Activity-Based Costing Application under Normal Costing
Chapter from the book:
Doğan,
Z.
(ed.)
2026.
Current Issues in Accounting.
Synopsis
Before the Public Oversight Authority (KGK) of Türkiye issued the Turkish Accounting Standards, the accounting literature mainly referred to the concepts of the commercial balance sheet and the tax balance sheet. Today, these two concepts, or more precisely these two different monetary figures (TRY), are reflected in statements generally referred to as the balance sheet or statement of financial position. This situation raises an important question: Should businesses maintain their accounting records according to the Tax Procedure Law (VUK), according to accounting standards, or according to both sets of regulations? Accounting professionals often provide different answers to this question. The most common approach is to keep accounting records in accordance with VUK and then, at the end of the reporting period, convert the balance sheet into a statement of financial position through adjustment entries. These adjusting entries also involve the application of the normal costing method. Under normal circumstances, companies in Türkiye that are subject to independent audit, including smaller firms as they grow, are expected to apply the normal costing method. In practice, however, a statement of financial position based on normal costing is often prepared at the end of the period using certain assumptions and by separating fixed and variable costs. It is then expected that KGK auditors will accept these calculations. Otherwise, companies may face penalties due to the failure to properly apply normal costing. Businesses are often required to use a combination of different costing systems, such as full costing, variable costing, activity-based costing, direct material-based costing, and similar methods. This study examines how activity-based costing can be integrated with normal costing when both methods are required and discusses the approach to be followed and the results that may be obtained.
