It should be fairly obvious at this point that in order for an accounting system to have strong bottom-line impact on manufacturing operations it must produce effective and accurate manufacturing performance measures. "Financial performance measures" should "indicate whether the company's strategy, implementation and execution are contributing to bottom-line improvement." ^[13] Traditionally, corporate and manufacturing performance measures were viewed as byproducts of cost accounting systems. They were treated as almost an afterthought. For manufacturers to compete in the competitive global environment, this must change. "Enhanced competitiveness depends on starting from scratch and asking: given our strategy, what are the most important measures of performance? " ^[14]

The effectiveness of any company's performance measurement system must be treated as a critical factor to the success of the execution of its competitive strategy. One critical success factor to developing a good manufacturing performance measurement system is to make certain the system is measuring the performance parameters that really matter. "Many companies do not institute a measurement system that supports the company's strategy." ^[15] A performance measurement system that is not aligned with the company's strategy is a formula for failure. It is very important that the performance measures represent the corporate strategy and the resulting strategy of the manufacturing operation. The only reasonable way to establish this linkage is to clearly define the corporate strategy and ensure that the manufacturing performance measures are derived directly from it: "Performance measures should help establish congruence between organizational and company...