外文文献作业成本法

InternationalJournalofManagementVol.29No.1Part1Mar201219

InformationUsefulnessandUsageinBusinessDecision-Making:AnActivity-BasedCosting(ABC)PerspectiveNurNahaAbuMansor

UniversityTechnologyofMalaysia,Malaysia

MichaelTayles

UniversityofHull,UnitedKingdom

RichardPike

BradfordUniversity,UnitedKingdom

Activity-basedcosting(ABC)aninformationsystemdevelopedinthe1980stoovercomesomeofthelimitationsoftraditionalcostaccountingandtoenhanceitsusefulnessinstrategicdecision-making.Theobjectiveofthestudyisfndouthowmanagersfeelaboutactivity-basedcosting,especiallyhowusefultheybelieveitisinprovidinginformationandinhelpingthemtomakebetterdecisions.Datawascollectedbymeansofane-mailedquestionnairesentoutto181ABCusersconsistingofexecutivesatalargetelecommunicationcompanyinSouthEastAsia.ABCuserswereasked24itemswhichassessedtheirperceptionsoftheinformationusefulnessandeffectsondecisionmakingofABCusage.Descriptiveanalysisonthefm'sexperienceswiththeusefulnessofABCinformationindifferentbusinessprocessesandhowABCinformationchangeddecisionsispresented.Respondents'wereaskedtoindicatethesignifcanceofchangesmadeasaresultofABCsiteimplementation.Usingthismeasure,whenanABCimplementationcausesastrongchangeindecisions,itisviewedasbeingsuccessful;whenitcauseslesschangeindecisions,itisviewedasnotbeingsuccessful.Italsoreportsontheorganisation'susefulnessofABCinformationindifferentbusinessprocesses.ByviewinganABCsystemasanenablertoimprovetheoperationsbusinessprocessesanddecisions,itdemonstratesthatthesesystemsenableexecutiveandmanagerstoenhancetheprocessofdecision-making.ThestudyfoundABCprovidedbetterinformationinareasofbudgetingandplanningandopportunitiesforimprovementinotherbusinessareas.InrelationtoABCmakingchangesinbusinessdecisions,thesewerelesssuccessfulinthevariousbusinessfunctions.TheimplicationsofthesefndingssharetheexperiencesofthepresentorganisationandtheirperceptionsontheusefulnessofABCinformationandwhereitstandsinchangingbusinessdecisionsintheiroperations

1.Introduction

ThemainpurposeofthisstudyistoreportontheperceptionsofABCusersinrelationtotheusefulnessofABCinformationusageandwhenABCimplementationcausesachangeinbusinessdecisions.FurthermoreitgivesinformationonthecharacteristicsofABCusers,suchastheirleveloftrainingandknowledgeaboutABCconcepts.

Thepaperisimportantfortworeasons.First,ABCatthetheoreticallevelisexpectedtohelpaSouthEastAsiatelecommunicationorganisationtoevaluatetheircostmanagement

practicesandhowthesesystemscouldsupporttheirdecisionprocesses.Hence,thestudy

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givessomeindicationsaboutthisorganisationefforttoseeingABCusefulnessintheirbusinessoperations.Secondly,besidethegreatdealofinterest,surveysconductedhaveshownthatthediffusionprocesshasbeenquitelowastowhyABCimplementations

seemtofail

ThestudycoversonelargeSouthEastAsiatelecommunicationprovider.Duetotheexploratorythemeofthisstudy,noformalhypothesesweretested.Rather,thepapergivessomedescriptivestatisticsthatoutlinethecurrentgeneraltrendsanduseofABCsystemsbytheorganisation.Thepaperisdividedintofvesections.SectiontwoprovidesthetheoreticalbackgroundforthestudywhichincludesABCimplementationandsuccess;sectionthreedescribesthepopulationselected.Sectionfourreportsanddiscussestheresultsachieved;andthefnalsectionconcludeswithasummaryoftheresultsanda

discussionofthelimitations.

