calculating the cost of the product accurately. Beginning with the meaning of cost driver and its characteristics, this article analyses its classification, and then, focuses on its selection method.

Costing and Pricing in Healthcare Private Firms

This article analyzes the development of an activity-based costing （ABC） system in a private Italian healthcare firm. Findings shed light on the role of the cost accounting system in price assessment： It outlines new opportunities for the identification of the service mix offered as well as for price optimization. Because private companies provide services both within the public system--where the National Health System （NHS） provides fixed reimbursement fees--and within the private system--where prices are defined by each company. Accurate cost information is extremely important to support managers in the analysis of the service mix profitability offered in each system. For the business segment in which companies do not have flexibility in setting prices, cost information enables managers to identify services which may present profitability problems. For the business segment where price flexibility exists, cost information supports the identification of pricing errors so that charges can be better defined.

Natural Monopoly and Mixed Ownership Reform--Based on Natural Experiment and Cost Function Analysis Method

Despite a multitude of theoretical discussions on China's mixed ownership reform, very few studies have addressed realistic questions concerning the implementation of the reform. The Resolutions of the Third Plenum of the 18 th CPC Central Committee and other reform strategies have outlined the reform of sectors with natural monopoly, including urban public utility sectors. The question is how mixed ownership reform should be carried out in sectors of natural monopoly, or which public utilities sectors should enjoy priority of mixed ownership reform. To answer this question, this paper employs data of large public utility enterprises in China from 1998 to 2008, and estimates the natural monopoly attribute at the industry level and corporate total factor productivity(TFP) using cost function analysis method excluding the impact of product price factor. Based on the difference-indifferences-in-differences(DDD) method of natural experiment, an empirical test is carried out for the relationship among natural monopoly, mixed ownership reform and corporate productivity. Our results suggest that:(1) Statistically, mixed ownership reform cannot significantly increase corporate TFP in sectors with natural monopoly;(2) mixed ownership reform should not be carried out indiscriminately on a nationwide basis and for all public utilities sectors. Such an attempt of reform without distinguishing natural monopoly and the level of competitiveness is fraught with policy uncertainties;(3) relative to sectors with natural monopoly, corporate productivity in competitive sectors after mixed ownership reform will improve more significantly and enjoy greater "policy dividends" of institutional reform. Therefore, mixed ownership reform should be carried out first in competitive sectors.

Distribution Network Equipment Location and Capacity Planning Method Considering Energy Internet Attribute from the Perspective of Life Cycle Cost

For facing the challenges brought by large-scale renewable energy having access to the system and considering the key technologies of energy Internet,it is very necessary to put forward the location method of distribution network equipment and capacity from the perspective of life cycle cost.Compared with the traditional energy network,the equipment capacity problem of energy interconnected distribution network which involves in electricity network,thermal energy network and natural gas network is comprehensively considered in this paper.On this basis,firstly,the operation architecture of energy interconnected distribution network is designed.Secondly,taking the grid connection location and configuration capacity of key equipment in the system as the control variables and the operation cost of system comprehensive planning in the whole life cycle as the goal,the equipment location and capacity optimization model of energy interconnected distribution network is established.Finally,an IEEE 33 bus energy mutual distribution grid system is taken for example analysis,and the improved chaotic particle swarmoptimization algorithm is used to solve it.The simulation results show that the method proposed in this paper is suitable for the equipment location and capacity planning of energy interconnected distribution network,and it can effectively improve the social and economic benefits of system operation.

Study on the Application of Time-Driven Activity - Based Costing in Hotels——Taking a Hotel as an Example

The time-driven activity-based costing has received extensive attention from scholars both at home and abroad in recent years,which has been applied to the calculation of manufacturing operations and the cost of products.However, this approach is rarely introduced into the service sector.As to the hospitality industry, the profitability of the customer usually plays a decisive role in the business process.Therefore, this article takes the hotel service industry as the research point and allocates the costs of resources of each departments to customers according to time drivers.The focus of this paper is to calculate the costs of customers ,and then analyze the profitability of customers in order to take the appropriate marketing strategies to improve the hotel service industry Drofitabilitv.

