Throughput Accounting

Thomas Corbet provided the connection which brought it all together for me on the T.O.C. thinking process. All of Dr. Goldratt's books created the base of my knowledge, but "Throughput Accounting" is the one that tied up the loose ends of that information. For the first time since my studies of the Theory of Constraints began, I feel comfortable speaking with others about the thinking process.Prior to reading this book, a number of people challenged my view on cost based accounting; now I understand enough to speak with confidence.By itself, "Throughput Accounting" is excellent material and will help plant managers make informed decisions without the need for extensive cost accounting data. Together with the knowledge gained through other books on T.O.C., this book can help any organization reach unprecedented levels of improvement.

The book was good, and a different spin on how to look at costs in a manufacturing plant. I think it over simplified certain areas by assuming only material costs are variable, but overall it was a good book.

It is a good and useful book

I have read TOC Handbook, Throughput Accounting by Steve Bragg, Measurement Nightmare by Debra Smith,.. about this subject. I feel accumulating data day by day. It was like five fingers but not a hand which I could not grab anything. After reading this book I had a spark in my head and realized that now I can use cumulated data, it become information, like a real hand this time.Moreover I had listed my questions before reading. This book has almost covered all my questions !! It brought some other questions as well. I have tried to reach the author with the contact details given in the book but unfortunately I could not reach him. I have tried internet search, North river press,.. and failed again. Fortunately TOCICO helped me to find the author and he was very kind to answer all my questions.I like the book, slim and brief style, nice examples, pin points, practical. I believe this book is a good starting point for non-financial managers to understand accountants reality and provides a very good opportunity to discuss with them for mutual understanding. I admit at least this was our case in our company and now we are trying to transform usual periodical reporting to TA style.Utkan Uluçay

We've all read Goldratt's work on the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and the improvements that can be made in manufacturing processes. However, what is often overlooked in those books is the reality of getting these changes to work with our traditional cost accounting systems. TOC sounds great in theory, but how do we, as accountants, measure and report financial results in a way which supports TOC, yet still fulfills our responsibilities for external reporting? Don't we still have to apply overhead to products and calculate product costs?In this book, Corbett does a great job illustrating how our old cost accounting techniques are inadequate, and, more importantly, can lead us to make decisions which actually harm the bottom line. But he doesn't stop at simply pointing out the shortcomings of cost accounting, as most texts do. He takes the additional step of providing real financial statements and measures that support the concepts in TOC, and allow accountants to give production management the data they need. You can begin using these statements right away in your own company. In addition, he shows us how to use TOC to make various financial decisions. He even spends a chapter showing some of the criticisms of Throughput Accounting and provide warnings about its proper use.After reading this book you will realize that calculating a product cost is like buying a house and then trying to figure out how much of the purchase price to assign to the bathroom faucet. "Product Cost" is a fallacy, and impossible to determine. All that really matters is Throughput, the difference between selling price and totally variable costs.If you are a controller or cost accountant stuck between production managers who are eager to implement TOC improvements, and financial managers who still insist on overhead application and product costs, this is the book for you.

I have to push myself to read most accounting books. This one pulled me along. As a Jonah's Jonah focused on eliminating market constraints I am constantly faced with the internal sell of new company policy. Often the resistance to change is couched in accounting terminology. This book provides the tools required to establish the mutual understanding needed for collaborative problem solving. Particularly helpful is the discussion relating TOC to TQM and JIT through their accounting issues. I highly recommend it.

This is a good explaination of why the various allocation based account methods lead to poor management decisions and a good introduction to a better way of accounting. It does not include how to reconcile throughput accounting with required GAAP reporting. The only book I know that does is The Measurement Nightmare, which is a rather difficult read. It would be very helpful to have a book with example problems to work, an explaination of the GAAP reconciliation process, and more detail into what costs are totally variable and non-totally variable.

This is a funny little book. It's not too well written and the content is not that new, once you have read Eli Goldratt's basics on the topic.However, Thomas Corbett simply put the stuff together and proves, beyond any doubt, the fallacy of classical cost accounting as well as the "new & improved" fallacy of ABC.Examples are quite simple to follow and the outcome is very exiting!Makes you seriously wonder if there is add-on software out there that extracts the relevant data from present accounting systems, and helps top and middle management make the right decdions for a change on a daily basis. Key question is; how can this software help non-TOC companies help establish their bottle neck?

Corbet riesce a dare in modo semplice ma inconfutabile la perversione dei sistemi di cost accounting (ivi compreso l'Activity Based). Da leggere