Cost Management – Case Studies

HomeHealth: Delivering Activity-Based Costing

John A. Miller

This case study is one of 14 case studies, each written by a different author, in a book titled Case Studies in Performance Management and published in 2006. This case study is instructive in many ways and demonstrates the key principles of an effective ABC implementation. Excellent example and case study for implementing ABC in a hospital or health care environment.

HomeHealth. Delivering Activity-Based Costing


McCook Community hospital – How to make Time Driven ABC work

Ryan Morthole and Frank van Vliet

This recent 46 page Power Point Presentation provides a great source of material for those in the health care industry and interested in the a time based ABC methodology for hospitals. Power Point slides include First Steps to Development, Development Strategy, Report Examples, Challenges Faced, Cost Drivers, Defining Cost Objects and Patient Grouping, Reasons for ABC, and Analysis and Outcomes

BB McCook Workshop


CITGO Petroleum Meeting the Challenge with ABM

Marlene B. Rodriguez, Andrew D. Muras, and Dennis D. Calhoun

This 18 page article was published by the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance in their March/April 2002 edition. The article features the CITGO Petroleum and has 15 exhibits. The article includes and identifies Process Improvements, Capacity Analysis, Shared Services, Examples of Cost Assignment, Outsourcing Decisions, Initial Pilot Project, Implementation Approach, Identification of Non Value Added costs, and a Fast Track ABC Approach.

Citco Petroleum Meeting the Challenge With ABM


Understanding Costs in a Scientific Paradigm: ABM in Manufacturing (Specialty Chemical)

David Woodworth

With over 1,800 products in seven product groups, this US-based specialty chemical manufacturer needed to better understand cost and process flow information. The company’s current costs seemed inaccurate as the company’s competitors were able to be more competitively priced in certain market niches. To solve the problem the company implemented an ABC/ABM costing system. This initiative, undertaken in the early 1990’s, was crude by today’s standards of costing but rich in wisdom, results, lesions learned, and the value of an evolving ABC Model

Understanding Costs in a Scientific Paradigm. ABM IN Manufactuirng. Specialty Chemical


Zippo Lights Up With ABCM

Robert Vecchio, John A. Miller and Andrew Muras

In 2003, Zippo was facing several major business issues. Standard costs were not reflective of actual costs, minimal visibility on product profitability, minimal visibility on manufacturing process costs, and no visibility on customer profitability. To address these issues, Zippo elected to undertake a project to implement Activity Based Costing/Management (ABCM). Zippo subsequently was recognized as a Best practice in Customer Profitability by the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC)

Zippo Lights Up with ABCM