More Complex, More Robust: Activity-based costing systems are harnessing the internet and adding new functionality, giving companies more horsepower than ever. (Activity-based Costing).

Financial Executive, January, 2002 by Marshall, Jeffrey

ABC isn't what it used to be. Activity-based costing and its offshoots -- activity-based management and activity-based budgeting -- are more sophisticated than ever, in part because of Internet-based tools that allow managers to share information across the entire corporation.

Managers can now get a good snapshot of the enterprise's customer profitability, new product or service opportunities and suggestions for relationship-building. "What-if" scenarios allow testing of strategic and operational options before choosing a process or implementing costly changes. With some software, executives can even retrieve reports, scorecards and profitability data from the Internet and save them for off-line review.

In theory, ABC allows organizations to...

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