An investigation into target costing implementation in Australian companies

This paper investigates the current and future prospects of Target Costing (TC) in Australia. A survey of 50 top Australian companies shows that only 12.5 percent of these companies have implemented target costing and 30 percent are planning to implement it in future. The results indicate that it is not prudent to implement TC prior to adopting activity-based costing. The results also indicate that, among other things, a poor understanding of TC by many Australian corporate managers may have led to its low implementation in their firms. However, results are inconclusive as to whether managers and accountants' understanding and beliefs about TC wili lend to its actual implementation. There is also incondusive evidence whether Australian companies are likely to adopt TC as a strategic posture to achieve cost competitive benefits. The paper ends with limitations and policy implications.