ABSTRACT
A mature management accounting tradition was well established in the 1920s. In those days, traditional accounting had served business needs well in terms of cost management, management controls and performance measurement. The moves in management accountancy were towards cost management and away from cost accounting. Costs have been addressed in many ways in businesses, although traditional practice had formed around the major manufacturing sectors. The key problems with trying to determine accurate product costs started to gain the attention of a body called Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing - International (CAM-I). The CAM-I Cost Management Systems (CMS) Program is internationally recognized as a leading forum for the advancement of cost and resource management practices. The CMS Program has accomplished extensive research and development of new management methods. The CMS Program is acknowledged worldwide for raising the awareness of Activity Based Costing and Activity Based Management. Activity-based approaches form the foundation on which information and costs are analysed throughout the value chain.
