Activity-based Cost Management: An Executive's Guide 1st Edition

useful for a paratransit paper I'm writing on cost-allocation both for measuring costs and for charging out. Gives a solid basis for identifying variables which are major cost drivers and assigning individual cost categories to those drivers.

ABC is a myth, unless you do cost accounting for the government with make-believe revenue.

cost management explained well

The author did a good job of coming up with a user friendly book on Activity-Based Costing (ABC). ABC is critical in alerting managers of the major and subsidiary drivers of costs. Many companies, large and small, have benefited from employing ABC techniques.The author methodically and succinctly discusses and explains activity based-costing, a management planning tool aimed at discovering what your true costs are by essentially assigning overhead costs to products and customers. The idea is that the more you know about your costs, the better able to compete.The author rarely speaks down to his audience. In fact, Gary Cokins is able to continually build on what is presented previously in the book without endless looping. This makes the book readable by both the expert and novice in accounting. The novice will benefit from the detailed introduction into the concept of ABC. The author then methodically explains how costs can be allocated to products and services.This is a recommended book that helps the reader to learn and comprehend the important technique of ABC that should enable companies to eliminate hidden costs and be more efficient and competitive.

This is an excellent, informative, easy-to-read reference book. I refer to it as a reference book as opposed to an end-to-end text book because you don't have to start at the beginning and read the chapters sequentially in order to understand what you are reading. In today's business world of capitalilzing on your supply chain by measuring internal processes as well as customer/vendor performances, executives need a tool such as this book to use as a quick "help desk" to learn how to measure complete processes to see how profitably resources are being deployed. Having a tool that explains how to figure out which of your customers, vendors, and internal processes are profitable to your business is invaluable.

It's been six years since Cokins last book on Activity-Based Cost Management (ABC/M) and times have changed.In his latest effort, this internationally recognized expert, explains how ABC/M can be used to map your customers' and prospects' preferences back to your organizations business processes, develop a lean accounting system and remove waste and redundancy. With the system's output, the author says, managers will make balanced scorecard performance measurements, project and quality decisions.Cokin avoids technical jargon when he explains the theory and its formulas. Although the system is complex, Cokin remains down-to-earth and pointed in his analysis.

Gary has consistently led the pack by not only illustrating the realities and benefits of ABC, but by explaining how to apply and develop it within new and emerging integrated management environments. This book addresses issues such as Strategic Cost Management, TOC and Capacity management to show how these multiple and complimentary methodologies can be harmonized. Another winner !Rod MacPhersonPresident,StratiSys Consulting Inc.

As a matter of fact, I have only read the three first chapters of the book, because my objective was to have an overview of the subject. In this sense, I would for sure give 5 stars to the book, and recommend it for every manager that should have not only and overview of ABC/M, but also would be looking for valuable insights regarding the implementation of ABC/M initiatives.