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.