2.TheRelevantLiterature

ABCImplementation

Formanydecades,managementaccountinghadincreasinglydedicateditseffortinensuringthatfnancialaccountingstandardsweresatisfedandcostingproceduresweremet(GarrisonandNoreen,2000).Anumberofrecentlydevelopedmanagementaccountingtechniques,suchasABC,productlifecycleanalysis,benchmarking,andvaluechainanalysis,havebeensuggestedaswaysoflinkingoperationswithcompanystrategiesandobjectives(ChenhallandLangfeld-Smith,1999).Thesetechniqueshavenotonlyincreasedthelevelofcompetitivenessandcompanies'strengths,theyhavegainedahighprofleinenhancingproductcostaccuracy(CooperandKaplan,1987),andprovidedcomprehensivecostdataforperformanceevaluation(Joshi,1998).JohnsonandKaplan(1987,p.1)madethisobservation,"Today'smanagementaccountinginformationdrivenbyproceduresandcyclesoftheorganisation'sfnancialreportingsystem,istoolate,tooaggregated,andtoodistortedtoberelevantformanagersplanningandcontrol

decision”

ABCanditsderavitieshavenowenjoyedalmostadecadeofhighprofle.Inadditiontoitsapplication,itsadoptionandapplicationbeusedbypublicutilities,wholesaleandretailorganizationsandbyarangeofservicefrms(InnesandMitchell,1995;Innesetal.,2000,DruryandTayles,2000)Anumberofrecentadvancesinthetheoryofmanagementaccountingandorganisationalchange(Burns,2000),andinunderstandingthespreadandgrowthofABCandABM(Armstrong,2002;JonesandDugdale,2002),offernewopportunitiesthatareunexploredintheareaofindirectcosts(Soinetal.,2002).

TheparadigmofABChashelpedmanyorganisationsimprovetheircompetitivenessbyenablingthemtomakebetterdecisionsbasedonbetterunderstandingoftheircoststructure.ABCstartedinthe1980stomeettheneedformoreaccurateinformationonresourcedemandsbyindividualproducts,services,customers,andchannels.KaplanandCooper(1998)indicateABCsystemsenabledindirectandsupportexpensestobedriven,frsttoactivitiesandprocesses,andthentoproducts,services,andcustomers.Thesystemsgavemanagersaclearerpictureoftheeconomicsoftheiroperations.Intechnicalterm,

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ABCaimstodetermineanaccuratecosttrailbetweenresourcesandcostobjects.Thecosttrailisaccomplishedusingtwostages:1)involvestransformationofgeneralledger

costsintoactivitycostsand2)transformsactivitycostsintoproductcosts.

ABCdistinctbetweenthetraditionalcostaccountingisasfollows:traditionalcost-accountingtechniquesallocatecoststoproductsbasedonattributesofasingleunit.Attributesincludethenumberofdirectlabourhoursrequiredtomanufactureaunite.g.purchasecostofmerchandiseresold,oranumberofdaysoccupied.Allocations,therefore,varydirectlywiththevolumeofunitsproduced,costofmerchandisesold,ordaysoccupiedbythecustomer.Incontrast,ABCsystemsfocusonactivitiesrequiredtoproduceeachproductorservice'sconsumptionsoftheactivities.

ByusingABC,overheadcostsaretracedtoproductsorservicesbyidentifyingtheresources,activitiesandtheircostsandquantitiestoproduceoutput.Aunitofoutput(adriver)isusedtocalculatethecostofeachactivity.Costistracedtotheproductorservicebydetermininghowmanyunitsofoutputeachactivityconsumedduringany

givenperiodoftime.

TheliteratureonABCinthepasttwodecadeshasfeaturedABCinanumberofperspectives.Theseincludethedriversofadoption(Anderson,1995;Gosselin,1997;AndersonandYoung,1999;Andersonetal.,2002),factorsassociatedwithsuccessfuimplementation(InnesandMitchell,1995;Shields,1995;FosterandSwenson,1997;McGowanandKlammer,1997;Innesetal.,2000,Cottonetal.,2003)andoutcomesthathavebeenassociatedwithABCadoption(BhimaniandPigott,1992;Friedmanand

Lyne,1997,CagwinandBouwman,2002).

Againstthisbackground,theimplementationofABCfacestremendouschallenges.ThereistheneedforevaluationsofABConceimplemented.LiteraturesonABCsuccesscoversawidevaryofsuccessmeasuresbeingusedthatshallbethenextdiscussionofthisstudy.

ABCSuccess

SuccessofABChaslongbeenquestioned.ItisuptotheorganisationtoevaluatewhethertheimplementationofABCispredominantlysuccessful.AsShields(1995)explains,ABCsuccessrelatesto,

“Providingadefnitionof[ABCsuccess]wasproblematic,astheliteratureisvagueaboutwhatconstitutessuccess,anddiscussionswithABCexpertsduringconstructionofthesurveydidnotresultinconsensusaboutatangibledefnition.Forexample,successcanincludetopmanagementnotrejectingit,animplementationofABCperse,useofABCinformationbynon-accountants,gainingcompetitiveadvantageandprovidingadditionalprofts.Thus,theapproach[we]adoptedwastolettherespondentratethedegreeofsuccesswithwhateverdefnitionheorshedeemedrelevant.Futureresearchcanattempttocataloguethevariousdefnitionsortypesofsuccess.”

