5. Conclusions
The costs of an activity, as management indicator, constitute one of the most important sources of information
provided by the accounting informational system. The cost level is a barometer providing information on the
conditions in which a certain productive activity takes place, which allows the leadership to watch, analyze and
guide the processes towards a rational use of the economic means and resources.
The specialized literature has intensely debated and expressed doubts concerning the usefulness of the classical
cost-calculation methods, considering that these methods no longer generate advantages as they rely on information
provided by a system projected for a technological age characterized by local and not global competition, when the
organizations realized standardized products and services, and the product distribution speed, the quality or the
performances did not represent essential elements for the success of an organization.
In order to remove the disadvantages of the traditional methods, the modern calculation methods have appeared,
adapted to the new market conditions, which provide, beside the financial information concerning the costs of the
products, works or services, information concerning the internal processes, allowing the integration of the cost
analysis in the strategic approach of the enterprise, contributing both to the decision-making concerning the products
and service portfolio and to a decisional set leading to the transformation of the corporate strategy.
In this context, many companies opted for the adoption of the cost-calculation system based on activities (the
ABC method) as an ideal solution taking the entity out of its unfashionable condition and placing it in the top of
those who have implemented modern methods.
In Romania, most SMEs apply traditional calculation methods, mainly the calculation system based on orders or
the one based on stages (Mihai & Corina-Grazilla, 2006). In the way of the implementation of a modern calculation
system there were a series of (internal and external) factors of which we can mention: the renewal of the old
equipments, used both physically and morally, replaced with others meant to increase the efficiency of the
productive process in a concrete manner; the acquisition of an informatics system helping with the better
management, processing and storage of the informational flows; and last but not least, the adoption of a cost calculation and accounting system adapted to the specifics of the activity, contributing in a decisive way to assuring and maintaining the enterprise's success in an increasingly aggressive and turbulent environment.