The Applicability of the Developed Standard Costing System in Syrian Industrial Firms: A Field Study

Abstract

This study introduces the developed standard costing system and examines whether it can be applied in Syrian industrial firms, given its role in controlling production costs and strengthening the firm's competitive position. It also assesses whether the finance departments of these firms have the qualifications the system requires, and identifies the obstacles that stand in the way of applying it. Data were collected through a questionnaire designed for the study. Twenty-eight questionnaires, completed by cost accountants, chief accountants and financial managers in a varied group of Syrian industrial firms, were analysed with SPSS using Cronbach's alpha, arithmetic means, percentages and the one-sample Student's t-test. The results show that Syrian industrial firms need the developed standard costing system for the control it provides over production costs (mean 3.95 out of 5). The qualifications needed to apply it, however, are still lacking in the finance departments of these firms (mean 2.02), and a number of obstacles hinder its application (mean 4.12), chief among them top management's weak conviction of the system's importance. The study recommends training finance staff, raising decision makers' awareness of the system, and introducing it gradually.