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.

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.

Standard Costing and Cost Control in Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between standard costing and cost control in Nigerian oil and gas industry. This was achieved through a review of extant literature and development of hypotheses. The population for the study consisted of petroleum marketing companies listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange Factbook of 2012. In order to generate the necessary data for this study, both primary and secondary methods of data collection were adopted. The primary data were collected through the administration of a questionnaire designed in a 5-point Likert scale, while the secondary data were sourced from the Nigerian Stock Exchange Factbook of 2011. The findings generated in this study revealed that a significant relationship exists between standard costing and cost control. It was observed that the more a firm practices standard costing, the more efficient is the firm in material, labor, and overhead costs. Based on the above findings, we recommended that oil and gas finns in Nigeria should adopt and apply standard costing in their accounting system so as to ensure the efficient use of resources for an effective control of costs.

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.

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.

Durability zonation standard of concrete structure design

Durability zonation standard （DZS） is proposed to provide useful parameters for durable concrete structure design. It deals not only with the influence of environment on structures, but also with types, functions and importance of structures based on the theory of life cycle cost（LCC）. First, the basic concept of DZS for concrete structure design is defined. Then the basic principles for DZS are established. The factors for zonation according to natural environmental conditions and structural importance are identified. The usefulness of DZS by citing a real application for concrete highway bridges in Zhejiang Province is demonstrated. Finally, durability regulations are provided accordingly to zonation.

Pollutant emission reduction effect through effluent tax,concentration-based effluent standard,or both

There are numerous studies comparing different kinds of environmental taxes and standards.However,forms of environmental standards focused by former researchers are usually quantitybased limits/standards(e.g.pounds per day or pounds per unit of output).Concentration-based emission standard(e.g.milligrams per liter of wastewater) as one important form of environmental standard has not been given much attention.In this article,comparable estimates of their probable effect on enterprise pollution reduction will be developed for concentrationbased effluent standards,effluent taxes,and a combination of both.A linear simulation model is used to clearly and obviously compare the effects of effluent taxes and concentration-based standards within the same figure.With one detailed application to the paper industry,some enlightenment and conclusions-as well as the general applicability of these principles-are then provided:Under the same effluent tax rate,enterprises,groups,and industries that are cleaner will reduce more pollutants than those that have higher pollutant abatement costs.It is recommended that effluent taxes are set by avoiding cutting it even at one stroke and considering the feasibility of pollution-reducing technology in various industries.It is necessary to reduce MAC of enterprises to better stimulate enterprises' or industries' emission reduction by preferential measures,such as high tax rate coordinated by speeding up the depreciation of environmental protection equipment.

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.

Evaluation of Energy-Efficiency Standards for Room Air Conditioners in the US

This article describes an analysis of the energy and economic impacts of possible energy efficiency standards for room air conditioners on both U.S. consumers and the nation as a whole. We used two metrics to determine the effect of standards on a representative sample of U.S. consumers: life-cycle cost change and payback period. For the national impact analysis, we evaluated national energy savings attributable to each potential standard, the monetary value of the energy savings to consumers of room air conditioners, the increased total installed costs because of standards, and the net present value of the difference between the value of energy savings and increased total installed costs. Our analysis indicates that standards for room air conditioners at efficiency level 3, which is 17% more efficient than today’s typical unit in the case of room air conditioners less than 6000 Btu/h with louvers and 12% more efficient in the case of room air conditioners 8000 - 13,999 Btu/h with louvers, would save close to one quad of energy over 30 years and have a net present value of consumer benefit of between ?$0.14 billion and $1.82 billion, depending on the discount rate. In addition, such standards would reduce carbon dioxide emissions and NOx emissions.

