In many popular publications, the terms “lean accounting” and “lean manufacturing” are used periodically. 

a. Research “lean manufacturing” and find out what concepts are conveyed by the term. How does lean manufacturing overlap with, and how is it different from, IPP? 

b. Research “lean accounting” and find out what concepts are conveyed by the term. Compare and contrast what you find in Table.

Development in the Production Process Environment Related Trend in Cost Management/Accounting Shorter product life cycles thatEmphasis on product life-cycle costing require cost recovery over a shorter period Shift from after-the-fact cost control reporting to reporting designed to assist strategic planning and decision making Increased emphasis on managing costs versus merely accounting for costs Attack waste as opposed to merely reporting variances Flexible manufacturing systems Flexible cost systems that are also responsive to change Factory automation Shift in cost structure from variable to fixed costs Reduction in the direct labor cost component and the use of direct labor for applying overheadb Increase in the overhead component of total cost Use of a fourth cost category, direct technology, in addition to the traditional direct materials, direct labor, and overhead categories Use of activity-based costing (ABC) systems Automating the information system Real-time data capture on the factory floor hift away from standard cost systems back to actual cost systems Reduction in the administrative costs of gathering data Automated inventory orders via EDI without humarn interaction Collecting statistical data in addition to financial data Elimination of detail reporting by shop order and by operation; instead, use of accounting for cell throughput time Cellular organization of the factory Use of cell throughput time instead of direct labor to apply overhead Trend toward process cost systems and away from job order cost systems For internal purposes at least, abandonment of full absorption costing, which loses its significance in the absence of inventories Reduced work-in-process and finished goods inventories Accumulation of costs for decision making instead of for valuing inventories