ABCcanbeappliedtomanyaspectsofbusiness.AstudybyFosterandSwenson(1997)surveyindicatedthatABC/Mwasusedmorefordecision-makingforidentifying

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opportunitiesforimprovement,productmanagementdecisions,anddrivingprocessimprovementdecisions.Secondly,inrelationtotheusageofABC/Mtoassistinmakingdecisions,theareaswiththegreatestchangesmadewereprocesses,pricingstrategy,componentparts,andstrategicfocus.

ResearcherssuchasSwenson(1995)lookedatthebeneftsofABCtothemanufacturingindustry.OneaspectofABCevaluationrelatedtothefrequencywithwhichABCinformationisusedtosupportdecisionmakingindifferentareasofthebusiness.ThestudyfoundbroadsupportforABC/Msystemsamongthesampledfrms.Theresultsrepresentedawidevarietyofindustries,andeachindustrydidgainbeneftinatleastonedimensionoftheABCsystem.Withoutexception,allrespondentsreportedanimprovementinatleastonedimensionoftheircostmanagementsystemsfollowingtheimplementationofABC.Therespondentsreportedthemostimprovementforproductcostingandcostcontrolefforts,buttheyalsoreportedsignifcantimprovementsintheirperformancemeasurementsystems.FollowingtheimplementationofABC,theyreportedhighlevelsofsatisfactionwiththeircostmanagementsystemchanges.

OtherresearchbyCagwinandBouwman(2002)investigatedtheimprovementsinfnancialperformancewiththeuseofABC,andtheconditionsunderwhichsuchimprovementsareachieved.Thefndingofthisstudyisalignedandconsistentwithstatementsofotherresearchersthatmanagementaccountingsystemsaremeanttobeeffcientinsupportingfrms'operationaleffectiveness(Granlund,1997;GranlundandLukka,1998).TherewasevidencesupportingpreviousanalyticalandtheoreticalresearchregardingtheconditionsfavourabletoobtainingbeneftsfromABC.ItshowedthatthereisapositiveassociationbetweenABCandimprovementinreturnoninvestment(ROI)whenABCisusedconcurrentlywithotherstrategicinitiatives,whenimplementedincomplexanddiversefrms,whenusedinenvironmentswherecostsarerelativelyimportant,andwhentherearelimitednumbersofintra-companytransactionstoconstrainbenefts.ABCcontributespositivebeneft,butnotinallfrmcircumstances.Furthermore,thereistheneedforthepractitionercommunitytohaveknowledgeoftheappropriateconditionsformaximisingtheeffcacyofABC.Thereisalsotheindicationthatotherenablingconditions(rmationtechnologysophistications,absenceofexcesscapacity,andacompetitiveenvironment)affecttheeffcacyofABC.ThereisalsoevidencethatthepreviouslyusedmeasuresofABCsuccess,satisfactionwithABC,andfnancialbeneftobtainedfromABC(Shields,1995;CagwinandBouman,2002;Cottonetal.,2003)arepredictorsofimprovementinfnancialperformance.

PastreviewonABCimplementationhasindicatedthattherelationshipbetweenABCimplementationfactorsandsuccessdimensionsofABCissomewhatmixed.Severalstudies(ie.Shields,1995;McGowanandKlammer,1997;Krumweide,1998;AndersonandYoung,2001;Andersonetal.,2002)haveproducedsignifcantsimilarresultsonsomeofthefactors,althoughtheymayvaryinsomeofthedimensions.TopmanagementsupportandadequacyoftrainingandeducationfordevelopersandusersseemtobethemostsignifcantimplementationfactorsinABCimplementation.WithrelationtoeffectiveABC,dimensionoforganisationsachievingfnancialbeneft(Shields,1995;

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CagwinandBouwman,2002;Cottonetal,2003),anduseofinformationindecision-makingandchangingbusinessdecisions(FosterandSwenson,1997;Innes,1999;GuptaandGalloway,2003)fguremostforevaluatingeffectiveABCimplementation

TheseimplementationsthusbringustowardsacknowledgingthatmanymeasuresofABCevaluationshavebeenused.Overall,theseliteratureshaveshownaprofoundinterestintheimportanceofABCevaluationsforeffectivesystems.

