经济与管理专业外文翻译--运用作业成本法和经济增加值的具体应用

A FIELD STUDY:SMALL MANUFACTURING
COMPANIES
In this section, the implementation of the proposed Integrated ABC-EVA System at two small manufacturing companies is presented. The managers of the companies wished for their company names to remain anonymous. T herefore, they will be referred to as “Company X” and “Company Y” from here on.
Prior to the field study, both companies were using traditional costing systems. The overhead was allocated to product lines based on direct labor hours. In both companies, managers felt that their traditional costing systems were not able to provide reliable cost information.
1 Company X
Company X, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a small manufacturing company with approximately 30 employees. Company X’s main products l ines were Overlays、Membranes、Laser、Roll Labels and N’Caps. In the mid 1990’s, a group of investors purchased the company from the previous owner-manager who had retired. At the time of the study, the company was managed by its former vice-president, who was supported by a three-person management group. Investors were primarily concerned with financial performance rather than daily decision-making. The management group was very eager to participate in the field study for two reasons. First, the management was under pressure from their new investors who were not satisfied with the current return from existing product lines; Second, management was trying to identify the most lucrative product line in order to initiate a marketing campaign with the biggest impact on overall profits.
2 Company Y
Company Y, also located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was owned and managed by three owner-managers who bought the company from a large corporation in the mid 1990’s, Company Y employed approximately 40 people. The majority of this compa ny’s business was in the area of manufacturing electrical devices and their main product lines were Motors and Motor Parts、Breakers、and Control Parts. Company Y sold its products in the domestic market as well as abroad. A portion of the company’s output was sold directly to end-users, while the remainder was sold with the help of independent distributors. The management of Company Y was
interested in using the Integrated ABC-EVA System for the purpose of cost control and profit planning.
3 Comparison of the costing systems
During the field study, three costing systems (TCA, ABC and the Integrated ABC-EVA System) were used to obtain cost information for each company in order to identify factors which may lead to distortions through arbitrary allocation of capital costs. In a comparison, capital costs were only able to be traced by the Integrated ABC-EVA System. The nature of the TCA and ABC systems resulted in arbitrary allocations of capital costs.
4 RESULTS
The main objective of the data analysis presented in this section is to investigate which factors most often distort information provided by the ABC system. As mentioned in the methodology section, factors such as diversity in production volume、product size、product complexity、material consumption, and setups often distort cost information. These factors are examined closely for possible allocation errors.
4.1 Data Analysis for Company X
The data analysis for Company X began with an examination of its cost structure. Company X’s overall costs for 1998 were evaluated by comparing the percentages of direct costs (direct labor and direct material)、operating costs (overhead) and capital costs as shown in Exhibit 1.
Exhibit 1. Cost Analysis for Company X in Thousands of Dollars
Capital costs, at 11.6 percent, represented a notable portion of Company X’s total costs. This relatively high capital costs could be explained by high investments in special equipment and fixed assets. In addition, Company X required a relatively large amount of working capital to support its wide variety of products.
The next step was to calculate product cost information and examine changes across six product lines and three costing systems. Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3 present the results.
Exhibit 2. Product Cost Information in Thousands of Dollars
The Integrated ABC-EVA System, taking into account capital costs, revealed that the overall product cost was actually 13.1 percent higher than either TCA or ABC estimated. The difference in product cost, however, was not uniform across all product lines. After adding capital costs to the product cost obtained from the ABC system, the greatest difference in product cost was observed in the Overlays product line (+ 16.6 %) while the least difference was registered in the N’Caps product line (+ 4.9 %). From this, it can be concluded that an arbit rary allocation of capital costs to the product cost obtained by using the ABC system would produce inexact product cost information. For example, adding 13.1 percent to all product lines would distort the product costs for Company X.
