Introduction to Managerial Accounting
Learning Objective
Objective 1:
Describe managerial accounting, including its differences with financial accounting, its place
in the organization, and its uses.
Answer
Managers make numerous decisions during the day-to-day operations of a business and in
planning for the future. Managerial accounting provides much of the information used for
these decisions. Accounting information is often classified into two types: Financial and
Managerial.
Financial Accounting information is reported at fixed intervals (monthly, quarterly, yearly) in
general-purpose financial statements. These financial statements - the income statement,
retained earnings statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows - are prepared
according to GAAP. These statements are used by external users such as:
● Shareholders
● Creditors
● Government agencies
● The general public
Managerial Accounting information is designed to meet the specific needs of a company’s
management. This information includes:
● Historical data, which provide objective measures of past operations
● Estimated data, which provide subjective estimates about future decisions.
Management uses both types of information in directing daily operations, planning future
operations and developing business strategies.
Objective 2:
Learning Objective
Objective 1:
Describe managerial accounting, including its differences with financial accounting, its place
in the organization, and its uses.
Answer
Managers make numerous decisions during the day-to-day operations of a business and in
planning for the future. Managerial accounting provides much of the information used for
these decisions. Accounting information is often classified into two types: Financial and
Managerial.
Financial Accounting information is reported at fixed intervals (monthly, quarterly, yearly) in
general-purpose financial statements. These financial statements - the income statement,
retained earnings statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows - are prepared
according to GAAP. These statements are used by external users such as:
● Shareholders
● Creditors
● Government agencies
● The general public
Managerial Accounting information is designed to meet the specific needs of a company’s
management. This information includes:
● Historical data, which provide objective measures of past operations
● Estimated data, which provide subjective estimates about future decisions.
Management uses both types of information in directing daily operations, planning future
operations and developing business strategies.
Objective 2:
