Abstract: With the development of China's economy and the deepening of social informatization, the traditional cost accounting method can no longer meet the requirements of cost accounting, and its disadvantages are also constantly highlighted. Therefore, it is urgent to innovate cost accounting methods. As a more accurate and objective cost calculation method-activity-based costing, its application has become the general trend. Therefore, starting with the comparison between activity-based costing and traditional cost accounting methods, this paper expounds the construction of activity-based costing accounting system in detail.
As we all know, the traditional cost accounting method can't meet the requirements of economic development because of various factors, and it can't provide more accurate cost information for enterprise managers and affect their business decisions. In the fierce market competition environment, enterprises must strengthen cost accounting, improve the accuracy of cost accounting and enhance market competitiveness if they want to be invincible. Therefore, it is imperative to innovate enterprise cost accounting methods. Activity-based costing, as a more accurate, objective and effective cost accounting method, overcomes the shortcomings of traditional cost accounting methods, links the distribution of costs with the causes of costs, summarizes and allocates costs according to the causes of costs, makes the distribution of indirect costs more accurate, greatly improves the traceability of costs, and provides more objective and effective cost information for enterprise decision-making. Starting with the basic connotation of activity-based costing, based on the analysis of activity-based costing and traditional cost accounting methods, this paper expounds the necessity, principles, construction procedures and a series of measures of how to construct activity-based costing.
First of all, the meaning of activity-based costing and its difference from traditional costing.
1. The meaning of activity-based costing
Activity refers to all economic activities of an enterprise in the process of product manufacturing and service provision. Activity-based costing (ABC), also known as activity-based costing, is a cost calculation and management method that measures the cost of activities and cost objects, and evaluates the performance of activities and the utilization rate of resources by tracking and dynamically reflecting all activities. Basically, it is an indirect cost allocation method, which centers on activities, allocates the cost of resources to activities according to the consumption of resources by activities, and finally allocates the cost to products and services according to the amount of activities consumed by products and services. Compared with the traditional method of allocating indirect costs according to the proportion of production working hours, fixed working hours, machine working hours and direct labor costs, activity-based costing can undoubtedly provide more accurate cost information. It is a new cost management method that rose in the United States, Britain, Japan and other western developed countries in the 1980s. This method is increasingly combined with new management concepts and methods, such as activity-based management (ABM), just-in-time management (JIT) and total quality management (TQM), in order to meet the needs of the great changes in the modern market economy environment and science and technology environment. The implementation of activity-based costing is of great practical value for enterprises to introduce market mechanism, strengthen internal responsibility system, formulate correct price strategy and competitive strategy, and strengthen strategic management of enterprises.
2. The difference between activity-based costing and traditional costing.
(1) emphasis: traditional cost method pays attention to cost; Activity-based costing takes activity as the center. Traditional cost management methods usually do not distinguish the costs that enterprises spend to attract and retain different customers. The analysis results generally show that the income contribution rate of big customers is high and that of small customers is low. In fact, the cost that enterprises spend for different customers is very different. Some customers have large transaction volume, stable demand, low requirements for products and services, and low cost; However, although some customers have a large transaction volume, their demand fluctuates greatly, they have high requirements for products and services, and they often complain. Enterprises need to invest a lot of manpower and material resources to sell and serve such customers, and the cost of these customers is very high. After implementing the activity-based costing management method, the marketing department can make corresponding decisions: customers with high income contribution rate can appropriately increase their costs to win and maintain, and customers with low income contribution rate can make appropriate choices, or change their working methods to reduce costs, so that the income contribution rate of such customers can reach the due level.
(2) Division of responsibilities: The traditional cost method generally takes the department (or production line) as the responsibility center and the controllable cost of the department as the object; Activity-based costing divides responsibilities by the value chain formed by activities and related activities, and takes the value chain as the responsibility control unit, which transcends departmental boundaries.
(3) Selection of control standard: The traditional cost method takes the level that the enterprise can actually reach as the control standard, which is relatively stable and is the level that the enterprise can actually reach, rather than the highest level standard; Activity-based costing takes the cost of actual activity capacity (the highest output level that can be achieved without considering realistic inefficiency and technical failures, defects, waste products, abnormal shutdown and other factors), that is, the optimal or ideal cost as the control standard.