Company X’s managemen t was surprised when presented with the results of using the Integrated ABC-EVA System. Familiarized with the calculations used, the managers agreed that the results were correct. Knowing that the Overlays product line was the only product line which created economic value, they considered extending marketing efforts for this product line. In contrast, for the Laser product line (considered to be profitable according to the TCA and ABC systems, but revealed to be destructive to shareholder value by the Integrated ABC-EVA System), the managers announced changes in their pricing policies, as well as additional cost reduction efforts. Furthermore, they considered new outsourcing policies for unprofitable low volume product lines (such as N’Caps and Miscellaneou s Parts).
4.2 Data Analysis for Company Y
The data analysis for Company Y also began with an examination of its cost structure. As in Company X’s analysis, Company Y’s costs for 1998 were evaluated by comparing the percentages of direct costs (direct labor and direct material)、operating costs (overhead) and capital costs as shown in Exhibit 4.
Exhibit 4. Cost Analysis for Company Y in Thousands of Dollars
Operating costs, at approximately 42 percent, represented a notable portion of Company Y’s total costs. Company Y’s business, with its customized products (such as motors and generators) required a relatively high amount of effort in engineering design、product specification and supervision. Therefore, a highly qualified work force was essential. The high salaries paid to these employees were the reason for Company Y’s relatively high operating costs.
Next, as in Company X, product cost information for four product lines, obtained by the three costing systems, was investigated and presented to the managers. Exhibit 5 and Exhibit 6 present results of this analysis.
Exhibit 5. Product Cost Information in Thousands of Dollars
Again, the Integrated ABC-EVA System taking into account capital costs, revealed that the overall product cost was higher than TCA or ABC estimated, this time by 7.6 percent. This difference in product cost, once again, was not uniform across product lines. The greatest
difference (compared to ABC) was registered in the Breakers product line (+ 8.5 %), while the least difference was registered in the Control Parts product line (+ 6.5 %). Once again, it can be concluded that an arbitrary allocation of capital costs to the product cost obtained by the ABC system will distort, though not substantially, the product cost.
Company Y’s management was especially surprised by the fact that the Motors and Motor Parts product line, which was believed to be highly profitable under both the TCA calculation and the ABC, was not actually able to create any economic value. This assumption of profitability was contradicted by the Integrated ABC-and-EVA System. Because the Economic Value Added for Motors and Motor Parts product line was only slightly negative, the managers believed a slight increase in price would make the Motors and Motor Parts product line a value creator. In their opinion, this price increase was feasible since the company had an especially strong market position in this particular product line.
4.3 Summary of the Results
This analysis shows that the ability of the Integrated ABC-EVA System to provide reliable cost information increases especially in cases where products are dissimilar、manufacturing technologies and equipment are diverse and capital cost is high. Of the companies studied, Company X had not only the higher capital costs, but also the greatest product diversity, As a result, the analysis showed a relatively high distortion in product cost between the ABC and ABC- EVA systems;The highest distortion in product cost between the TCA and ABC-EVA systems was observed in Company Y, which had the higher operating costs. In the case of Company Y, the ABC component of the Integrated ABC- EVA System was able to trace operating cost accurately, compared to the TCA system which simply allocated operating cost based on direct labor hours.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The findings for both companies are highly similar. These findings confirm that traditional accounting systems often provide inaccurate、incomplete and unreliable cost information. Arbitrary allocation of operating and capital costs may often lead to distortions in product cost.
Furthermore, the results suggest that the ABC system alone, though able to manage operating expenses and shows deficiencies, especially when capital investments are substantially diverse. When capital investments are substantially diverse (because of variation in production
volume, technology, setups, materials or product complexity, for example), the ABC system is no longer a reliable strategic management tool for successful decision–making.
The managers of each company in the field study expressed great satisfaction with the reliability and completeness of the Integrated ABC-EVA System. They regarded the System as a very useful strategic managerial tool. As a result of this implementation, the managers also changed certain corporate policies. These changes included adjustments in product costing、marketing strategies and perception of customer profitability. Overall, this field study demonstrated that the integration of a costing system with a financial performance measure in the form of Integrated ABC-EVA System will help manufacturing companies make an effective long-term business strategy.
原文来源:The Integrated Activity-Based Costing and Economic Value Added Systemas a Strategic Management Tool: A Field Study[J]. Engineering Management Journal, 2000
运用作业成本法和经济增加值的具体应用：
小制造企业
本部分将阐述两家小制造企业中，被建议使用的ABC-EVA整合系统的实施情况。

