The purpose of this single case study was to investigate the variables that determine the perceived success of the costing management of Mandela Bay Development Agency Projects (MBDA). Eleven propositions namely Strategic Planning, Stakeholders, Procurement Processes, Contracts, Design Management, Implementation Management, Internal Regulatory Structures, Outside Advice, Human Behaviour, Risk Management and Governance Structure, were identified that could influence costing management of MBDA projects. By using qualitative research methods, the MBDA was compared with three other agencies with similar mandates, by means of four semi-structured interviews, in order to identify similarities and differences between the organisations in terms of costing management. The results of nine in-depth interviews with MBDA project role players, with open ended questions about the participants’ views on the factors that influence costing management, were used to discover themes that were overlooked in the proposed model of perceived success of costing management of MBDA projects. Most of the propositions as per the proposed model for the perceived success of costing management of MBDA projects were confirmed to have a positive relationship to the costing management of MBDA projects. The model was revised after the results were presented to include two ante-ceding variables that were overlooked in the literature review, but emerged from the data namely Funding Model and Compliance to Legislation. The identification of the additional variables namely Team Dynamics (replacing Human Behaviour) and Planning Model are important aspects to be considered in relation to the costing management of MBDA projects. With the focus on good governance and the MBDA’s good record of clean and unqualified audits, it is to be noted that the performance of government projects is usually measured against progress and expenditure and not necessarily against the value for money and the quality of the completed project.

O Planejamento Energético tradicional geralmente privilegia os custos econômicos dos recursos energéticos, relegando ao segundo plano questões políticas, sociais e ambientais. Este trabalho pretende estimular a mudança desta abordagem através da proposição de um modelo de caracterização de recursos energéticos integrando todas essas quatro dimensões. São dois seus objetivos: o fornecimento de uma metodologia para avaliar o custo global dos recursos energéticos e de outra para estimar o potencial de tais recursos. Para facilitar o processo de avaliação, o modelo sugere o uso da ACC - Avaliação de Custos Completos, a qual permite a análise qualitativa e quantitativa de custos, reduzindo a necessidade de dados quantitativos, limitados em certos casos. Ilustra-se a aplicação do modelo com um exemplo de caracterização dos recursos na região de Araçatuba, localizada no Oeste Paulista. Os resultados revelam que, quando considerados os custos globais, a adoção de recursos renováveis apresenta grande competitividade, ao contrário de outros que, apesar de serem economicamente atraentes, não apresentam custos globais aceitáveis. / The Traditional Energy Planning usually favors technical-economic costs, relegating political, social and environmental issues to a less important level of analyses. This work tries to encourage a change in such approach by elaborating a model of energy resources characterization integrating all four dimensions - environmental, political, social and economic. The model aims at two objectives: providing a method of assessing the global cost of energy resources and estimating its potential considering the limitations provided by these dimensions. The integration of distinct elements constitutes a complex and tricky activity that can result in inaccurate results if not taken carefully. To minimize this complexity, the Model suggests the use of the Full Cost Accounting - FCA - method, which allows the consideration of quantitative and qualitative costs, reducing the demand for quantitative data, limited in some cases. The Model has been applied in the characterization of the region of Araçatuba, located in the western part of the state of São Paulo, the most populated state in Brazil. The results reveal that the adoption of renewable sources is quite attractive, especially when global costs are taken into account. On the other hand, other resources don\'t present acceptable global costs despite being economically attractive.

The multidisciplinary nature of the Architecture-Engineering-Construction industry, the involvement of parties with different professional backgrounds and the use of incompatible software at different phases of project development result in fragile communication between design and construction. The software used at different phases of project development represents and manipulates product knowledge rather than process knowledge, so do the design drawings and specifications. The process knowledge that remains trapped in the design phase can however be used in interpreting the meaning about the form represented on design drawings. A better understanding of process knowledge can restructure and enhance construction related processes and strengthen the communication between design and construction. This research focuses on reconfiguring the flow of information between architectural design and construction by identifying that part of the process knowledge also referred to as "design intent," which is of essence to cost estimating. Design intent can improve various facets of cost estimating. This research discusses the potential use of design intent knowledge in material selection and substitution, shop drawing preparation and value engineering. The first objective of the research is to define the term design intent, find examples of it and classify it in a format that can be used in construction applications. Thus, design intent has been classified under four classification schemes in this research: (1) Attributive; (2) Relational; (3) Priority; and (4) Implicit/ Explicit. The first two classification schemes have further been structured into its detailed subclasses and the potential use of each type of design intent has been discussed in detail. The second objective of the research is to represent and reason with design intent to improve cost estimating applications. Thus, the thesis describes an object-oriented design intent representation model implemented in a proof-of-concept prototype called Skull Object Space (SOS). The benefits of using such a representation model is illustrated in a material application module implemented as a small scale computer prototype that makes material selection and substitution for the contractor. Both SOS and the Material Application Module provide useful framework for future enhancements in externalization and representation of design intent. / Master of Science

