Given SAP's dominance in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market, many companies and their managers encounter SAP AG applications in some form or another. Many of these organizations have recognized the value of utilizing Activity-Based Costing/Management concepts to perform more accurate cost assignments or drive performance initiatives. Managers are then faced with trying to determine how Activity-Based Costing can be incorporated into the SAP environment. The 123s of ABC in SAP is the first book of its kind designed to help business managers understand the capabilities of the SAP R/3 business application to support Activity-Based Costing, Management, and Budgeting.

Divided into three parts-the conceptual foundation, the capabilities of SAP ABC, and integration with other tools-the book provides readers with the following:
* An explanation of how Activity-Based Costing can be used with SAP
* Helpful hints for implementing ABC into SAP
* Insights into the most common difficulties and potential solutions when implementing ABC into SAP
* Summary tables that highlight key decisions to be made, implementation hints, and organizational challenges
* Detailed descriptions of SAP software applications to support the Activity-Based Costing approach as well as the integration of SAP R/3 with Oros software
* Examples of the tandem usage of Resource Consumption Accounting with Activity-Based Costing

The 123s of ABC in SAP shows corporations exactly how the ABC approach can be effectively incorporated into today's SAP systems. While SAP training teaches what buttons in the system to push and ABC courses and workshops teach the philosophy, consultants Dawn Sedgley and Christopher Jackiw provide the first documentation on how to apply the ABC philosophy to the SAP costing engine-in short, how to use the tool to support the ideas.

The book is designed for readers with advanced knowledge of the ABC framework but does not assume the reader has any familiarity with the SAP R/3 application. In clear, nontechnical language, the authors provide a basic explanation of SAP R/3, specifically, the Controlling Module (CO) including the CO-ABC component. The SAP-CO module, which is the costing engine of the system, is based on the German costing philosophy, which is being augmented and repackaged under the name Resource Consumption Accounting for the U.S. market. You will learn the difference between the American and German philosophies, the benefits of using them together, and what management decision information they can provide.

To assist you in grasping the concepts, the book takes a pictorial approach. Illustrations are also completely linked and built upon, effectively generating a large-scale case study whose lessons you can apply to your needs.

As large companies shift to enhancement-type projects once their SAP implementations have been completed, effective implementation of SAP ABC will become ever more critical to the success of your company. A must for CFOs, controllers, cost managers, SAP project managers, SAP-C level leaders, and SAP-CO team members, The 123s of ABC in SAP will provide valuable answers to the critical question, "How can I maximize my investment in my SAP R/3 system?"