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1、IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL COSTACCOUNTING IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES1ENVIRONMENTAL COST ACCOUNTING IN SMESSince its inception some 30 years ago, Environmental Cost Accounting (ECA) has reached a stage of development where individual ECA systems are separated from the core accounting system
2、based an assessment of environmental costs with (see Fichter et al., 1997, Letmathe and Wagner , 2002). As environmental costs are commonly assessed as overhead costs, neither the older concepts of full costs accounting nor the relatively recent one of direct costing appear to represent an appropria
3、te basis for the implementation of ECA. Similar to developments in conventional accounting, the theoretical and conceptual sphere of ECA has focused on process-based accounting since the 1990s (see Hallay and Pfriem, 1992, Fischer and Blasius, 1995, BMU/UBA, 1996, Heller et al., 1995, Letmathe, 1998
4、, Spengler and H.hre, 1998). Taking available concepts of ECA into consideration, process-based concepts seem the best option regarding the establishment of ECA (see Heupel and Wendisch , 2002). These concepts, however, have to be continuously revised to ensure that they work well when applied in sm
5、all and medium-sized companies. Based on the framework for Environmental Management Accounting presented in Burritt et al. (2002), our concept of ECA focuses on two main groups of environmentally related impacts. These are environmentally induced financial effects and company-related effects on envi
6、ronmental systems (see Burritt and Schaltegger, 2000, p.58). Each of these impacts relate to specific categories of financial and environmental information. The environmentally induced financial effects are represented by monetary environmental information and the effects on environmental systems ar
7、e represented by physical environmental information. Conventional accounting deals with both monetary as well as physical units but does not focus on environmental impact as such. To arrive at a practical solution to the implementation of ECA in a companys existing accounting system, and to comply w
8、ith the problem of distinguishing between monetary and physical aspects, an integrated concept is required. As physical information is often the basis for the monetary information (e.g. kilograms of a raw material are the basis for the monetary valuation of raw material consumption), the integration
9、 of this information into the accounting system database is essential. From there, the generation of physical environmental and monetary (environmental) information would in many cases be feasible. For many companies, the priority would be monetary (environmental) information for use in for instance
10、 decisions regarding resource consumptions and investments. The use of ECA in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) is still relatively rare, so practical examples available in the literature are few and far between. One problem is that the definitions of SMEs vary between countries (see Kosmider
11、, 1993 and Reinemann, 1999). In our work the criteria shown in Table 1 are used to describe small and medium-sized enterprises.Table 1. Criteria of small and medium-sized enterprisesNumber of employees Turnover Up to 500 employees Turnover up to EUR 50m Management Organization - Owner-cum-entreprene
12、ur -Divisional organization is rare - Varies from a patriarchal management -Short flow of information style in traditional companies and teamwork -Strong personal commitment in start-up companies -Instruction and controlling with- Top-down planning in old companies direct personal contact - Delegati
13、on is rare - Low level of formality - High flexibility Finance Personnel - family company -easy to survey number of employees - limited possibilities of financing -wide expertise -high satisfaction of employees Supply chain Innovation -closely involved in local -high potential of innovation economic
14、 cycles in special fields- intense relationship with customers and suppliersKeeping these characteristics in mind, the chosen ECA approach should be easy to apply, should facilitate the handling of complex structures and at the same time be suited to the special needs of SMEs. Despite their size SME
15、s are increasingly implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems like SAP R/3, Oracle and Peoplesoft. ERP systems support business processes across organizational, temporal and geographical boundaries using one integrated database. The primary use of ERP systems is for planning and control
