咨询方法与工具资料库strgfinl【精品文档】

I. IntroductionCity Light perceived a need to enhance its traditional financial reporting system with performance-based information. Activity-Based Management (“ABM”) and Activity-Based Costing (“ABC”) were identified as mechanisms that could potentia lly meet this need.ABC is a methodology that measures the cost and performance of activities and cost objects (e.g., products and services), based on the amount of resources they consume. The assignment of costs occurs through better understanding the relationship between resources consumed and the output resulting from their consumption. A critical distinction between ABC and traditional cost accounting methods is:With ABC, overhead costs that cannot be attributed to a particular product or serviceremain separate from activity and product costs. As a result, decisions made based on ABC product cost are not biased by cost information that is not directly associated with the activity resulting in output. Instead, these overhead costs remain in an independent overhead pool that has causes and outputs quite distinct from production.Activity-Based Management, by contrast, is the use of ABC information to improve performance, conduct more meaningful variance analysis, address resource allocation issues and manage costs. Simply stated, ABM is the use of ABC for management decision making.ABM is most successful when implemented from the top down, supported by a well-defined performance management and decision making framework. ABM is oriented around business processes -- combinations of individual activities that span organizational boundaries. An effective ABM system requires activity costs to be captured uniformly across these boundaries in a manner that is meaningful and consistent with organizational goals and objectives.II. Project Objectives and ApproachProject ObjectivesThe Wholesale Branch assembled a project team composed of City Light and Arthur Andersen personnel. The project teams conducted two pilots -- each examining different aspects of ABM/ABC. Project success factors included:A Trained Team -- As Evidenced By...❑ A conceptual understanding of activity-based management;❑The ability to make practical application of ABM concepts within City Light;❑The required skills to move forward with activity-based initiatives throughout the Department.Successful Pilots Which...❑Define activity-based management for City Light;❑Test and validate information gathering techniques and requirements;❑Ascertain City Light’s readiness for implementing and using ABM;❑Describe the next steps to take with relation to activity-based management;❑Provide a summary analysis of cost information provided by the pilots. Recommendations On Whether And How City Light Should Move Forward With Activity-Based Management❑Describe the high-level potential of the current cost accounting and of identified information systems to support activity-based information;❑Recommend whether and how City Light should proceed with ABM/ABC.The next sections describe the project approach and the primary lessons learned in meeting these objectives.Project ApproachFive basic steps were taken in during this pilot:❑Organize the project;❑Perform a requirements assessment;❑Gather data and analyze activities;❑Develop the cost model;❑Prepare and present recommendations about whether and how City Light should proceed with ABM/ABC.Organize The ProjectProject team members were identified and met for their initial planning sessions in early February. During this time, the team reviewed the project workplan and developed a timeline. The project team also established times for regular group meetings and set the steering committee meeting dates.Once the project was organized, the team received training on ABM/ABC:❑ A number of City Light employees on the project team members, attended a two day workshop on the concepts of ABM/ABC. The workshop concluded with a “live”case study that applied the ABM concepts learned the previous day;❑The model design team attended a two day session on how to design an ABC cost model. The course provided an overview of ABM concepts, as well as a practical session on using Easy ABCPlus, the software selected for the pilots. This session was attended by a limited number of project team members.Perform A Requirements AssessmentA clear understanding of the scope and objectives is instrumental to the success of any project. Since ABC can be driven by any of several purposes, it is critical that:❑The purpose of the model is correctly defined;❑The project team understands how the information will be used;❑Products and business units within the scope of the study have been identified initially.As a first step, the team clarified whether the project was an ABM/ABC pilot or a phased implementation.In a phased approach, management has already decided to implement ABM. Management understands the required course of action and is prepared to undertake a stepwise implementation. A phased approach requires a project framework such that:rmation requirements are identified;2.Process/system strengths and weaknesses are identified;3.Change management issues are identified;4.Senior management support is obtained;5. A feasibility study has been prepared;6.An implementation plan has been developed;7. A dedicated project team has been assembled.In a pilot approach, management often does not know what action should be taken and subsequently, what steps are appropriate with regard to implementation. The goal in a pilot is to:。