Beyond Guesswork: Understanding and Applying Activity-Based Costing (ABC)
Still relying on outdated costing methods that don’t tell the full story? This session unpacks Activity-Based Costing — the smarter way to understand where money is really made (or lost). Learn how to allocate overheads accurately, improve pricing decisions, and turn your data into insight.
3 CPD units December 3, 2025
What will set you apart
By completing this course you will gain the following competencies
- Understand the principles and purpose of Activity-Based Costing (ABC)
- Identify cost drivers and allocate overheads more precisely
- Compare ABC with traditional costing methods and know when to use each
- Build practical ABC models to support pricing and profitability analysis
- Use ABC data to make better management and strategic decisions
- Apply ABC principles in small and medium-sized businesses using real examples
Event breakdown
- Why traditional costing often fails
- The evolution of Activity-Based Costing (ABC)
- Key concepts: activities, cost drivers, and cost pools
- Steps in implementing ABC in your organisation
- Identifying activities and linking them to cost drivers
- Building the ABC model — data collection and allocation techniques
- Comparing ABC to traditional costing systems
- Using ABC information for product pricing and profitability decisions
- Analysing customer and service line profitability
- Common pitfalls and how to overcome them
- Integrating ABC data with financial and management systems
- Case study: applying ABC in a real business scenario
- Reviewing templates and tools for ABC setup
- Discussion: using ABC for decision-making and continuous improvement
- Q&A with Michelle de Lange
Category: Management AccountingType: CPD CourseCPD category: Management Accounting
Description
Many businesses still use costing systems that distort reality — hiding inefficiencies and mispricing products. This two-hour session, presented by Michelle de Lange, shows you how to fix that with Activity-Based Costing (ABC). You’ll learn how to identify activities that drive costs, assign them correctly, and use this insight to improve pricing, performance, and profitability. The session combines practical examples with clear explanations, making it easy to apply even in smaller organisations. Whether you’re in manufacturing, services, or consulting, you’ll leave with a solid understanding of how to build and use an ABC model that delivers real business insight — not just better numbers.
You will earn a certificate
On successful completion you will receive a certificate for 3 CPD units in Management Accounting.
Requirements
- Laptop, desktop, or mobile device with internet access
- Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Safari, or Firefox browser