Understanding the error-structure of Time-driven Activity-based Costing: A pilot implementation at a European manufacturing company

Time-driven Activity Based Costing (TD-ABC) uses time equations to improve cost allocations from cost pools to cost objects. This paper proposes a framework to identify when possible errors occur in the design and implementation stages of TD-ABC. We apply the framework to a TD-ABC pilot implementation at a European manufacturing company. Results suggest that special attention is warranted during the initial design stage of TD-ABC in order to handle diversity in resource consumption patterns and secure reliable IT-support. The framework offers a holistic perspective on TD-ABC from a real case setting. It can be used as a guideline that highlights essential steps and pertaining errors in the implementation process. Thereby, future researchers as well as practitioners can better understand where to direct attention in order to increase the accuracy of time equations.