Throughput Accounting: A Guide to Constraint Management [Hardcover]

"Throughput Accounting provides managers with a fresh set of eyes to identify and control bottlenecks. The drum, buffer, and rope will become part of the cost accounting lexicon in the future."
—Geoffrey Garland, Controller, StacoSwitch, Inc.

"This is good stuff! Steven Bragg has introduced us to an accounting structure that will enhance our bottom line utilizing throughput accounting methodology. Finally! We have a presentable means to transform a company′s financial functions to support the cultural change to throughput accounting."
—Rick J. Stevens, President, LeanThinkingbyAccountants, LLC

"A thought–provoking, insightful, and useful book that explains how older conventions of accounting can lead to poor management decisions. Instead of focusing on typical cost–cutting methods only, Mr. Bragg provides CFOs with a systemic approach on how to instead focus on maximizing profits and become better business partners."
—Arif Iqball, Executive Director and CFO, Avon Products Co. Ltd. Japan

"Throughput Accounting by Steve Bragg presents a new way to evaluate and apply the concepts of cost accounting with greater impact on operational efficiencies. An interesting, understandable, and useful guide for anyone who needs a valuable source of information and ideas relating to financial and accounting affairs."
—Carlos Millan, Director of Finance and Operations, NOLA, Grupo Quanam

Throughput Accounting addresses every possible area of constraint management that would be of interest to an accountant. This groundbreaking book includes chapters covering financial analysis scenarios with case studies that show specifically how throughput accounting can be used to find the best solutions in a large number of real–world situations.

If you are an accounting manager, financial analyst, production planner, or production manager, Throughput Accounting contains the tools you need to improve your company′s performance.

throughput accounting

a guide to constraint management

Every so often, a completely new idea comes along that can be described as either refreshing, controversial, or both. The theory of constraints, or constraint management, is the new, revolutionary idea that has caught the accounting profession′s attention. Developed upon the theory of constraints management philosophy from the physics–based writings of Eliyahu Goldratt, the theory of constraints contends that constraints, or bottleneck resources, prevent organizations from achieving better performance and declares that a company must first determine its overriding goal, and then create a system that clearly defines the main capacity constraint that will allow it to maximize that goal.

Throughput Accounting: A Guide to Constraint Management—written by renowned accounting expert Steven Bragg—broadens the throughput accounting concept to cover every possible accounting function.

This visionary book:

• Shows CFOs, controllers, and accounting managers how to increase efficiency and save money using throughput–related techniques

• Discusses the impact of throughput concepts on all areas of the accounting function

• Describes how accounting systems realigned to employ throughput concepts can issue financial statements in accordance with GAAP

• Explores how the accounting department can assist other parts of the company by providing better measurements and reports on profit performance

The goal of throughput accounting is to increase a company′s profits by focusing strictly on the management of the company′s bottleneck resource. Beginning with an introduction to the concepts of constraint management, Throughput Accounting: A Guide to Constraint Management clearly explores how the traditional budgeting and capital budgeting models can be adapted to integrate throughput concepts, as well as how control systems can be designed to warn of problems related to the constraint and several supporting functions. In addition, this seminal book shows which reports and metrics to use in a throughput environment, as well as how this information can be extracted from an accounting system designed to accumulate information for reports that conform to generally accepted accounting principles.