传统的会计信息是位置性和历史性的——记录花费的金额、地点和时间。为了成为管理业务的更有用的工具，应该将其转化为一个实时系统，该系统基于支出的直接原因——为什么（而不仅仅是在哪里）支出资金。该活动对下游运营造成了什么影响？这一拟议的绩效管理系统（PMS）超越了基于活动的成本计算，开发成本驱动因素，以量化、优先排序、证明和识别改进活动。PMS的主要要素包括近因/第一原因。

TRADITIONAL ACCOUNTING INFORMATION IS POSITIONAL AND HISTORICAL--RECORDING WHAT WAS SPENT, WHERE AND WHEN. TO BE A MORE USEFUL TOOL FOR MANAGING THE BUSINESS, THIS SHOULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO A REAL-TIME SYSTEM BASED ON PROXIMATE CAUSES FOR THE SPENDING--WHY (NOT MERELY WHERE) THE MONEY WAS SPENT. WHAT SHADOW DOES THE ACTIVITY CAST ON DOWNSTREAM OPERATIONS? THIS PROPOSED PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS) GOES BEYOND ACTIVITY BASED COSTING IN DEVELOPING COST DRIVERS TO QUANTIFY, PRIORITIZE, JUSTIFY, AND RECOGNIZE IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES. MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE PMS INCLUDES PROXIMATE CAUSE/FIRST.