Prior to beginning work on this discussion, please download and read t

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, please download and read the report Implementing Activity-Based Costing (Links to an external site.) published by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). IMA argues that although activity-based costing (ABC) is not a panacea, it is essential for a company to implement a management accounting system such as ABC for all its stakeholders—its employees, its community, its loyal customers, and its shareholders—to understand its cost structure.

After reading IMA’s report, in an initial post of at least 200 words, discuss what activity-based costing is and examine how it impacts the role of management accountants in the broader context of performance management that integrates time, quality, service levels, risk, capacity planning, and costs.