(4) The determination of the appraisal object and the cash method of rewards and punishments: The traditional cost method takes whether or not the standards are met and the degree of standards as the assessment basis, and rewards and punishments are given to departments and relevant responsible persons; Activity-based costing takes the achievement of eliminating waste and the degree close to the optimal standard as its performance. The achieved performance can be measured by financial indicators or non-financial indicators, and the performers of various operations in the activity chain, that is, "team" (rather than "a department or a person in charge") are rewarded and punished.
(5) Attitude towards non-value-added costs: traditional cost method ignores non-value-added costs; Activity-based costing attaches great importance to non-value-added costs and constantly eliminates non-value-added costs. Value-added service refers to the business that brings added value to customers and profits to enterprises. Such as personal financial services and consulting services of banks; Non-value-added services are provided for the normal operation of products. Such as inquiry service for deposit customers and settlement service for loan customers.
Second, the necessity of constructing activity-based costing accounting system
1. The scope of traditional cost accounting methods is relatively narrow.
With the continuous development of science and economy, today's society has entered the era of knowledge and information, and intellectual resources have become the most important factor, so the utilization of intellectual resources should be included in the cost of products or services. However, the current cost accounting system does not take this into account, and it is generally classified as management expenses rather than product costs. In the era of knowledge economy, this division and calculation method can not adapt to the connotation of cost.
2. Distorted cost information
We must ensure the authenticity of cost information, which plays a vital role in the development of enterprises. However, under the traditional cost accounting method, the cost information has been partially distorted. For example, under the traditional cost management method, the depreciation of fixed assets is shared among all products according to the number of people or business volume at the end of the accounting period; The wages of personnel are shared according to the output in the products of their respective departments. As a result of this distribution, traditional products will be allocated more expenses and the cost will be higher accordingly because they belong to large-scale standardized products. For intermediate business products, because they are special products in small batches, the distribution cost is less. In addition, it is difficult to confirm the quantitative standards of some intermediate business products, and some expenses are not even allocated to intermediate business products, resulting in relatively low cost of such products or only income without cost. Therefore, the traditional cost method can not fully and accurately reflect the cost information.
3. Advantages of activity-based costing
Be able to identify the most valuable customers, products and channels; Be able to identify unprofitable customers, products and channels; Be able to discover the real contributors and saboteurs of the organization's financial performance; According to the changes of production output, organizational structure and resource cost, the cost, profit and resource demand can be accurately predicted; Be able to find the root cause of poor financial performance; Ability to track activities and processes that generate costs; It can improve the bargaining power of enterprises. Through the application of activity-based costing, enterprises will have inherent competitive cost advantages, and constantly enhance shareholder value and customer value.
Third, the construction of activity-based costing accounting system needs attention
For the construction of activity-based costing accounting system, we must first determine its accounting elements, then understand the principles it follows, and finally build a reasonable treatment plan.
1. Accounting Elements
The scope elements of activity-based costing accounting should be different according to their scope:
(1) From the elements of activity content, it is necessary to clarify all accounting contents contained in activity cost. Theoretically, it should include all the elements contained in traditional cost accounting methods, as well as some sales and management expenses, product design and research and development expenses. In fact, enterprises will encounter various practical problems in the initial stage of implementing ABC, and they should also consider the connection between the current financial system and ABC. Therefore, in the initial stage, traditional methods can be used to determine the cost elements as the accounting elements of activity-based costing. For some costs that are difficult to quantify, we can gradually bring them into the accounting scope in the process of implementing activity-based costing.
(2) From the time factor, the accounting period of activity-based costing should be reasonably determined according to the actual situation of the enterprise. Mainly based on the actual business ability of the enterprise, the enterprise can determine the accounting period quarterly in the initial implementation stage, conduct activity-based cost accounting on products quarterly, compare the results of the two accounting methods, and prepare internal reports and external reports respectively; If the ability can't meet the requirements of activity-based costing every quarter, the accounting period can be determined as half a year or one year. Finally, the results of the two accounting methods are analyzed to find out the differences, and then the original accounting system is improved. After the operation is stable, the accounting period can be determined monthly, which is gradually consistent with the accounting period of traditional cost accounting methods.
