The Calculation Engine fully supports Activity Based Costing, but the degree to which this is used depends on the structure of your model. It calculates Activity Costs and Cost Object Costs automatically when changes are made to the base costs or drivers that are linked to these through the Assignment functions.
In addition to the structures and relationships required by the Calculation Engine, an activity-based model also needs to be populated with base costs and values. These can either be entered using the Profitability and Cost Management application Data Bridge, or by creating views that include all the dimensions that are associated with a particular set of costs or values. Some of the costs and values involved in Activity Costing are listed with their associated dimensions:
Line Items costs are usually obtained from General Ledger data. Service Costs can also be collected in the same way. Values need to be collected on a period basis, by whatever means are deemed appropriate.
When any of the above values are not available by <Responsibility Center> they should be assigned to the built-in item in the structure called <RC Unassigned>. This predefined item is relevant for all grid values that are associated with Responsibility Centers, Resource Drivers, Activities, and Cost Objects1– 5.