Implementing aspects of management accounting in a low volume manufacturing engineering concern

Abstract

This thesis is a result of a two year practical project on a teaching company scheme between the University of Aston and William Cotton Limited. It examines the implementation of a control system into the company, looks at why this is necessary, the benefits it will have and assesses the techniques which are required to provide the systems. The project concludes that standard costing principles based on sound standards, linked with an efficient actual costing system and variances presented quickly and in a format which encourages accountability, will provide such a control system. This will produce work force motivation which is the key ingredient when aiming towards cost control. The principles developed in this thesis are primarily intended to improve and extend generalized knowledge of costing techniques. Hence, it is hoped that such innovations can be installed and adapted by any low volume manufacturing engineering company to improve its own techniques via the use of a computerised materials management package for its operational product costing capabilities.