(3) As far as its space is concerned, in order to better promote the establishment of activity-based costing accounting system, we should also follow the principles of from easy to difficult, from small to large, and from simple to complex. Let employees have a gradual cognitive process of activity-based costing. In the initial stage of implementation, simple but representative departments can be selected for pilot projects, and then gradually promoted. In order to avoid heavy workload, complicated procedures and time-consuming, it's nothing.
2. The principle of construction
(1) Principle of being easy to understand: The design content of activity-based costing accounting system should be easily accepted and thoroughly understood by accountants. At the same time, the implementation of activity-based costing system also needs non-financial information. The calculation method should try to make the mathematical operation method clear and the text expression accurate; The voucher design should be standardized; Account design should be clear about connotation and extension; The design of account books should be consistent with the traditional cost accounting system as far as possible to avoid confusion; Report design can meet the requirements of internal cost analysis.
(2) Cost-effectiveness principle: The design of activity-based costing system must adhere to the cost-effectiveness principle, and this principle should also be followed when selecting activity-based costing centers. We can't unilaterally pursue the big and complete, only consider that the accounting results are more accurate than the traditional accounting methods and ignore the economic benefits.
(3) The principle of quality and benefit: Because the activity-based costing system needs a lot of basic data, it involves many departments and personnel, especially grass-roots personnel. Therefore, operability is the key to design and implement activity-based costing accounting system. Operability includes the clarity of original data collection, the simplicity of job confirmation, the independence of cost center division, the relevance of cost driver selection and the clarity of calculation steps.
Fourth, the process of constructing activity-based costing accounting system
1. Main contents of implementing activity-based costing
(1) Determine the cost driver
The cost driver is the factor that causes the cost. In order to further clarify the key points of cost management, it is necessary to find out the driving factors of cost, so as to prescribe the right medicine and ensure the effectiveness of activity-based cost management. Broadly speaking, the determination of cost drivers is part of the implementation of activity-based costing; In a narrow sense, it can also be regarded as a part of controlling manufacturing costs by enterprises. Generally speaking, cost drivers dominate cost behavior and determine the generation of costs, which can be used as a standard for allocating costs. The difference between activity and cost driver is that activity is all kinds of behaviors needed to achieve organizational goals and the goals of various departments within the organization; And the cost driver is the factor that causes the cost to rise and fall. Under activity-based costing, from the perspective of cost attribution, activity-based cost drivers can be divided into three categories: execution drivers, quantity drivers and intensity drivers. Through the cost driver analysis, we can reveal the factors that affect the cost of enterprises, and point out what methods enterprises should take to control these factors in order to better serve the activity-based cost management and achieve the goal of strategic cost management. (2) confirm the value chain
Value chain analysis (VCA) is the basic method to implement activity-based costing. Value chain refers to a series of orderly operations and value aggregates established by enterprises to meet customer needs. The value creation of an enterprise consists of a series of activities, which can be divided into two categories: basic activities and auxiliary activities. Basic activities include internal logistics, production and operation, external logistics, marketing and sales, services, etc. Auxiliary activities include procurement, technology development, human resource management and enterprise infrastructure. These different but interrelated production and operation activities constitute a dynamic process of creating value, that is, value chain. The value chain is ubiquitous in economic activities, and every value activity in the value chain will have an impact on how much value an enterprise can finally realize.
(3) Work performance appraisal
After determining the value chain and cost drivers, enterprises must establish the corresponding activity-based cost performance appraisal system, otherwise they cannot complete the assessment and evaluation of the implementation effect of activity-based cost management. Only through the feedback of activity-based costing performance evaluation information can we conduct the next round of higher-level activity analysis and value chain analysis again. The establishment of post performance appraisal system should ensure the consistency between the establishment of post center and the division of responsibility center, and clarify the scope of economic responsibility and authority. Only by using appropriate cost drivers can we ensure the authenticity and reliability of cost indicators and operating performance, which will help management to evaluate performance from a non-financial perspective and further improve responsibility accounting in theory.