3.CaseBackground

AlargeprovideroftelecommunicationproductsandservicesinSouthEastAsiawentthroughcompanywideinterventionswhichinvolvedthedevelopmentandimplementationofABCsystems.Tobeginthestudy,243ABCusersacross16ABCsystemswereselected,eachrepresentingadifferentABCsystemsimplementation.Thesubjects'

chosenwereselectedbasedontheirexperienceswithusingtheABCsystemsintheirparticulardivision.Theseusersaremainlyexecutivesandmanageriallevelemployeesinthedivisions.Subsequently,asetofquestionnairescontaining14informationusageitemsand10businessdecisionitemsweresenttotheseusersacrossthe16ABCsystemsintheorganisation.Ofthe243questionnairesmailed,181(74.5%of243)werecompletedandreturned.Allquestionnaireswerecheckedforreliabilityofanswersandwereallusablequestionnaires.Basedonseveraldemographicdistributions,therepresentativenessofthesampleappearstobeadequate.Thefollowingsectionwilldiscusscharacteristicsoftherespondents.Thedistributionofthesecharacteristicsissodiversethatitallowsustousethesamplemeansastheestimatedaverageimportanceratingsontheentirepopulation.

SurveyDesign

Themethodologyemployedinthisstudywasacasestudyusingapostalsurvey.Yin

(1994,p.26)pointsoutthat

“Casestudyresearchisremarkablyhard,evenascasestudieshavetraditionallybeenconsideredtobe‘soft'research.Paradoxically,the'sofier'aresearchtechnique,the

harderitistodo.”

Yin(1994,p.13)defnesthecasestudyasanempiricalinquirywhere1)itinvestigatesacontemporaryphenomenonwithinitsreallifecontext,2)whentheboundarieswithinphenomenonandcontextarenotclearlyevident,andinwhich3)multiplesourcesareused.Acasestudyusuallyimpliesasingleunitofanalysisandisusuallyusedwiththetermfeldwork'(Ryanetal.,1992).AccordingtoYin(1994,p.3),inmanysituations,theuseofcasestudiesarisesoutofthedesiretounderstandcomplexsocialphenomena

Yinstates.

“Thecasestudyallowsaninvestigationtoretaintheholisticandmeaningfulcharacteristicsofreal-lifeevents-suchasindividuallifecycles,organisationalandmanagerialprocesses,neighbourhoodchange,internationalrelations,andthematuration

ofindustries.”

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Theinquiryrelatingtothecasestudyapproach1)copeswiththetechnicalitydistinctivesituationinwhichtherewillbemanymorevariablesofinterestthandatapointsand,asoneresult,2)reliesonmultiplesourcesofevidence,withdataneedingtoconvergeinatriangulatingfashionand,asanotherresult,3)beneftsfromthepriordevelopmentoftheoreticalpropositionstoguidedatacollectionandanalysis.(Yin,1994,p.13).

Inprinciple,thesurveyconsistsofthreeparts.ThequestionnairewasadaptedfromABCsurveyusedinFosterandSwenson(1997)onABCevaluationsintheUS.EachsurveysubjectwasaskedtoevaluatetheuseofABCinformationandABCinformationchangeindecisionactions.ThefrstpartaskrespondentstoratetheircurrentperceptionofusingABCinformationascomparedtotheirpreviouscostmanagementsystem,inthe14specifcdecisionareaslistedinTable1.RespondentswereaskedtorateABCinformationuseonameasurementscaleof“1”=Poor,to“”=Excellent.ThelatteraskedrespondentstoindicatethesignifcanceofchangesmadeasaresultofABCimplementationintheirparticulardivisionona10-itemconstruct.Thismeasurementusedafve-pointscale(“1”=Nochanges,to“5”=Verysignifcantchanges).Bothconstructs

weretestedforreliabilityofquestionsandprovetobeverysatisfactoryatthe0.95and0.98CronbachAlpha.Thethirdsectionseekstherespondent'seducationalbackground,

leveloftrainingprovidedandknowledgeofABCconcepts.

