Additive manufacturing flickering at the beginning of existence

The tremendous fluxes of innovations are likely to funnel and channel the most rapid change of overarching activities. The wider needs of the society are the impetus for the development of new technological substitution processes. Additive manufacturing using inkjet have broken new ground in rapid manufacturing and transform the way some products are made. The advent of this embryonic technology will born the aptness of applying judgement in assessing the implications and consequences on business, accounting and tax, rather than relying on the application of predefined rules. In this light, the article investigates the trend away from current traditional technologies to the next generation of custom manufacturing, additive manufacturing, as a cure for "ills" like : intermediation, stocks flow, divergence of functions, workforce productivity and labor cost savings. Connections to practice may become a double edged sword because these recent technological advances are the springboard for charging, billing, accounting and tax to evolve. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Emerging Markets Queries in Finance and Business local organization