個案資料

Economic Decision Making Using Cost Data: A Manager's Guide is a 6-chapter book published in 2013 by the Business Expert Press and written by Daniel Marburger of Arkansas State University and Ryan Peterson, a practicing accountant. In this book, the authors outline basic economic theory as a guide for managers in making business decisions involving unit cost estimates. In this context, they examine key economic concepts such as opportunity cost, demand theory, and cost theory as well as different approaches to cost accounting. The authors posit that cost accounting represents the results of previous outcomes and, as such, does not provide the information that managers need to make sound decisions moving forward. The authors examine the potential pitfalls that a manager may face when making decisions based on cost estimates and suggest how best to use economic theory to maximize a company's profits. Chapter 5, How Accountants Measure Opportunity (27 pages), explains the authors' approach to cost accounting and why they believe that this information can mislead managers if not fully understood. They explain that cost accounting has three main uses: for providing information to external users (such as banks or investors), as a tool for tax preparation, and for informing managerial decision-making. They also examine the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches to costing, including absorption costing, variable costing, and activity-based costing. They caution managers that accounting costs reflect historic performance and suggest that, for this reason, they are only valuable as estimates of opportunity or marginal costs.

• Financial analysis
• Cost accounting