公司的管理层希望他们的公司名称保持匿名。

所以，下文中他们被称为X公司和Y公司。

在案例分析之前，两家公司都使用传统的成本系统。

根据直接人工小时分配各费用至各产品线。

两家公司的管理者认为传统成本系统不能提供可靠的成本信息。

1 X公司
X公司，位于匹兹堡，宾夕法尼亚，是一家大约有30名员工的小制造企业。

X公司主要的产品是覆盖物，过滤膜，激光器，卷标签和组合应用平台软件。

在90世纪中期，一个投资集团从已经退休的前所有者那购买了此公司。

在研究之时，公司由前副总裁经营，他由三人管理集团支持。

投资者首先关心财政业绩，而不是每日的政策制定。

由于两方面原因，此管理集团非常热切地想参与到此次实际应用研究中。

首先，新投资者不满意于目前生产的产品所带来的收益率，这给管理层施加了压力；其次，为开展对整体利润有最大促进作用的经营活动，管理层尝试开发能产生丰厚利润的产品。

2 Y公司
Y公司，也位于匹兹堡，宾夕法尼亚，由三人管理者拥有和经营，此管理层在90世纪中期从一个大公司那购买了Y公司，Y公司雇佣近40名员工。

这公司的绝大多数业务在电子设备制造领域，他们的主要产品是马达、马达零件、破碎机和控制零件。

Y公司在国内外市场上销售它的产品。

公司部分产品直接销售给最终消费者，而剩下的产品在独立经销商帮助下销售。

为实现成本控制和利润规划的目标，Y公司的管理层对运用ABC-EVA整合系统极感兴趣。

3 成本核算系统的比较
实际应用研究期间，为了识别因资本成本的任意分派可能导致成本信息扭曲的各因素，将运用三个成本核算系统(TCA、ABC和ABC-EVA整合系统)分别得到每家公司的成本信息。

比较三个系统，各资本成本只能由ABC-EVA整合系统追踪。

TCA和ABC系统的本质导致资本成本的任意分派。

4 结论
在此部分，分析数据的主要目标是调查哪些因素最可能扭曲ABC系统提供的成本信息。

按照所述的方法学部分，例如生产量、产品大小，产品的复杂性、材料耗费和配置各因素将可能扭曲成本信息。

为防止错误分配资本成本，将仔细分析各因素。

4.1 X公司的数据分析
X公司的数据从它的成本结构的分析开始。

1998年，X公司的总成本评估是通过比较如表1显示的直接成本 (直接人工和直接材料)、营业成本(作业成本)和资本成本的百分比加以评估的。

表1 x公司的成本分析千美元
资本成本占11.6%，占X公司总成本的一部分。

专用设备和固定资产的高额投资导致相对高的资本成本。

另外，X公司要求相对多的流动资本以支持丰富的产品种类。

下一个步骤将计算产品成本、分析六种产品和各成本核算系统的变化情况。

表2和表3显示了分析结果。

表2 产品成本信息千美元
ABC-EVA整合系统由于考虑了资本成本，计算得出的总产品成本较TCA或ABC系统下所估
计的高出13.1%。

然而，所有产品的成本差异程度是不一致的。

将资本成本增加到在ABC系统下得出的产品成本后，成本最大的变动在覆盖物产品中体现出来(高出+16.6%)，而最小变动在组合应用平台软件产品中体现(高出+ 4.9%)。