The Market Reaction to the Pronouncements Related to International Accounting Standards （IAS） 19R

This paper examines whether and how investors reacted to the pronouncements related to International Accounting Standards （IAS） 19R. Using a sample of 401 European firms reporting pension and retirement expense during the period of 2006-2011, this paper finds negative abnormal returns around the pension project initiation by the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB）. More importantly, the abnormal returns are more negative for firms with higher financial leverage and lower ratios of net periodic pension cost to net income, but less negative for firms in countries with weak creditor rights （CR） and infrequent use of the corridor approach under IAS 19. Additionally, the effects of financial leverage and the ratio of net periodic pension cost to net income on the abnormal returns are more pronounced for smaller firms. Overall, the results are consistent with the view that recognition of previously disclosed off-balance-sheet pension liabilities as required by IAS 19R increases debt contracting costs, and highlight the importance of considering firm size and CR in international tests of debt contracting theory.

THE PASSIVHAUS STANDARD IN THE MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE:EVALUATION,COMPARISON AND PROFITABILITY

INTRODUCTION One of the main environmental problems faced by the global community in the twenty-first century is unquestionably the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions(Fuller and Crawford 2011).To face this challenge,the European Union(EU)has set the so-called 2020 Horizon as one of its main objectives:limiting the emission of greenhouse gas emissions by 20%,satisfying 20%of all energy needs through renewable sources,and improving energy efficiency by 20%(The Euro-pean Union 2012).The last projection forecast in 2012 by the European Envi-ronmental Agency(EEA)established that Spain was one of the countries in the EU furthest from reaching these objectives(The European Union 2013).As a result,implementing measures devised to meet the 2020 objectives is currently a priority for the Spanish government.In recent decades,the housing sector has played a decisive role in increas-ing global energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions(Nejat et al.2015).In 2014 Spain’s housing sector’s energy consumption needs represented 19%of total national consumption and 31%of the electricity demand(IDAE 2013).Starting from the design phase,reduction in energy consumption per square meter has become a prerequisite for the majority of buildings(Parameshwaran et al.2012;Koo et al.2014).The importance and urgency exhibited by the EU housing sector in achiev-ing the government objectives outlined in the 2020 Horizon have led the energy market to show a clear trend towards buildings with higher energy performance in the future(Shimschar et al.2011).Similarly,the success factor of energy efficiency initiatives will depend to a large degree on the method or the indica-tors used when measuring energy performance in each building(Abu Bakar et al.2015;Day and Gunderson 2015).As a result,selecting one energy evaluation methodology over another can be decisive in the path taken by Spain,change the current perception of the country,and increase Spain’s standing within the EU.Several studies(Feist et al.2005;Schnieders and Hermelink 2006;Mahdavi and Doppelbauer 2010;Mlakar and Strancar 2011;Hatt et al.2012;Dahlstrøm et al.2012;Dequaire 2012;Proietti et al.2013;Ridley et al.2013;Stoian et al.2013;Moran et al.2014;O’Kelly et al.2014)indicate that the Passivhaus standard(PS)can be used as a highly effective tool in both limiting greenhouse gas emissions and increasing building energy efficiency.Other studies(Audenaert et al.2008;Moeseke 2011;Allacker and De Troyer 2013;McLeod et al.2013;Mlecnik 2013;Stephan et al.2013)challenge the adoption of the PS because they consider other options within the energy market to be better from both environmental and financial perspectives.Nonetheless,the precursors to the PS claim that the benefits of the standard can be replicated in any part of the world through its use during the design phase(Feist 2014;Passive House Institute 2010,2015;Passipedia 2015).The main objective of this study was to analyze the viability of using PS through the Passive House Planning Package(PHPP)tool in the Spanish housing sector,focusing on its use in the Mediterranean climate in the Province of Barcelona.To that end,we selected an isolated semidetached home,that exhibits the typical characteristics of current Spanish housing so that any possible deficiencies or virtues of adopting the PS are easily observable.The study was conducted using 3 construction proposals(PC,P1,and P2);the initial proposal(PC)is defined by conventional construction technology,while the remaining 2 proposals(P1 and P2)offer different construction alternatives focused on optimization(window glass,the building envelope,and improved installations),enabling evaluation of the PS criteria compliance.To test the ease of obtaining PS compliance without the need for changing the architectural design of the project,the design and space distribution of the PC alternative remained the same for the P1 and P2 options.

