Douglas T. Hicks, CPA

Douglas T. Hicks, CPA is President of D. T. Hicks & Co., a consulting organization concentrating on the decision costing needs of small and mid-sized organizations.  Before establishing his firm in 1985, he accumulated over fifteen years of financial and management accounting experience, twelve of those years in industry.  A graduate of the University of Michigan - Dearborn’s School of Management, he is a member of the Michigan Association of CPAs, the Institute of Management Accountants, and the Society of Cost Management.  In 1997, he was presented with the University of Michigan – Dearborn Alumni Association’s Professional Growth and Scholarship Award in recognition of his work in the development of advanced cost measurement and management.

Since 1985, Doug has worked with over two hundred businesses to develop cost-effective ways to improve the cost and other management information they rely on in making both strategic and day-to-day decisions.  These client organizations have ranged from $2 million to over $500 million in annual sales and have included firms in health care, distribution, printing, packaging, marketing services, and other service sectors as well as automotive, aerospace, office equipment, furniture, and other manufacturers.

This work has resulted in the "abc" solution^TM, an “activity-based” decision support process, originally designed for small and mid-sized organizations, but one that has proven to be effective for larger organizations as well.  Using the “abc” solution^TM, businesses are able to develop the accurate and relevant cost information they need to make effective product pricing, product line management, investment, cost reduction, and other critical decisions.

As Doug’s down-to-earth approach to cost and performance measurement and management issues has become more widely known and accepted, he has become a popular speaker on the subjects.  Many trade, accounting and other professional associations have used him as a resource for their members including the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and Michigan Association of CPAs (MACPA) for whom he has been a regular speaker and educator for two decades.  He has spoken at over 100 MACPA conferences and seminars and, in addition to speaking at scores of local IMA Chapter and regional meetings, he was a featured speaker at the IMA’s 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2005 and 2007 annual conferences.  In 1998, he was chosen by conference and seminar participants as the IMA’s “Instructor of the Year.”

Doug has authored scores of articles that have been published in a wide variety of professional and trade magazines including Journal of Accountancy, ActionLine, Manufacturing Engineering, Journal of Cost Management, Modern Casting, Plastic Technology, Michigan CPA,  Internal Auditor, Precision, and Management Accounting.  His first two books, Activity-Based Costing for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses: An Implementation Guide and Activity-Based Costing: Making it Work for Small and Mid-Sized Companies (both published by John Wiley & Sons) have sold over 15,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into four languages.  His most recent book, I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It: How Accounting Information Undermines Profitability is available at www.lulu.com and www.amazon.com.