El presente trabajo de investigación pretende diseñar un sistema de costos en una empresa láctea de Cutervo 2022 pues al ser una empresa que se maneja de manera empírica no tiene determinado un sistema de costos, el cual permita la determinación de su costo de producción y por ende medir su rentabilidad. Por ello, el presente trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo principal el diseñar un sistema de costos por proceso para determinar el costo de producción y la rentabilidad en una empresa láctea de Cutervo 2022. Es así como el tipo de investigación es mixta-aplicada puesto que se tendrá en cuenta una medición numérica y conoceremos los aspectos generales de la empresa; para el desarrollo de la presente se empleó la técnica de la entrevista y análisis documental, aplicadas mediante la guía de entrevista y la ficha documental respectivamente, permitiendo concluir que la empresa no cuenta con un sistema de costos y que no tiene un control adecuado de su costo de producción, lo cual dificulta la medición de la rentabilidad de la empresa. / The present research work intends to design a cost system in a dairy company of Cutervo 2022 because, being a company that is managed empirically, it does not have a cost system determined, which allows the determination of its production cost and therefore measure your profitability. Therefore, the main objective of this research work is to design a system of costs per process to determine the cost of production and profitability in a dairy company in Cutervo 2022. This is how the type of research is mixed-applied since a numerical measurement will be taken into account and we will know the general aspects of the company; For the development of the present, the interview technique and documentary analysis were used, applied through the interview guide and the documentary file respectively, allowing to conclude that the company does not have a cost system and that it does not have adequate control of its cost of production, which makes it difficult to measure the profitability of the company.

This research is based on the problem of allocating indirect overheads to construction projects in order to establish the performance of each project. Traditional costing (TC) systems and Activity-Based Costing (ABC) systems are both used for the allocation of overheads. Both primary and secondary data were used in this research. Primary data was collected by means of two questionnaires, one addressed to construction companies and the other to consultants. The sample of respondents was obtained from the register of contractors and construction industry companies. The researcher sent the links to the Lime survey by email to all respondents. The purpose of the literature review was to identify gaps and justify the need for this research. It considered existing findings by previous researchers. Primary data was therefore required to find answers specific to the problem of overheads allocation in the construction industry. According to the respondents, the use of TC systems produces distorted project cost results while ABC produces more accurate results when used in the construction industry. However, contractors had not adopted the ABC system but used TC systems despite their producing distorted project costs. It is recommended that both TC and ABC systems be used in the construction industry since they complement each other. Contractors may have to adopt the ABC system to enhance their decision-making while continuing to use the TC systems for external reporting. / Management Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

While costing methods have developed over time, they are often static in nature and ill-suited to the dynamic nature of production lines. Static costing systems are often developed for long-term analysis. Due to this, they lack the ability to aid short-term decision-making. In addition, the use of averaged data prohibits a static costing system from accurately tracing the cost effects of changing system behavior like random downtime events. A dynamic costing system, however, can capture the cost effects of changing system behavior in a manner that can aid short-term operational management. The proposed methodology is a dynamic activity-based costing method that relies on real-time production line data to track costs, specifically the added costs of unused capacity and downtime events. The methodology aims to trace these costs to responsible cost centers on the production line to give a better representation of the total cost of production, specifically in regards to normal production costs, added downtime costs, and added costs from unused capacity. In addition to monetary costs, the methodology provides a framework for tracking environmental costs, such as energy use, in order to aid plant managers with determining the environmental impact of their operations. The methodology addresses a gap between activity-based costing and downtime costing by combining the two under a single methodology. It traces both monetary and environmental costs to cost centers on the manufacturing line to aid continuous improvement efforts and the allocation of resources. By using real-time data, the methodology alerts management to changing system performance in a shorter time frame than static costing systems. The methodology will be shown in a case study of an automotive assembly plant. The case study will model the resource use of an automotive paint shop and trace this resource use to line segments in order to highlight areas of possible improvement.

