This study is divided into two areas:
(i) a survey of economic and accounting literature in regard to the theory of transfer pricing and associated problems.
(ii) a study of the rationale and methods of selected firms in the light of the theoretical analysis.
The decentralization of corporate entities into smaller, more manageable units (divisions) brought with it the problem that goods and services would be transferred between divisions and records would need to be kept. The variety of pricing methods used in the recording of these transfers was to create varying opinions as to the correct method of “transfer pricing”.