ITT Automotive North America: A Case Study Requiring Use of Benchmarking, Activity/Process Analysis, and Reengineering Concepts

Managerial and cost accounting textbook discussions of the “process view” of activity-based costing (ABC) often fail to communicate how companies use activity-based accounting, benchmarking, continuous improvement and reengineering techniques to improve their business processes. Such knowledge is valuable to students who will enter globally competitive markets. ITT Automotive North America is a business case that gives the reader the benchmark figures, cost and other process-performance data, and activity descriptions necessary to complete a project to improve a company's process to acquire and pay for small-dollar goods and services. Because of the cross-functional nature of the issues involved in process improvement, the case would also fit well in either an auditing or information systems course.