4.Results

CaseStudy:CompanyXYZ

Thisorganisationisbasedintheservicesectorandhasofficesthroughouttheworld.CompanyXYZisalargeorganisationthatdirectsitsbusinesstoprovidingtelecommunicationservices.InSouthEastAsiaithasdevelopedrapidly,andnowaccountsforalmost100%ofacountry'stelecommunicationindustry.Itsvisionistobethecommunicationscompanyofchoice-focusedondeliveringexceptionalvaluetoits

customersandotherstakeholders

Withitsmassivegrowthbothinservicesandmonetary,theintroductionofABCintheorganisationwastobeanenterprise-wideimplementation,withitsoriginalcontributionsolelymeantfortransferpricingpurposes.Currently,ABCisawidelyusedtooltoimprovestrategicprocessandproductpricing,mixdecisions,andtofacilitateproductandprocessimprovements.Inotherwords,ABCwasgearedmoretowardsoperationalexcellence.CompanyXYZwasagovernmentorganisationuntil1987,whenitwasprivatised,andthegovernmentstillholds33%oftheshares.Thecompanyprovidesatotalsolutiontotelecommunicationconsumersandalsotoitscompetitorsinprovidingtelecommunicationinfrastructure.In1995,duetoarestructuringexercise,themanagementdividedtheorganisationintothreebusinessunits:Telco(FixedTelephony),CellularandServiceCo(SupportServices).Indeedwiththechangesabouttooccur,theneedtohaveABCsystemsbeganhere-theirmainintentionforABCwassolelyfortransferpricingbetweentheseunits.

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ABCImplementation

ThewideimplementationofABCinXYZinvolved16divisionswhereallexistseparateABCsystemstosupporttheirbusinessoperations.ABCimplementationinXYZwasinitiallyusingthetpdown'approach,whereitsbusinesspurposewasmeantfortransferpricing.ThiswascarriedoutinmostoftheServiceCo.divisions.TheapproachforABCwasratherlessdetailedastowhytheyusedthe'tpdown'approach.Top-downapproachexplainswhatthingscostandissometimescalledthecostobjectview.Thisapproachisveryeffectiveatcapturinghowthediversityofthings,likedifferentproductsorvariouscustomers,canbedetectedandtheircostsreassignbyfrstmeasuringresourcesthroughtheirconsumingactivitiesandthenintotheformoffnalcostobject.Thetop-downapproachwasalsomainlyforlookingatproductandregulatorycosting.TheimplicationsforusingthetopdownapproachwastoallowXYZtohavea'birdeyes'viewofXYZoperationsinordertoseehowresourceswerebeingusedintheiractivities.Atthesametime,itwasmainlytoseecostcuttingofthenetworkfunctionsthatusesthebulkoftheoperatingcostsinCompanyXYZ.TheimplementationofABCusingthetop-downapproachinvolvedmostServiceCodivisionsandbottom-upapproachwaslaterruledouttoTelcodivisions.ABCimplementationinXYZinvolvedthreetypesofABCmodels:

1.Embeddedmodel(EM)-ThisisagenericABCmodeldesignedwithinaparticulatdivisionwiththeintentionofbeingapplicableforawiderangeofpurposes(e.g.transferpricing,operationalexcellence,improvingbusinessoperations,andbudgeting).Themodelisupdatedfrequently,andiscurrentlybeingintegratedintothecompany'sfnancialinformationsystem.

2.Stand-alonemodel(SAM)-Thisisagenericmodeldesignedfortransferpricing,

budgetingandimprovingbusinessoperations.Itislessfrequentlyupdated.

3.Adhocmodels(AHM)-Thismodelisquitesimplerandnormallydevelopedtomeetaparticularpurpose.Typically,itwilltakelesstimetodevelop,involvefewerstaff,andthedecisiontodevelopwillbetakenatalowermanageriallevel.Themodelsareneverupdatedandnoreviewisbeingmadeofthem

Inthiscompany,therearetwomainABCmodelsthatcanbeclassifedasEM.TheyaretheEMA1andEMA2models.Thesemodelsgothroughalongerperiodofdevelopmentprocessandnormallyrequiretheassistanceofconsultants.McKinseyConsultingrecommendedimplementingABCinXYZin1995duringarestructuringexerciseinvolvingXYZasawhole.ThemainreasonforABCimplementationatthattimewasfortransferpricing-toestablishratesforServiceCosothatitcouldtransferi'scosttorespectiveserviceusersinTelcoandCellular.ThepurposeoftransferpricinginXYZinitiallywasduetotherestructuringprocessinvolvedhowmuchinproftandlossforeachparticulardivision.

