Peer Review

Activity Based Costing

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jan 6, 2021 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This tutorial about Activity-Based Costing contains a thorough explanation of the concepts. Demonstrations of cost pools and drivers are explained and computed to show how Overhead costs could be computed using ABC. The video presents a screencast of the lecture whiteboard where the instructor narrates along with colorful annotations, showing the various calculations and cost flow assumptions used in Activity Based Costing.

Type of Material:

Tutorial

Recommended Uses:

Recommended as a self-paced tutorial to assist students enrolled in an introductory managerial/cost accounting course.
Can also be used for Review, Homework, or In-Class Activity

Technical Requirements:

Microsoft Edge, version 44., Chrome

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Explain the concept of activity-based costing (ABC).
Show how ABC can be used to allocate overhead costs.
Compute allocated costs based on cost pools and cost drivers.
Compute Overhead costs using ABC.

Target Student Population:

Upper-division accounting or finance class

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Knowledge of basic cost accounting terms and concepts of managerial cost accounting would be helpful, but not required.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

Clear and concise explanation of the basic concepts of Activity Based Costing
Provides an illustration accompanied by an example with calculations for allocating indirect expenses to manufactured finished goods
23-minute recorded lecture provides adequate amount of material for a brief introduction, with links to further tutorials available on the site
As a YouTube video, it is accessible via multiple platforms, including a laptop or smartphone. The material is adequate and summarizes the concept well.

Concerns:

Recorded video lecture is not meant to be a complete demonstration of the concept of Activity Based Costing and is more of a tutorial that could assist a student already enrolled in an introductory managerial/cost accounting course.
Video as a standalone resource does not adequately summarize the major concepts or theory of Activity Based Costing but just provides a brief introduction
The video lacks visual clarity.
The relevant calculations do not begin until after the 10-minute mark, which seems like a long lead in.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Material would be very easy to integrate into an existing course on Managerial/Cost Accounting
Short length of lecture presentation allows video to be incorporated into a classroom setting, or assigned as a self-paced tutorial
Prerequisites are clearly identified and concepts are reinforced progressively.
It demonstrates relationships between cost accounting and activity-based accounting.

Concerns:

No learning objectives are provided
The learning material does not identify prerequisite knowledge or provide any means for student assessment
The material does not demonstrate relationships between the various accounting concepts presented, or reinforce concepts progressively and would be most effective as an additional resource/assignment to augment an existing managerial accounting textbook
At over 22 minutes, this is a very long video for students to watch.
It cannot be used to assess student learning outcomes.
It is a relatively effective teaching tool in that it provides a thorough demonstration of the concept.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

Material would be easy to deploy and easily accessible as YouTube video Lecture format is visually appealing with use of handwritten annotations in color, against a black ‘virtual chalkboard’
Narration by the instructor is clear and new Activity Based Costing terms are well explained following a realistic example of a company that manufactures backpacks for hikers
Calculations are clearly demonstrated and easy to follow with the instructor annotations
As a Youtube video, this is a very easy tool to access.
Closed captions are accurate and accessible.

Concerns:

The video does not have an introduction or identify the instructor ·
The video is a recorded lecture and not meant to be interactive or to provide any student assessment component
At 22 minutes, the video is not very engaging and is a bit long in the introduction.
The visuals used are not high design quality. The video is not interactive

Other Issues and Comments:: Recommended as a self-paced tutorial for beginning students who may be struggling with basic concepts from introductory managerial/cost accounting.
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