Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold. The first objective is to examine the impact of the importance of cost information and product diversity on the adoption of activity-based costing (ABC) by Kazakhstani poultry organizations. The second goal is to establish the moderating impact of accountants’ involvement in the design for the costing system on the relationship between product diversity and the adoption of the ABC system. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire was sent to all 58 poultry organizations in Kazakhstan and eventually, 43 completed questionnaires were collected, which is 74% of all Kazakhstani poultry organizations. Findings The results show that there is indeed a positive relationship between product diversity and ABC adoption when the level of diversity is used concurrently with accountants’ involvement in the design of product costing. In addition, product diversity was identified as a significant negative predictor of ABC adoption. Originality/value This study updates the literature on the rate of ABC adoption in a developing country like Kazakhstan, more specifically, in the poultry industry. It complements the understanding of the factors that influence the ABC adoption by taking a synergistic approach to factors such as product diversity and accountant involvement. At the same time, this study is one of the first empirical attempts to test the moderative role of the participation of accountants in the development of calculation systems in the ABC adoption.