Editor's Letter
By Kathy Williams

Resource Consumption Accounting Applied: The Clopay Case
By Sally Webber, Ph.D., CPA, and B. Douglas Clinton, Ph.D., CPA
Here is a case study of how the Augusta, Ky., plant of Clopay Plastic Products Company incorporated resource consumption accounting (RCA) to get a better handle on its costs of production and learn how to assign costs to products more accurately. RCA is an emerging management accounting method that blends the advantages of German managerial accounting’s emphasis on resources with those of the activity/process view provided by activity-based costing (ABC) in an enterprise-wide decision-support system.

Incorporating the Opportunity Cost of Setups into Production-Related Decisions
By David Perkins, Ph.D., CMA, CPA
Setup activities that occur be of product changeovers represent costly disruptions to a production process. Accounting systems, however, traditionally ignore a significant effect of setups--the opportunity cost of lost capacity. Here the author provides a way to determine the opportunity cost of setup activity based on the interdependence of the product mix and lot-sizing decisions so management can be directed to ways to improve performance.

Balanced Scorecard Applications: A Survey and Comparison of the Manufactured Homes Industry and Motor Homes Industries
By Charles J. Pineno, Ph.D.
This article analyzes the current performance practices in the manufactured homes industry and the motor homes industry and checks for the applicability of the balanced scorecard there. The author’s analyses show the differences and similarities based on company size, sales, number of employees, and the educational level and experience of employees.

Cost Management Using ABC for IT Activities and Services
By Bruce R. Neumann, Ph.D.; James H. Gerlach, Ph.D.; Edwin Moldauer; Michael Finch; and Christine Olson
Although many articles have appeared on how activity-based costing has been applied to manufacturing and service industries, few instances have been reported regarding information technology. Here the authors describe a cost management project using ABC modeling that is focused on an IT division of a publicly held software development firm. The model that resulted provides a managerial tool to measure productivity and efficiency and is being used for IT cost chargebacks and process improvements.

Wireless Instruction: A New Dimension in Course Delivery
By D’Arcy Becker, Ph.D., CPA, and Susan Haugen, Ed.D., CMA, CIA
Many professors and students have experimented with distance learning, and now instruction via wireless technology is adding a new dimension to course delivery as it provides the flexibility to deliver Internet classes on an anytime, anywhere basis. Included in this example of how one professor conducted an MBA class while traveling on her summer vacation are technical considerations for using wireless technologies in Internet courses including costs, logistical limitations, technology availability, and technology reliability.

Customized Multimedia Software for Teaching Managerial Accounting
By A. James McKee, Ph.D., CPA
The author describes his experience teaching cost accounting in which he developed some accounting software to transform his lecture notes into several computer-assisted learning modules designed for self-study preparation. One of the modules simulates a cost system that embodies several basic computer-based features commonly found in commercial software. The purpose is to present cost accounting from a computer-based perspective as opposed to the traditional T-account, manual approach.

A Closer Look at Rolling Budgets
By Marc P. Lynn, Ph.D., and Roland L. Madison, CPA, Ph.D.
More and more companies are beginning to use rolling budgets or continuous budgeting in order to have more flexibility in their planning process and to be able to see where they stand against their strategic plans at almost any moment in time. The authors discuss the management challenges involved in continuous budgeting and describe how technology can become part of the solution.