INTRODUCTION
Lean management was first introduced in the United States in the early 1980s, a great deal of literature has been written on the subject. Unfortunately, the popularity of the subject itself may add to some of the confusion. Because the origins of lean management are in the Toyota Production System, referring back to the original work may clear up a lot of misconceptions, particularly when it comes to the issue of capacity utilization.
Lean Accounting evolved from a concern that traditional accounting practices were inadequate and, in fact, a deterrent to the adoption of some of the necessary improvements to manufacturing operations. While manufacturing managers knew that investments in automation and the adoption of lean manufacturing practices were the right things to do, traditional accounting was often an obstacle to such improvements, yielding numbers that only supported investments when they could be justified by reductions in direct labour, with little benefit ascribed to any improvements to quality, flexibility or factory throughput.