16、ling production and administration processes of an enterprise. In SMEs however, they are often individually designed and thus not standardized making the integration of for instance software that supports ECA implementation problematic. Examples could be tools like the “eco-efficiency” approach of I
17、MU (2003) or Umberto (2003) because these solutions work with the database of more comprehensive software solutions like SAP, Oracle, Navision or others. Umberto software for example (see Umberto, 2003) would require large investments and great background knowledge of ECA which is not available in m
18、ost SMEs. The ECA approach suggested in this chapter is based on an integrative solution meaning that an individually developed database is used, and the ECA solution adopted draws on the existing cost accounting procedures in the company. In contrast to other ECA approaches, the aim was to create a
19、n accounting system that enables the companies to individually obtain the relevant cost information. The aim of the research was thus to find out what cost information is relevant for the companys decision on environmental issues and how to obtain it. 2METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING ECA Setting up an ECA s
20、ystem requires a systematic procedure. The project thus developed a method for implementing ECA in the companies that participated in the project; this is shown in Figure 1. During the implementation of the project it proved convenient to form a core team assigned with corresponding tasks drawing on
21、 employees in various departments. Such a team should consist of one or two persons from the production department as well as two from accounting and corporate environmental issues, if available. Depending on the stage of the project and kind of inquiry being considered, additional corporate members
22、 may be added to the project team to respond to issues such as IT, logistics, warehousing etc. Phase 1: Production Process Visualization At the beginning, the project team must be briefed thoroughly on the current corporate situation and on the accounting situation. To this end, the existing corpora
23、te accounting structure and the related corporate information transfer should be analyzed thoroughly. Following the concept of an input/output analysis, how materials find their ways into and out of the company is assessed. The next step is to present the flow of material and goods discovered and as
24、sessed in a flow model. To ensure the completeness and integrity of such a systematic analysis, any input and output is to be taken into consideration. Only a detailed analysis of material and energy flows from the point they enter the company until they leave it as products, waste, waste water or e
25、missions enables the company to detect cost-saving potentials that at later stages of the project may involve more efficient material use, advanced process reliability and overview, improved capacity loads, reduced waste disposal costs, better transparency of costs and more reliable assessment of le
26、gal issues. As a first approach, simplified corporate flow models, standardized stand-alone models for supplier(s), warehouse and isolated production segments were established and only combined after completion. With such standard elements and prototypes defined, a company can readily develop an int
27、egrated flow model with production process(es), production lines or a production process as a whole. From the view of later adoption of the existing corporate accounting to ECA, such visualization helps detect, determine, assess and then separate primary from secondary processes. Phase 2: Modificati
28、on of Accounting In addition to the visualization of material and energy flows, modeling principal and peripheral corporate processes helps prevent problems involving too high shares of overhead costs on the net product result. The flow model allows processes to be determined directly or at least pa
29、rtially identified as cost drivers. This allows identifying and separating repetitive processing activity with comparably few options from those with more likely ones for potential improvement. By focusing on principal issues of corporate cost priorities and on those costs that have been assessed an
30、d assigned to their causes least appropriately so far, corporate procedures such as preparing bids, setting up production machinery, ordering (raw) material and related process parameters such as order positions, setting up cycles of machinery, and order items can be defined accurately. Putting seve
31、ral partial processes with their isolated costs into context allows principal processes to emerge; these form the basis of process-oriented accounting. Ultimately, the cost drivers of the processes assessed are the actual reference points for assigning and accounting overhead costs. The percentage s