从这些可以得出，ABC系统下，将资本成本随意分配到产品，所得到的成本信息是不精确的。

例如，增加13.1%的资本成本到所有产品将扭曲X公司的成本信息。

当使用ABC-EVA整合系统所产生的结果呈现在X公司管理层时，他们感到很惊讶。

管理层熟悉曾经使用过的成本核算方法，认可了研究结论的正确性。

了解到覆盖物产品是唯一创造经济价值的产品，他们考虑加大对这个产品的市场力度。

相反，至于激光产品（TCA 和ABC系统下，被认为是盈利的，但是根据ABC-EVA整合系统下，其对股东价值具有破坏性)，管理层表示将改变产品价格制定政策，并且在减少追加成本方面做出努力。

此外，他们考虑了无经济利润的低产量产品的外购政策(例如组合应用平台软件和混和零件)。

4.2 Y公司的数据分析
Y公司的数据从它的成本结构的分析开始。

同X公司分析，1998年，Y公司成本通过比较如表4所显示的直接费用(直接人工和直接材料)、营业成本(作业成本)和资本成本的比例加以评估。

表4 Y公司的成本分析千美元
营业成本大约占42%，占Y公司总成本的重要部分。

拥有定制产品(例如马达和发电器)的Y公司，其业务需要相对高要求的工程设计、产品规格和管理。

因此，高资质的劳动力是必要的。

付给这些员工的高薪金就是导致Y公司相对高的营业成本的原因。

其次，同X公司，分析在三个成本系统下得到的四个产品的成本信息，并提供给Y公司管理层。

表5和表6显示此分析结果。

表5 产品成本信息千美元
同理，ABC-EVA整合系统由于考虑了资本成本，计算得出的总产品成本较TCA或ABC系统下所估计的高出7.6%，再次说明根据不同产品，成本变动是不一致的。

最大的变动（与ABC 系统下相比较)表现在破碎机产品(高出+ 8.5%)，而最少的变动表现在控制零件产品 (高出+6.5%)。

同理可得ABC系统下，将资本成本随意分配到产品，将扭曲产品成本。

对在TCA系统下计算得到的数据和ABC系统下被认为能产生高效益的马达和马达零件产品实际上却没能创造任何经济价值的事实，Y公司的管理层感到特别惊奇。

在ABC-EV A整合系统下，这种收益率的假设是矛盾的。

因为马达和马达零件产品的经济增加值只有轻微的负数，经理相信小幅度提高产品价格，将使马达和马达零件产品成为价值创造者。

他们认为，在这个独有的产品线上，公司拥有特别强大的市场地位，因此涨价是可行的。

4.3 总结
分析表明，尤其在产品不同、制造技术和设备多样化、资本成本高的情况下，ABC-EV A 整合系统能提供更可靠的成本信息。

在参与研究的公司中，X公司不仅具有更高的资本成本，而且产品差异最大，结果表明在ABC系统和ABC-EV A整合系统间存在相对严重的产品成本扭曲；Y公司的产品作业成本更高，TCA和ABC-EV A整合系统间存在最严重的产品成本扭曲。

至于Y公司，与根据直接人工时数简单分配产品成本的TCA系统相比，ABC-EV A 整合系统中的ABC能够精确地追踪生产成本。

5 结论
两家公司的研究结果相当相似。

这些研究结果证实传统的会计成本系统经常提供不精确、不完全和不可靠的成本信息。

作业成本和资本成本的任意分配可能导致产品成本的扭曲。

此外，结果显示ABC系统尽管能够计算作业成本，若单独使用将表现出缺陷，尤其当资本投资有相当大的差异时。

当资本投资有相当大的差异时（例如，因为生产量的变化、技术、配置、材料或者产品复杂性)，在长期决策制定上，ABC系统不再是一个可靠的战略管理工具。

在实际研究中，每家公司的管理者对ABC-EVA整合系统的可靠性和完整性表示非常满
意。

他们认为ABC-EVA整合系统是一个非常有用的战略管理工具。

根据实施应用的结果，各管理者也改变了某些企业政策。

这些变动包括产品费用、市场战略及对预期盈利性的调整。

总之，实际研究证实，以ABC-EVA整合系统形式存在的财政业绩和成本系统的整合，将帮助制造企业制定更为有效的长期经营战略。

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