Application of activity - based costing in companies in Poland

The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of activity-based costing in companies in Poland, and more specifically, to analyse problems in ABC implementation, the structure of ABC systems and the ways in which ABC information is used.Findings of the research have both practical and theoretical implications. First, from the practical point of view, future implementers of ABC systems should be aware of factors actually influencing ABC implementation as well as problems which can be encountered during the implementation process. Managers considering activity-based costing implementation may see level of detail and methods of construction of an ABC information model. They may also benefit from the knowledge of how information generated by an ABC systems is actually used by companies. All this may help to make better decision about ABC implementation and if the decision is to implement ABC, it may help to implement it successfully. From the theoretical point of view the research carried out makes it possible to establish a general tendency: modifications in costing systems applied in Polish enterprises and development of management accounting practice such as ABC follows the same general direction as management accounting practice in the world.