CHARLOTTE, NC (March 26, 2004) - The Printing Industry of the Carolinas, Inc. (PICA) is pleased to feature activity-based costing in the upcoming PICA/xpedx Graphics Management Institute. The one-day comprehensive program is underwritten by the Foundation of The Printing Industry of the Carolinas, Inc. and xpedx. Anyone who owns or manages a printing company today faces a daunting array of challenges. Powerful economic and technological forces have combined to dramatically increase both the pace of change and the intensity of competition. Despite these powerful changes, most companies are still using an outdated management accounting and costing system that cannot provide managers with the kind of decision-support information they need to succeed. Activity-based costing solves the problem. David Dodd and Bill Lavelle of Point Balance, LLC are presenting a comprehensive one-day PICA/xpedx Graphics Management Institute on Thursday, April 1, at the PICA Education Center, 3601 Rose Lake Drive. This in-depth course will enable participants to master one of the greatest tools for ensuring printing success. Designed to assist owners and key managers of printing businesses of all sizes and processes, the message is delivered in a way that is easy to understand and practical to implement. Participants will learn why the changing business of print demands a new management and costing system, how traditional budgeted hourly rate costing systems fail today's printing company managers, and how activity-based costing (ABC) works. They will also learn why ABC systems provide better decision-support information to printing company managers, how to implement activity-based costing in 90 days using rapid prototyping, and how to build effective ABC cost models. ABC's role as an enabler, how it works with other financial management tools, how printing company managers can use ABC to maximize customer profitability, and how it supports process improvement efforts will also be covered in the program. They will also learn how printing company managers can use ABC systems to measure the cost of excess capacity and make more reasoned capacity-related decisions. Registration for the program is $299 per person; PICA members may attend for $199 for the first attendee and $159 for the second attendee. For more information and to register, call PICA at (704) 357-1150 or email [email protected]. As a bonus, participants will receive Dodd and Lavelle's recently published and well-received book, Activity-Based Costing for Printers: An Implementation Guide -- a $39.95 value. The Printing Industry of the Carolinas, Inc. (PICA) is a trade association representing the graphic communications industry in North and South Carolina. North Carolina ranks as the l4th largest state print market in the United States with l,047 total printing establishments and 27,342 employees. South Carolina ranks 30th in the nation with 392 establishments and 9,742 employees. PICA is headquartered in Charlotte, NC.