في ترشيد التكلفة و تحسين الجودة (ABC) دور نظام محاسبة التكاليف الانشطة

Abstract

ِAbstract This study addresses the issue of technological advances and the changes that occurred in production environment and the expansion in the use of computer applications which in turn led to a parallel increase in the scale and type of information flow. As far as conventional methods of assigning indirect costs (overhead) depends to a large extent on the circumstances and the volume of units produced, we should expect to have significant inaccuracies in product cost which would effectively limit the validity of costing system as a tool to suppon strategic decisions such as pricing, identification and management of processes, cost reduction and improvement in the quality of products and services. The solution is to develop a costing system that would make it possible to assign the costs to the products in an accurate and efficient manner. This study aims to highlight the activity-based costing approach (ABC) that seeks to identify areas of high overhead cost per unit and direct attention to find ways to reduce the cost and improve the quality of products. To fulfill the objectives of this study we have presented the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: Unlike traditional costing systems which distort the cost, the activity-based system serves as a tool to provide accurate cost information that could be used to reduce the costs and improve the quality of output. Hypothesis 2: The use of activity-based costing system (ABC) greatly impacts the efforts of the management within an organization to improve the quality of their products and services. Hypothesis 3: The conventional costing systems do not provide the necessary cost information to reduce the cost and improve the quality of products and services given the rapid technological changes and advances. Hypothesis 4: There is a strong link between the use of activity-based costing system (ABC) and the increase in competitive edge for the Sudanese manufacturing facilities within the modern manufacturing environment. The researcher has come up with conclusions that proved the accuracy of these hypotheses including: l. The activity-based costing system (ABC) effectively reduces costs, increases profitability and improves the quality of products and services. 2. The activity-based system (ABC) assigns most of the direct costs to the indirect costs objects which would eventually result in accurate cost information.

3. The use of modified conventional costing system will not resolve the problem encountered in cost accounting. The solution is to develop and use new cost accounting system. 4. The activity-based costing system (ABC) assists the organization to improve quality and reduce costs by identifying the areas of poor quality that have impact on costs and presents reasonable justifications for investment in areas of quality improvement which is considered much of a financial burden. Based on the above conclusions, below are the relevant recommendations: 1. It is extremely important to take serious steps to improve the costing systems currently used by the public sector with a view to have informed decision-making at the management level, improve control and monitoring of the costing process especially after the failure of the conventional costing systems to provide the necessary cost data and information that would enable efficient and accurate decision-making. 2. It must be understood that the use of activity-based costing system (ABC) is not the solution for all the challenges encountered by the public and private sector organizations. Rather, it serves as a tool to direct attention to the areas where deficiencies exist and certainly it is not, per se, a decision-making process. We need to launch a separate study into this particular area. 3. Encourage the students in higher educational institutions to direct their researches and studies on the possibility of applying ABC system across the various business firms and organizations.