2. Business processing methods
When calculating the product cost, activity-based costing takes activity as the accounting object. Firstly, the resource cost is allocated to the operation according to the consumption quantity, and then the formation process of product cost is traced through the operation according to the cost driver, and the final product cost is obtained.
The business processes of activity-based costing mainly include voucher transfer process, activity-based costing process, activity-based costing collection and distribution process, etc. The design method of activity-based costing accounting system refers to reflecting the content of activity-based costing accounting system in a specific form, including text description and flow chart schematic method. Voucher transfer procedure, activity-based costing process and internal control points should be explained in words, and better results can be achieved by combining the flow chart schematic method.
3. Design content
The design of cost accounting system includes the design of voucher format and voucher transfer program. Voucher categories should include five types: resource and resource allocation table, operation, direct material, cost calculation sheet and transfer voucher. Voucher delivery procedures should include: selecting a reasonable voucher delivery route; Time limit of each voucher processing link; Each voucher is designed with an appropriate and flexible joint number. Corresponding to the voucher, the account book design should at least include the general ledger and subsidiary ledger of activity center cost account book and resource cost account book.
4. The calculation process of 4.ABC method can be simply summarized as the following steps:
(1) Defining and Dividing Jobs
When dividing activities, cost allocation cannot be limited to the level of "products". The definition of activity is the premise of the successful operation of activity-based costing information system. In order to reduce costs, we must cancel unnecessary work.
(2) Identify and select cost drivers
The cost driver is the factor that causes the cost. Determining the appropriate cost driver for each cost pool is the key to the cost allocation of activity-based costing cost pool. Under normal circumstances, a cost library has several cost drivers, some of which have weak correlation with the cost library expenses, while others have strong correlation with the cost library expenses. The key of this step is to choose a cost driver for each cost base that has a strong correlation with the cost of the cost base.
(3) Cost collection
Expenses include direct expenses and collection expenses of cost library. Direct cost includes direct materials, direct labor and other direct expenses, and its calculation method is the same as the traditional cost calculation method. Direct materials are easy to trace back to the cost object and usually account for a large proportion in the production cost. Whether its calculation is correct or not has a great influence on the product cost and the correctness of the cost. In order to strengthen control, promote economy and ensure the correctness of expense collection, direct materials must strictly follow the principles and requirements of cost accounting from quantity to price. Direct labor is the labor cost directly used for product production. Secondly, the cost of the cost library should also be collected reasonably. After the activity division of an enterprise is determined, it is necessary to summarize all kinds of expenses incurred by each activity according to the consumption of resources by the activity, and list the expenses incurred by each activity as a cost library respectively.
(4) Cost driver rate calculation and cost allocation
Cost driver rate refers to the amount of manufacturing expenses caused by unit cost drivers. The calculation of cost driver rate is expressed by the following formula: cost driver rate = cost library expense/total cost driver in cost library.
Cost library refers to the collection of costs or consumed resources of each operation center. After calculating the cost driver rate, the cost of each cost library is allocated according to the number of cost drivers consumed by each product in each cost library. The sum of the costs allocated by each product from each cost library is the cost allocation of each product.
Cost driver cost of product = cost driver rate x cost driver quantity.
(5) Final summary calculation of product cost.
The total cost of producing products is equal to the sum of the direct cost of producing products and the allocated manufacturing expenses.
Product cost = ∑ cost, driving cost+direct cost
Verb (abbreviation of verb) conclusion
The business decision of an enterprise depends to a great extent on the accuracy of all aspects of information, including cost. Activity-based costing breaks through the limitations of traditional cost accounting; At the same time, activity-based costing can determine the cost of various products relatively accurately, meet the requirements of enterprise managers for accounting information, and make enterprise managers know the real production and operation situation of enterprises, so as to strengthen the production and operation management of enterprises purposefully and prepared to better adapt to future market changes and competition. Therefore, it is imperative to establish activity-based costing accounting system.
Activity-based costing can't be perfect, because of its unique characteristics, we can apply it to some aspects of cost management, especially cost control, so as to control and save costs.