OneofthebiggerimplementationsofABCwasinEMA2.TheABCdivision

implementationwasoriginallystartedinEMA2,andthenwasfurtherdevelopedin

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EMA1onalargerscalecomparedtothelatter.ForEMA1,themainpurposeofABCwasforoperationalexcellence.AlthoughABCwasoriginallyusedfortransferpricing,itsimplementationisonabiggerscale,requiringmorestakeholdersandwell-experiencedaccountants,andthedevelopmentprocessforthemodelscoversawidergeographicalareaforitsimplementation.ThisisbecauseEMA1operationsareverycriticaltothesuccessofXYZoperations.Furthermore,theEMA1teammembersarelikelytobeseenasmoreprominentinthedevelopmentprocess.

InthecaseofAHMs,ABCimplementationissolelyintendedfortransferpricing.Sometimes,theaccountantsrelatethead-hocmodelsasone-offmodels'.Normally,theprocessofABCinAHMsoperatesinawaywhere,frstly,aparticulardivisionrequestsforanABCexercisetobeperformed.Thecostmanagementdivisionwillpursuetherequestandastudyofcostingontheparticulardivisionwillbeconducted.Fromhere,theaccountantswillgenerateafowofprocessactivitiesofaparticulardivisionandanoutputwillbegenerated.Itisaverysimpleprocess,sometimeslastingfromjustonedaytofvemonths.ThebigdifferenceintimeframeofdevelopmentisaresultofhowlocalmanagementandcostmanagementassignstheABCproject.SomedivisionsrequestforsmallerABCsystemstobeimplementedandsomebiggerones.Allthisdependsonitscomplexityofbusinessactivities.Forexample,acostingexerciseperformedonAHM1outsourcingofaparticularspareparttoPERNAC'.ABCwasusedtocalculateandanalysetheoutsourcingcostofsparepartsmanagement,ofwhichwillbeusedtoverifytheamountproposedbyPERNACatRM70perset.ThecostingexerciserevealedthatAHM1isbetterofusingaproductoflowercostforamorereliable,durable,andwithlowermaintenancecostratherthanmaintainingtheoutsourcingtoPERNAC.

Theteammembersarenormallychosenfromrepresentativesfromtheparticulardivision.Theyworkonapart-timebasis,wheretheyareconsideredworkingteammembers,andregularmeetingsareheldtogenerategeneralinformationandcostinformationfromthesedivisions.Whenmeetingsareheld,questionspertainingtocostsystemdesignandoutputtobegeneratedarediscussed.Theusersofthesesystemsaretheaccountants,andtheygeneratereportstodivisiongeneralmanagersforthedecision-makingprocess.TheAHMsareoperatedmanuallyandnointegrationintothefnancialsystemisinplace.Futureplansforenhancementandintegrationarebeingconsidered.TherearesomeoftheAHMswhereenhancementandredesignarecarriedouttowardstheirbusinessprocessduetochangingbusinessandprocessdemands.ItisamatteroftimebeforesomeoftheAHMswillbedevelopedonalargerscale.

However,SAMsaremodelsthatarequitesimilartoEMs.Similar,inthesenseoftheirpurposesfordevelopment,buttheirfrequencyforupdatingandreviewisless.Thesetypesofmodelsaredevelopedwiththesameconcept,asEMs,buttheinvolvementofengineersandaccountantsareless.

ABCUsers’Background

WenowturntoconsidertheusersofABCmodelsinrelationtotheirbackgrounds.A

majority(80percent)ofABCuserspossessaBachelor'sdegree.Inrelationtothelevel

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oftrainingprovidedtotheusersforusingABC,themajorityofrespondents(morethan80percent)learnABCthroughon-the-jobtraining.IntermsofABCusers'knowledgeofgeneralconceptsofABC,70percentofrespondentsunderstandbasicABCconcepts.Asmallpercentage(10percent)hadheardofABC,butdidnotknowmuchaboutit.Almost20percentfeltthattheyknewagreatdealaboutABCbutfewerthan5percentfeltthattheywereABCexperts,andwouldbeabletoguideotherusersinusing

ABC.Itwasfoundthatmorethan65percentofrespondentsstatedtheyhadageneralunderstandingofABCwithintheirdivision.Twentytwopercentofusersclaimedtoknowagreatdealaboutthedivision'simplementationofABC,verysmallpercentageregardedthemselvesasexpertsinABC,whilealmost10percentwereawareofABCimplementationintheirparticulardivision.

UsefulnessofABCInformation

WithrespecttotheuseofABCinformation,therespondentsrevealedtheywerefavourabletowardsABCinprovidingbetterinformationusageascomparedtotheirtraditionalcostmanagementsystem(overallmean=3.62).Ingeneral,ABC