A Case Study of Activity Based Costing

BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES,
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

A case study of Activity Based Costing in Lagos State Healthcare

By

POPOOLA, OLUWATOYIN MUSEDIKU JOHNSON

Course Facilitator: Professor Kabiru Isa Dandago

Being a paper presented in the M.Sc. Accounting Programme,
Department of Accounting, Bayero University, Kano-Nigeria

December 15, 2009
Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the healthcare systems, in particular the blood transfusion services in Lagos State Health Services. The study revealed the challenges, the pitfalls and other associated problems of adopting a costing technology which significantly departs from previous practices.
The research was based on a single embedded case study approach which analyses the organization under different perspectives, investigating reactions, behaviours and results in three subunits arising from the attempts at ABC implementation. The appropriateness of the method is unique as it differentiates this investigation from previous contributions to the ABC literature. The conclusion delved on the implications for implementation of novel accounting techniques in healthcare settings. The study identified a number of factors which influences the implementation of ABC, such as, top management support, corporate strategy and services, the presence of a champion, external consultants, team size and heterogeneity, a competitive environment, training and interaction with existing systems and the four dimensions of significant influence which are: adoption, design, implementation and use of information. The findings highlighted the progression from implementation of ABC to actual use which was also influenced by the existence of a competitive environment and by effective interaction with existing information systems.

1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background
In today’s world, healthcare systems face pressures to deliver cost efficient care in the face of high

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