Organisational problems in respect of the implementation of activity‐based costing in South Africa

Wessels, Susan B.; Shotter, Magdalena

doi:10.1108/10222529200000011

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Given that listed companies in Gauteng constitute 51% of all listed companies in South Africa, it is reasonable to infer that this rate is applicable to all listed companies within South Africa. These results are consistent with those obtained by Wessels (1999), who observed that only 15.18% of listed companies in South Africa have attempted to implement ABC. However, these findings contradict the results obtained by Jacobs (2005), which indicated that the adoption rate of ABC in South Africa listed companies was 32%.…”

Section: The Extent Of Abc Diffusion In South Africasupporting

confidence: 92%

The design and implementation of Activity Based Costing (ABC): a South African survey

Sartorius

Eitzen

Kamala

2007

Meditari Accountancy Research

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Activity Based Costing (ABC) has been researched extensively in developed countries. Research on these issues in South Africa is limited. This article creates a better understanding of the design of ABC systems in South Africa, comparing ABC implementation in South Africa to that in several developed/developing countries. A quantitative methodology was adopted to evaluate the extent of ABC implementation. A survey-case study methodology was used to identify reasons for implementation/ non-implementation, problems and critical success factors relating to implementation. The results show that the extent of ABC implementation in South Africa is lower than that found in developed countries, but the evidence is inconclusive. Nevertheless, the results suggest that the issues facing ABC implementers in South Africa are similar to those faced in many other countries. This study provides South African companies with a comparative framework of important variables to be considered in implementing ABC.

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Section: The Extent Of Abc Diffusion In South Africasupporting

confidence: 92%

The design and implementation of Activity Based Costing (ABC): a South African survey

Sartorius

Eitzen

Kamala

2007

Meditari Accountancy Research

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“…Pierce and Brown (2006) found in their study that there was a significant relationship between the success of ABC/M systems and performance evaluation/rewards and adequacy of training. The latter was also found among Jordanian firms (Nassar et al, 2009) and indeed confirmed in a study from South Africa by Wessels and Shotter (2000) where there was a lack of management support. As found in a case study of a bank by Soin et al (2002), an ABC project should not be about more "correct" cost allocation but it should create a new understanding of products, competitors and customers.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 64%

The historical evolution and popularity of activity-based thinking in management accounting

Berg

Madsen

2020

JAOC

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Purpose This paper aims to examine the historical evolution and popularity of activity-based thinking in management accounting. As an organising framework, this paper applies the lens of management fashion theory, which is a perspective that is well suited to the examination of the lifecycles of management accounting concepts and ideas. Design/methodology/approach This paper pursues a bibliographic approach to better understand the past and present state of activity-based thinking. Thus, this paper attempts to piece together a mosaic picture by synthesising existing research on activity-based thinking from a wide range of academic and practitioner-oriented sources. Findings While the original activity-based costing (ABC) model has evolved and broadened and has generated new related concepts, studies suggest that it is not as successful as accounting concepts such as the balanced scorecard. The overall popularity trajectory of activity-based thinking can be considered to be negative, and it is currently not receiving much attention in accounting journals. Research limitations/implications This paper is based on desk research and is limited by a reliance on secondary sources. In addition, it may be subject to the authors’ own biases when it comes to defining relevant articles studied. Practical implications This paper provides more insight into the evolution and popularity of activity-based thinking and discusses some of the reasons why it is not more widely used in practice. Originality/value Although many studies have examined the diffusion of ABC-related techniques, most are quite dated. More than 30 years have passed since the coining of the ABC term, and the time is ripe to provide a historical re-examination of the impact of this type of thinking in the field of accounting and to consider the latest developments and trends.

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Antecedents of the adoption and success of strategic cost management methods: a meta-analytic investigation

Gaebler

2013

J Bus Econ

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Organisational problems in respect of the implementation of activity‐based costing in South Africa

Cited by 7 publications

References 2 publications

The design and implementation of Activity Based Costing (ABC): a South African survey

The design and implementation of Activity Based Costing (ABC): a South African survey

The historical evolution and popularity of activity-based thinking in management accounting

Antecedents of the adoption and success of strategic cost management methods: a meta-analytic investigation

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