Which of the following indicates a key feature of activity-based costing?

Activity-based costing (ABC) focuses on allocating costs to specific activities related to the production of goods or services rather than broadly spreading costs across products or departments. A key feature of ABC is its emphasis on resource usage measurement, which involves understanding how different activities consume resources. This approach allows organizations to identify areas where they can improve efficiency and reduce costs by closely analyzing the relationship between costs, activities, and products.

By measuring resource usage accurately, businesses can make informed decisions about pricing, product design, and process improvements. This level of detail helps in identifying non-value-adding activities and ensuring resources are allocated more effectively.

The other options, while related to cost accounting, do not capture the essence of activity-based costing as accurately. Fixed cost allocation can occur in various costing methods and does not specifically reflect the unique nature of ABC. Direct labor emphasis, while significant in some costing systems, is not a characteristic of ABC, which considers all resource usage, not just labor. Overhead cost averaging oversimplifies cost allocation and detracts from the detailed and data-driven approach that characterizes activity-based costing.