我國電腦軟體工業尚處於起步階段，開發電腦軟體的成本不高，其會計處理對企業財 務狀況之表達，影響不大，企業因此也不重視其會計處理的適切性。然時勢所趨，隨 著軟體成本佔企業總支出比重之日益上升，其會計處理的適當與否，對企業財務報表 之表達，其影響就益發顯得重大了！ 根據現行的財務會計準則，應將研究發展（R＆D）成本列為當期費用。因此，開發軟 體過程中所發生的成本，究有多少成本應屬R＆D費用的性質，即影響了軟體開發成本 之會計處理應予費用化或予資本化的合理性。 本論文研究之目的，就在探討電腦軟體成本之性質及適當的會計處理方法。以提供我 國於將來制定有關會計原則的參考，俾供軟體業者有所遵循。 本論文將從軟體會計之意義談起，從各種研究文獻及美國FASB所發佈有關之會計準則 公報的整理分析，討論各種會計處理方法的適用性。並以直接寄發問卷的方式，調查 國內軟體會計之現況。另外則函請會計師界站在實務的觀點，表示其對軟體會計的意 見，以期自理論與實務雙方面的考慮，對我國會計原則之制定，提出具體之建議。

For several years, the number of South Africans starting new business enterprises, has declined. According to the findings of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, in 2003, South Africa ranked 22nd out of 31 countries for new entrepreneurial activities. One of the greatest challenges for South Africa, is to find a solution for its huge unemployment problem, which is responsible for many of South Africa's other problems, like poverty, crime and brutality, which discourage global investment in South Africa. The development of small-, medium-, and microenterprises (SMMEs) is seen as an important ingredient of economic development. The population for this study is therefore comprised of SMMEs in South Africa. Any enterprise is dependent on the environment it operates in. The environment consists of the macro-environment, which includes the demographic, technological, economical, social, institutional and international environment, the market environment, which includes consumers, suppliers and competitors, as well as the micro-environment, which includes the organisation, its mission, goals and objectives, management functions, business functions and business resources. The objective of this study is to investigate the possibility of applying cost- and management accounting methods and techniques for the development and profitable running of SMMEs. These include choosing an appropriate costing system, implementing a management information system, effectively executing the management functions of planning, organising, coordination and control, through the application of cost- and management accounting methods and techniques, including forecasting, budgeting, accurate and appropriate costing methods, performance management techniques like total quality management, benchmarking etcetera. Data on the current use of cost-and management accounting by SMMEs in South Africa, and the performance of these concerns, were collected by means of a structured questionnaire from a sample of 37 SMMEs. It was found, that although several cost- and management accounting methods and techniques are used by some SMMEs, many are not used effectively, while many SMMEs are not aware of the many advantages that the application of these methods and techniques hold. It is recommended that entrepreneurs make an effort to gain the knowledge needed for them to apply the cost- and management accounting methods and techniques that will improve the performance of their businesses, ensuring the attainment of their goals and objectives, ensuring their survival and prosperity, and leading to job creation, economic growth, and the prosperity of the people of South Africa. To assist with this, the researcher has developed a model and a manual that can be used by entrepreneurs to assist them in starting a new enterprise, as well as running a successful enterprise. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business and Management Accounting))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

