Because mass production metrics contradict lean thinking and often compel managers to make dysfunctional decisions, accountants cannot effective track performance indicators that are attuned to the past era of mass production. To be a lean thinking accountant, the accounting professional must view the organization through the eyes of customers. However, employees often optimize functional performance, which leads to enterprise-wide waste and unsatisfied customers. Such accountants also often forget about the customer. A fictional company called Midwest Industrial Products (MIP) is used to describe the required steps of lean thinking, which involves definition of value, identification of the value stream, creating a value stream flow, implementation of a pull system, and a striving for perfection. At MIP, three sources of discontent were cited: heavy use of variance data, providing data that motivated managers to make decisions that contradicted lean production goals, and inaccurate characterization of the financial impact of operation improvements. To address the issues, MIP formed two cross-functional teams that concentrated on performance measurement, transaction elimination, calculation of lean financial benefits, and target costing. The team created a cohesive set of linked strategic objectives and goals, value stream goals and measures, and cell goals and measures. All measures link to the company's strategic objectives. Eighteen labor objectives were reduced to two, and two tools were created to quantify the financial benefits of lean production (value stream cost analysis and an income statement format complementing lean production). A target costing framework was also created that includes understanding customer needs and value, target costs, and drive to customer value. The steps required to implement lean thinking in the accounting function are described.