Introduction
This report will discuss what target costing in management accounting is, what the literature says about the chosen topic and evidence of target costing being used in companies.
“The design of a product, and the processes used to produce it, so that ultimately the product can be manufactured at a cost that will enable a firm to make a profit when the product is sold at an estimated market-driven price. This estimated price is called the target price, the desired profit margin is called the target profit, and the cost at which the product must be manufactured is called the target cost (Hilton, Target Costing, 2010)”.
It is a system under which a company plans for the price points, product costs, and margins that it wants to achieve for a particular product. The tool target costing is all about the maximum amount of cost or expense that can be allowed and incurred on a product and at the same time, earn the desired profit margin the company is aiming for on that product. It is a market driven cost that is calculated before a product is produced in which the needs of the customer and the likely reaction of the competitors drive the product and profit planning. Target costing can be represented in a formula as “Target costs = Estimated Target/Selling Price – Targeted Profit”. This tool is mostly helpful when a company functions and runs in a competitive market and due to the high competition, the price is affected by the supply and demand of the market. (Merrit &
For example, many automotive experts believed the superior handling of MB products resulted from manufacturing the best automobile chassis in the world. Thus, each class within the MB line met strict standards for handling, even though these standards might exceed customer expectations for some classes. MB did not use target costing to produce the lowest-price vehicle in an automotive class. The company's strategic objective was to deliver products that were slightly more expensive than competitive models. However, the additional cost would have to translate into greater perceived value on the part of the customer.
Managerial accounting is essential for decision making. Making the best choice depends on the manager's goals, the anticipated results from each alternative, and the information available when the decision is made (Schneider, 2012). The different techniques associated with managerial accounting are very helpful in the decisions that need to be made. In order to truly understand decision making with managerial accounting one must first discern exactly what managerial accounting means and some of the techniques associated with it. The definition of managerial accounting will be discussed along with the techniques of cost management techniques, budgeting, and quality control.
Noreen, E.W. & Brewer, P. C. & Garrison, R. H. ( 2011). Managerial accounting for managers. Retrieved from
Bhimani, A., Horngren, C., Datar, S., Rajan, M. et al. (2012) Management and Cost Accounting. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Prentice Hall, p.369 - 378.
As is known, pricing is one of the most important steps for business plan which needs good research, calculations and formulations. There are different pricing strategies to put into effect due to the market and product conditions, such as premium pricing, penetration pricing, economy pricing, price skimming(Voice Marketing, 2012). These four pricing strategies are main pricing policies. They form the bases for the exercise. However there are other important approaches to pricing. These pricing strategies are: Psychological pricing, product line
The country’s economy is the main factor that impinges on aircraft manufactures. The decline of the economy explains the diminishing in orders for new airplanes. The purchasing power of airlines is low during the recession when demand in air travel is poor. A pilot project for target costing was implemented at Boeing and is now used companywide. In the entire company value chain, the major challenge is reaching the target cost. On the basis of an economy performance, Boeing works with its suppliers to clarify the current market pressures on cost and also to unearth solutions for challenges faced. The company’s cost is lowered than the competitors by
Atkinson, A.A., Kaplan, R.S., & Young, S.M. (2004). Management accounting (4th ed.).Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
This report reviews the company’s current incremental budgeting system, explores the beyond budgeting approach and looks at the alternative flexible methods available. In Summary, although the managing director could continue to use the incremental system, it is recommended that an ‘Activity Based Costing’ strategy is adopted. Although the current incremental method is simple and easy to understand, it has many drawbacks making it unsuitable for today’s economic environment.
The main aim of this phase of the ABC implantation is to define the benefits it provides and the methods for utilizing the outputs of system information, as well as the costs relating to implementation and operation. The reasons restaurant consider going ahead with implementing ABC could be discerned as the following (Cart, 1993):
Back in World War II, product shortages contributed in US manufacturers making an effort to build the most into a product for the lowest cost possible in a process called Value Engineering. Value Engineering then evolved and became known as Target Costing after the Japanese adopted the idea. As a customer-driven, price-led, long-term profit planning system, Target Costing can be a very useful measure in saving money and in turn, making a profit. As a result, some American companies today have begun to use target costing as their form of profit planning system, such as Chrysler Corp. and The Boeing Co., despite the fact Target Costing has not caught on in the US. American manufacturers using Target Costing are light years away from having an integrated, company wide system compared to its Japanese counterparts. Perhaps because the Japanese are the main users of the Target Costing concept, and 80 percent to 85 percent of all Japanese manufacturers use this concept. These manufacturers include manufacturing giants such as Sony, Toyota, Nissan, Canon, NEC, and Olympus.
This article discusses how a management accounting system like activity-based costing (ABC) may or may not have a significant impact on a firm’s value. With the samples that are shown, it is proven that the companies that use an ABC technique outperform other companies that don’t use an ABC technique by 27% over a three year period. It also shows that using an ABC technique will add value to the firm through better cost control and asset utilization. Because it had never really been proven that an ABC process really does bring an increase in shareholder value through increased profits, it is being
“In accounting, cost is defined as the cash amount given up for an asset. Cost includes all costs necessary to get an asset in place and ready for use” (Accounting Coach, 2015). Cost is considered as a significant aspect of corporate accounting work. Correct cost information is an important basis for business to make decisions. In fact, a number of companies are major pricing decisions, product mix and selection of technology and other cost information based on distorted. In addition, almost no other information to make management authorities are aware of a serious distortion of the product cost.
In recent years, numerous tools such as activity-based costing, the balanced score card and target costing have gained prominence in the business community. Nonetheless, traditional management accounting continues to be prevalent in practice. One example is standard costing, which has been used on a wide front during the last century.
In relation to target costing management, a simple equation can be used to evaluate whether it is a system that can work for your product. The equation is as follows: anticipated price minus required return equals target cost (Ross, 2008). Ross (2008) also comments on fluctuating prices being a problem for farmers, thus causing anticipated prices to vary. Moreover, return on capital is something that is not commonly used in the farming industry (Ross, 2008). Ross (2008) explains that typical farming operating costs is accounted as a whole for the company and not for specific activities. Gross margins in the farming industry, is also difficult in that expenses is considered a fixed cost. This involves labor and machinery, which are usually not fixed expenses, and is where a more allocation based
3.1 Target costing: It is the estimated price for a product that customers will be willing to pay. The estimates are made on an understanding of customers’ perceived value for a product and competitors responses. Example is in Appendix5. Benefits of target costing at the distribution centres are like helping identify value and non value activities, helping cut costs (material, handling, transportation, installation cost),Increasing