Cost accounting practices in African traditional healing: a case study of Makhuduthamaga Traditional Healers

Abstract

Cost accounting has been seen as one of the most effective management tools in strengthening an organisation’s performance through effective decision making and systematic cost accounting formulation and implementation. Although cost accounting was more prevalent in the private sector and public sector, it is still insubstantial and unpopular in African traditional healing in the sense that there is limited literature or evidence that supports the use of cost accounting in African traditional healing. The main aim of this the study is to examine the need of cost accounting practices in African traditional healing and the reason for its partial application. In so doing, this requires examining the necessity of cost accounting practices’ adoption to improve product and service pricing in African traditional healing, examine the reasons for the partial application of cost accounting practices in African traditional healing and to suggest or recommend how the adoption of cost accounting practices can improve product and service pricing in African traditional healing. This research was undertaken with the traditional healers in the Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality. Data were collected through the focus group interview which was conducted with African traditional healers. One focus group interview was conducted with seven African traditional healers consisting of six females and one male participant. The research findings revealed that there is a need to facilitate decisions in traditional healing through cost accounting principles regarding the appropriate costing of products and services of the traditional healers through the provision of accurate cost accounting information in traditional healing. However, there were also a number of factors that encouraged traditional healers to use cost accounting in the context of African Traditional Healing and have confidence in integrated cost accounting in traditional healing.