nonfinancial performance measures probably would be reported daily or hourly on the
production floor. The overhead variances we discussed in this chapter capture the
financial effects of items such as the three factors listed, which in many cases first
appear as nonfinancial performance measures. An especially interesting example along
these lines comes from Japan, where some companies have introduced budgeted-toactual
variance analysis and internal trading systems among group units as a means to
rein in their CO2 emissions. The goal is to raise employee awareness of emissions
reduction in preparation for the anticipated future costs of greenhouse-gas reduction
plans being drawn up by the new Japanese government.
Finally, both financial and nonfinancial performance measures are used to evaluate
the performance of managers. Exclusive reliance on either is always too simplistic because
each gives a different perspective on performance. Nonfinancial measures (such as those
described previously) provide feedback on individual aspects of a manager’s performance,
whereas financial measures evaluate the overall effect of and the tradeoffs among different
nonfinancial performance measures. We provide further discussion of these issues in
Chapters 13, 19, and 23.