ACCA考试《F5业绩管理》重点知识辅导10

1.7 The implications of switching to ABC

The use of ABC has potentially significant commercial implications:

§ Pricing can be based on more realistic costs data.

- The traditional method of absorption of overheads into unit costs on a volume basis may be misleading, with the result that product costs can, potentially, be materially under/overstated.

- Thus, where cost plus pricing is in use, products that have been materially under-costed may be priced at levels that generate a loss whilst products that have been materially over-costed many be priced at levels that are uncompetitive.

§ Sales strategy can be more soundly based.

- More realistic product costs as a result of the use of ABC may enable sales staff to:

- target customers that appeared unprofitable using absorption costing but may be profitable under ABC

- stop targeting customers or market segments that are now shown to offer low or negative sales margins.

- Front line sales staff will be able to negotiate prices with greater confidence中 华 考 试 网

- ABC can be used to review the profitability of products and services with a view to focussing the efforts of sales staff upon those products and services which offer the highest sales margins.

§ Performance management and decision making can be improved

- Research, production and sales effort can be directed towards those products and services which ABC has identified as offering the highest sales margins.

- ABC can influence decisions as to which:

- new products/services to develop

- existing products/services to curtail or drop

- products/services should be promoted

- overhead costs to target.

Test your understanding

Identify for a hospital x-ray department possible cost drivers for the following activities:

§ equipment preparation

§ patient preparation

§ patient aftercare

§ film processing

§ film reporting