The second dimension influencing the level of sophistication relates to the number of different types of second stage cost drivers that are used. Using a greater variety of cost drivers that are the significant
determinants of costs enables cause-and-effect drivers to be established for each cost pool that more
accurately measure the resources consumed by cost objects.
The level of cost system sophistication in respect of the third dimension relates to the extent to which
transaction or duration drivers are used in the second stage of the allocation process (Kaplan and Cooper,
1998). Transaction drivers are less sophisticated since they assume that the same quantity of resources is
required each time an activity is performed. In contrast, duration drivers are more sophisticated since they
represent measures based on the amount of time required to perform an activity. Finally, higher levels of
sophistication are also achieved by relying more extensively in the first stage of the allocation process
on directly assigning costs to each cost pool or using cause-and-effect first stage drivers (i.e. resource
drivers).
Costing systems with many cost pools and different types of cost drivers that rely extensively on using
direct first stage assignments or resource drivers and second stage duration drivers (e.g. sophisticatedABC
systems)would be located at the extreme right of the continuum. Locating costing systems at intermediate
and other points along the continuum is more problematic. Generally costing systems that have both a
greater number of cost pools and different types of cost drivers can be classified as more sophisticated
than those with both fewer pools and types of drivers.3 Problems arise, however, in determining the order
of the location of costing systems along the continuum when comparing systems that have a greater
number of cost pools with those that have fewer cost pools but a greater number and variety of second
stage drivers.
In summary, the above discussion has identified four dimensions that can be used as a guide for
determining the sophistication of product costing systems. Unfortunately, they are not homogenous and
cannot be combined. It is thus only possible to rank costing systems as being more sophisticated than
others only when the former exceeds the latter in terms all of the four above determinants of sophistication.
Alternatively, the sophistication of costing systems can be classified by broad categories such as direct
and absorption costing systems or ABC and non-ABC systems. The disadvantage of such categorizations
is that they entail only two very broad categories.4
Information relating to the above four dimensions is unlikely to be reliably obtainable from postal
questionnaire surveys. Only information relating to the number of first stage cost pools and the number of
different types of second stage drivers is likely to be reliably obtainable. However, these two determinants
do represent the dominant factors in determining the classification of product costing systems (Kaplan
and Cooper, 1998). Therefore, to measure the level of cost system sophistication large scale surveys must
rely on using either single proxy measures (e.g. the number of cost pools and/or different types of second
stage drivers) or broad dichotomous categories, such as ABC adopters or non-adopters, to identify where
costing systems are located on the cost system continuum.