32、urcharges on costs such as labor costs are replaced by process parameters measuring efficiency (see Foster and Gupta, 1990). Some corporate processes such as management, controlling and personnel remain inadequately assessed with cost drivers assigned to product-related cost accounting. Therefore, c
33、osts of the processes mentioned, irrelevant to the measure of production activity, have to be assessed and surcharged with a conventional percentage. At manufacturing companies participating in the project, computer-integrated manufacturing systems allow a more flexible and scope-oriented production
34、 (eco-monies of scope), whereas before only homogenous quantities (of products) could be produced under reasonable economic conditions (economies of scale). ECA inevitably prevents effects of allocation, complexity and digression and becomes a valuable controlling instrument where classical/conventi
35、onal accounting arrangements systematically fail to facilitate proper decisions. Thus, individually adopted process-based accounting produces potentially valuable information for any kind of decision about internal processing or external sourcing (e.g. make-or-buy decisions). Phase 3: Harmonization
36、of Corporate Data Compiling and Acquisition On the way to a transparent and systematic information system, it is convenient to check core corporate information systems of procurement and logistics, production planning, and waste disposal with reference to their capability to provide the necessary pr
37、ecise figures for the determined material/energy flow model and for previously identified principal and peripheral processes. During the course of the project, a few modifications within existing information systems were, in most cases, sufficient to comply with these requirements; otherwise, a comp
38、letely new software module would have had to be installed without prior analysis to satisfy the data requirements. Phase 4: Database concepts Within the concept of a transparent accounting system, process-based accounting can provide comprehensive and systematic information both on corporate materia
39、l/ energy flows and so-called overhead costs. To deliver reliable figures over time, it is essential to integrate a permanent integration of the algorithms discussed above into the corporate information system(s). Such permanent integration and its practical use may be achieved by applying one of th
40、ree software solutions (see Figure 2). For small companies with specific production processes, an integrated concept is best suited, i.e. conventional and environmental/process-oriented accounting merge together in one common system solution. For medium-sized companies, with already existing integra
41、ted production/ accounting platforms, an interface solution to such a system might be suitable. ECA, then, is set up as an independent software module outside the existing corporate ERP system and needs to be fed data continuously. By using identical conventions for inventory-data definitions within
42、 the ECA software, misinterpretation of data can be avoided. Phase 5: Training and Coaching For the permanent use of ECA, continuous training of employees on all matters discussed remains essential. To achieve a long-term potential of improved efficiency, the users of ECA applications and systems mu
43、st be able to continuously detect and integrate corporate process modifications and changes in order to integrate them into ECA and, later, to process them properly. 中小企业环境成本会计的实施一、中小企业的环境成本会计自从成立三十年以来，环境成本会计已经发展到一定阶段，环境会计成本体系已经从以环境成本评估为基础的会计制度核心中分离出来（参考Fichter et al., 1997, Letmathe 和 Wagner , 2002
44、）。由于环境成本经常被评估为一般管理费用，传统观念的完全成本会计或者直接成本都没有为环境成本会计的实施描述一个适当的基础。与传统会计发展类似，自从20世纪90年代以来，环境会计在概念和理论领域的重点放在了基于流程的会计中（参考Hallay和Pfriem，1992年，Fischer 和Blasius，1995年，德国环境部，1996年，Heller等人。1995 ，Letmathe，1998年，Spengler和H.hre，1998年）。考虑到环境成本会计可行的概念，基于流程的观念似乎是制定环境成本会计的最好选择（参考Heupel 和 Wendisch，2002年）。但是这些概念必须确保能够在中
45、小企业中正常运行。基于Burritt等人提出的环境管理会计框架，我们对环境成本会计的概念着重于两个有关环境影响的主要群体。这是由环境引起的对环境系统的财务影响和与公司向关联的影响（参考Burritt和Schaltegger，2000年，第58页）。所有这些影响都和特定种类的金融和换环境信息相关。由环境引起的息对财务的影响有基于货币环境信息的影响和基于事物的环境信息影响。传统的会计体系可以处理双方面，包括以货币为单位的何以实物为单位的，但是却不注重环境对产生的影响。要得出一个在公司现行会计制度中实施环境成本会计的切实可行的方法，并能够处理货币和事务方面的混淆问题，需要一个能互相协调的综合的概念。
46、由于实物信息往往是货币信息的基础（例如，1千克原料的消耗是对实物消耗多少货币的计量基础），这个信息到会计系统数据库的集成是至关重要的。在那里，物理环境信息和货币环境信息的产生在很多情况下是可行的。对于许多公司来说，在确定资源消耗和投资决策信息时，他们会优先使用货币环境信息。环境成本会计在小型和中型的企业中使用还比较少见，因此实际的例子在现有的文献中并不多见。有一个问题就是，中小企业的定义因国家而异（参考Kosmider，1993年和Reinemann，1999年）。我们列于表一中的工作标准是用来描述中小型企业的。表一 中小型企业的标准员工人数 营业额大于500个员工 营业额大于5千万欧元管理 组织-业主兼企业家 -分权组织很少见-区分于传统的家族制企业 -短式的信息流通和刚起步的公司的团队合作 -很强的个人责任-自上而下的直线型管理 -直接的个人接触 -授权很少 -正式程度较小 -高灵活度财务 全体职员-家族企业 -容易统计员工的数目-限制的财务占有权 -全面的专业技能 -员工满足感较高供应链 创新-与当地经济圈联系紧密 -在特定领域有很强创新潜能-与消费者及供应商关系稳定牢记这些特征，选择适当的环境成本会计方法应当很容易，掌