论中国数据跨境制度的现状、问题与纾困路径

中国已经建立了以“安全评估、标准合同、保护认证”为核心、以行业规定为配套的数据跨境制度体系,形成了既保安全又促发展的中国方案。但在具体立法中,该制度在理论与实践上存在双重失衡,在理论上缺乏完善的基础理论支撑,在实践中未能形成系统完整的制度体系,且其在适用关系上出现龃龉,与国际规则之间也存在割裂导致难以衔接,致使数据处理者在合规实践中面临较大成本,难以获得预期成效。不同于美国的“市场话语”和欧盟“权利本位”的数据跨境理论基础,中国应当基于国情明确利益平衡体系下的数据主权理论建构数据出境制度体系,矫正实践中过度保障安全的规制思路,通过单列安全评估、制定行业性与地方性特殊制度等措施,完善相关制度之间、国内法与国际规则之间的适用衔接,着力降低合规成本,保障制度落到实处。

工程造价改革背景下造价数据库建设研究

工程造价数据库是本次工程造价改革后进行工程计价的依据之一。针对逐步停止发布预算定额、按照造价数据库等进行计价的造价改革要求,文章对国内现有的造价数据库建设情况进行了研究,梳理了造价数据收集、标准编制、数据库开发、数据库输出等现状,指出了其中存在的数据来源不稳定、数据标准不全、数据库建设缺乏规划、造价数据利用率低等问题。对照造价改革背景下的造价数据库建设要求,文章研究提出造价数据库在投资估算、设计概算、最高投标限价、合同履约、工程结算等阶段的应用需求,以及相应的投标价格指数、材料价格指数、工程造价指标和工程量指标、各类市场价格信息等造价数据库成果需求,最后针对造价数据建设提出下一步做好造价数据库规划、加强造价数据标准编制、研究建立指标指数体系、开展造价数据库建设试点等多方面建议。

我国药学服务收费探索与现状分析

目的 总结中国药学服务收费的探索历程及现状,并结合国外实践进行分析,为中国药学服务收费相关政策的进一步完善提供参考。方法 检索国家及各省卫生健康委员会、医疗保障局的官方网站,归纳中国药学服务收费相关政策的变革及各省最新的药学服务收费政策。同时检索中国国家知识基础设施(CNKI)、维普中文科技期刊数据库、Pubmed等数据库,总结关于药学服务收费相关研究。结果 国内关于药学服务成本测算和收费标准的研究较多,但多集中在药房调剂服务,对具体药学服务的技术劳务价值探讨较少,国外这方面研究相对较多。目前国内共8个省和1个直辖市公布了药学类医疗服务价格项目,收费项目、收费标准、医疗保险支付比例及监测评估指标各有差异。结论 将药学服务收费纳入国家医疗服务价格体系是对药学服务转型和药师价值的认可,但尚在起步阶段,仍有完善和改进空间。

大数据分析在医院成本管理中的应用研究

在大数据背景下,医院成本管理普遍存在成本数据缺乏精准性、分析应用能力不足及成本控制手段欠缺等问题,应将大数据分析和医院成本管理有效结合,建立医院成本数据仓库,采用数据挖掘手段分析医疗业务与成本数据的关联性,提高医院成本管理能力,促进医疗业务和财务管理融合,加快医疗行业成本管理的发展。

生产标准化与农业规模生产的范围选择

农业规模化经营是我国实现农业现代化的重要途径,而规模化生产过程中雇佣劳动力的监督问题,使得规模化经营者在选择雇佣经营或外包经营时常常陷入两难境地。在监督困境不可避免且当下规模化经营势在必行之时,经营者可以将雇佣劳动力的监督成本视为其经营成本的一部分,通过对比成本创新与质量创新的成本收益,进行农业规模生产的范围选择。在成本-质量创新的双目标任务下,生产单位受农作物标准化生产程度的影响,标准化程度较高时,经营者有成本创新的偏好,其生产呈现出规模效应;反之,经营者更愿意追求质量创新,将生产范围缩小到农户家庭等较小的生产单位中去。