Customer Reviews

Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing: A Simpler and More Powerful Path to Higher Profits

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Activity-based costing was introduced in the 1980s to correct the inaccurate allocation of overhead from standard cost systems, but activity-based costing systems were expensive to build, complex to sustain, and difficult to modify, according to Robert Kaplan and Steven Anderson in this book. According to the authors, Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing is simpler, cheaper and more powerful.

The authors' costing model assigns resource costs directly to resource objects. Firstly, a capacity cost rate is calculated for each department or process, being the total cost of the resources used by the department or process divided by the time available from the employees conducting the work. Secondly, an estimate is made of the demand for resource capacity that each cost object requires. This makes it very easy to see how much it costs to serve a particular customer, or how much excess capacity there is in a department.

The value to a business in implementing a system of the type advocated by the authors will depend on the extent to which the activities of the business consist of standard processes and the extent of benefits gained from knowing the cost of serving individual customers. The system might be better suited to a manufacturing firm, in which the time taken for each process can be estimated accurately, than to a law firm, where the mysterious activities engaged in by attorneys might defy rational measurement.

In my opinion the main value of the book is in the first few chapters where the principles of the system are explained. The last half of the book contains a number of case studies which are likely to be of interest only to those who have businesses similar to one or more of those described in the case studies.

Activity-based costing can provide important insights; however, it also can be complex and difficult to implement and sustain. Time-driven activity-based costing more straightforwardly uses time as the primary metric for assessing costs, since almost all costs have a time dimension. Robert S. Kaplan and Steven R. Anderson provide a thorough, if highly technical, introduction to time-driven activity-based costing. Chapter by chapter, they show readers how to estimate process times, calculate capacity cost ratios, and plan and implement a TDABC system. Their detailed case studies illustrate the benefits of this clear, sophisticated tactic for budgeting, cost management, process improvement, benchmarking and acquisition evaluations. getAbstract thinks their book will be important to any executive, manager or academician who must understand operational costs.

This is the book that I have been waiting for a long time. It addresses the major issues about the calculation of the resource drivers. Because it is based on linear regression model, it has a more scientific base than the previous ABC method. It can also be easily integrated into dynamic Activity-Based Costing Simulation model.

This book has given me a great insight in an easier way to allocate resources down to costumers and products using Time-driven cost driver rates.

However, I am a bit sceptical about the Capacity Cost rate, which seems to be the key element to this models success... especially the way the authors describes the way to calculate this rate.. But with some methodical procedure behing when implementing the model, it is possible to get good results.... that's my experience

All in all, it is a great book about the fundamentals when wanting to use TDABC in your business.

Product purchase acknowldgement was near immediate, billing timely, receipt of product within three days and the exact product ordered received. Excellent.