M. Tech. (Cost and Management Accounting), Vaal University of Technology / This study was undertaken to assess the extent to which transfer pricing was effectively used by multinational manufacturing companies operating in the Southern Gauteng region of South Africa. The target participants of the study traded their products across international borders and as such made use of transfer pricing in one way or the other to achieve strategic objectives. Scant research has been undertaken to analyse the degree to which transfer pricing can be used to effectively influence managerial performance. On the other hand there is a wealth of knowledge on the relationship between transfer pricing and taxation. In-depth review of literature showed that even though multinationals formulated their transfer pricing policies to target financial and managerial objectives, self-interest and outside influences tended to hinder the equitable realization of both types of objectives. The study therefore set out to establish whether this is true of Multinational corporations (MNCs) in Southern Gauteng and in the process answer questions about the procedure for formulating transfer pricing policies by these MNCs, the relationship, if any, between transfer pricing and profitability and the use of transfer pricing for performance enhancement and assessment. The study made use of a mixed methods research methodology to collect and analyze data from 45 MNCs operating in the target geographical area. Of the 45 companies, 15 cooperated fully with the study. Data was collected via the use of questionnaires and follow-up face-to-face and/or telephonic interviews. Collected data was analysed using statistical methods including the Chi Square Test, standard deviation, frequency tables and the Kruskal-Wallis H test. The results from the questionnaire and interviews show that there is no universally appropriate Transfer Pricing Policies(TPP) which applies equally to all organizations in all circumstances. Firms are affected by different environmental factors while striving for tax-compliance and value creation. The fear of falling on the wrong side of tax laws is a major driving force behind transfer pricing policies of MNCs. As such other objectives that are managerial in nature become secondary and tend to be neglected if/when they conflict with the primary objective.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:35:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabio_Rodrigues_de_Oliveira.pdf: 607864 bytes, checksum: 14f6cb4b69ccf4e7960da3e81d86477f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-29 / Social contributions in 2002 became subject to a non-cascade payment system. The method adopted in order to make the system effective was different from that employed for other taxes in Brazil, based on the Tax Credit Method. Jointly with this innovation, on regulating the system's implementation Secretaria da Receita Federal do Brasil (SRFB) also adopted concepts that restricted the breadth of the credits, which fact in addition to making it difficult to calculate social contributions also increased the tax burden by various companies subject to this system. In the light of these assumptions and the effects that taxation causes on decisions by agents, the purpose of this paper was to detect the extent of the misalignment between accounting and fiscal concepts of inputs, in which resides one of the chief uncertainties of the non-cascade system, and its impact on the income figures of companies subject to a non-cascade social contribution system. Based on documental and bibliographic analyses, this survey detected the extent of this misalignment, listing examples of payments not included in the fiscal concept of inputs. By means of the answers obtained from the questionnaire made available to the companies covered by this survey, following a descriptive statistical treatment, it became possible to confirm that the misalignment between the fiscal and accounting concepts had an adverse impact on the income figures of those companies subject to the non-cascade system, although it is not this survey's intention to extend this outcome statistically to the entire population. / Em 2002 foi institu??da a n??o cumulatividade das contribui????es sociais. O modelo adotado para dar efetividade a esta t??cnica, no entanto, foi diverso daquele empregado aos demais tributos brasileiros, baseados no M??todo de Cr??dito do Tributo. Aliada a essa inova????o, a Secretaria da Receita Federal do Brasil (SRFB), ao regular a aplica????o desta t??cnica, adotou conceitos que teriam mitigado o alcance dos cr??ditos, o que, al??m de dificultar a apura????o das contribui????es sociais, teria aumentado a carga tribut??ria suportada por diversas empresas inclu??das nesta sistem??tica. Foi tendo em vista esses pressupostos, e os efeitos que a tributa????o acarreta nas decis??es dos agentes, que este trabalho teve por objetivo identificar a extens??o do desalinhamento entre os conceitos cont??bil e fiscal de insumos, que est?? entre as principais d??vidas da n??o cumulatividade, e seu impacto no resultado cont??bil das empresas sujeitas ?? n??o cumulatividade das contribui????es sociais. A partir de an??lises documentais e bibliogr??ficas, esta pesquisa identificou a extens??o desse desalinhamento, enumerando exemplos de encargos exclu??dos do conceito fiscal de insumos. Com as respostas obtidas por meio de question??rio disponibilizado ??s empresas pertencentes ao objeto deste estudo, ap??s tratamento estat??stico descritivo, foi poss??vel verificar que o desalinhamento entre os conceitos fiscal e cont??bil teve um impacto negativo no resultado cont??bil das empresas sujeitas ?? n??o cumulatividade, embora n??o se pretenda nesta pesquisa estender estatisticamente esses resultados ?? toda popula????o.