Dynamic Target Costing （TC） in Real Estate Development Industry in Taiwan

This paper discusses whether target costing （TC） is affected by the impacts of external circumstances and appears dynamic in real estate development industry. A case study was conducted and combined with literature reviews to test this proposition. The results of this paper show that the formula appears dynamic on the impacts of economic depression/recession, inflation, and change of governmental policy to assist the firms in the achievement of planned profits. TC, as a strategic profit management system in the industry, exhibits brisk utilization in a dynamic formula with more of a focus on value added to maintain fixed profits. It is different from the focus on cost reduction by a static formula in previous literatures.

Application of Earned Value Method in Project Cost Management and Schedule Management

At present,with the rapid development of China's economy,the development of the construction industry has made a new breakthrough.Project management requires the construction industry to continuously play its role and value in improving the ability of project management.Earned value method,which is an important way in the field of project management,enables whole project management to rise to a new height.The specific principle of earned value method will be elaborated by fully introducing the specific role of earned value method in engineering projects to provide a reference and basis for practitioners to improve their management ability.

Delay-independent robust guaranteed-cost control for uncertain linear neutral systems

This article concerns the delay-independent guaranteed-cost control problem via memoryless state feedback for a class of neutral-type systems with structural uncertainty and a given quadratic cost function. New delay-independent conditions for the existence of the guaranteed-cost controller are presented in the term of LMIs. An algorithm involving optimization is proposed to design a controller achieving an optimal guaranteed-cost, such that, the system can be stabilized for all admissible uncertainties. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Recreational value of glacier tourism resources：A travel cost analysis for Yulong Snow Mountain

Glaciers, with their unique and spectacular appearances and rich and varied terrain, have received widespread attention and become important tourist attractions. This paper uses the travel cost method to estimate the recreational value of the glacier tourism resources of Yulong Snow Mountain(also called Jade Dragon Snow Mountain), which is the most developed glacier tourist attraction in China. First-hand information was obtained through field surveys, and the travel costs of visitors visiting the Yulong Snow Mountain glacier were calculated before the method was applied to evaluate the recreational value of the focal glacier resource. The results show that the Yulong Snow Mountain consumer surplus associated with its glacier resources in 2016 ranged from 645.59-3439.10 million CNY, and the total recreational value ranged from 1.97-8.17 billion CNY. Approaches allocating travel costs across multiple recreational sites, however, can vary, and there is large difference in estimated results depending on used approaches. Nevertheless, the results of the analysis can help understand the socio-economic value of glacier resources and provide a reference for their development and protection.

The dynamic economic evaluation method of shale gas resources

At present, most shale gas exploration and development areas in China are difficult to provide sufficient and effective production data to support economic evaluation, since they are still in the initial stage of low exploration level. In addition, ecological and environmental factors are not taken into account in the evaluation process, which does not meet the needs of green energy development of China. Aiming at above problems, the dynamic economic evaluation method of shale gas resources based on calculus principle is proposed. The Arps hyperbolic decreasing curve model will be used in the evaluation of single shale gas well production, which can evaluate single well production of shale gas by fitting the existing dynamic production data to generate the production decreasing curve. Therefore, the variation regularity of the cumulative production of single well shale gas within the study area can be obtained by the model mentioned above. According to the variation regularity of the cumulative production obtained from the Arps hyperbolic decreasing curve model, the recovery period of single well cost, ultimate economic life and the ultimate economic resource can be evaluated dynamically by analyzing the variation regularity of the cumulative sales revenue and cumulative input cost of single shale gas well. Then the evaluation result can be further extend to the whole evaluation areas, in order to analyze shale gas resources ’ economic value in evaluation regions under different shale gas price conditions. The results of the above evaluation methods are not only conducive to improving the economic benefits of relative shale gas development enterprises, but also provide a basis for the national energy strategy deployment.