University of Phoenix Material
Role of Financial Accounting versus Managerial Accounting Matrix
Compare and contrast financial accounting and managerial accounting by answering the following questions in the matrix provided. Cite any sources you use in accordance with APA guidelines.
Term or Concept
Financial Accounting
Managerial Accounting
What is the primary purpose of the accounting system?
The main purpose of financial accounting is to prepare financial reports that provide information about a firm’s performance to external parties such as investors, creditors, and tax authorities. Must be performed according to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) guidelines.
Managerial accounting differs from financial accounting
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(External)
Managerial Accounting reports are primarily used by supervisors, line managers, process owners, as well as executives, to gain a better understanding of the current financial and operational health of the organization. (Internal)
What portion of the company is the primary focus?
The primary focus of the Financial Accounting is the Company and Enterprise Level.
The primary focus of the Managerial Accounting goes down to the Individual Operating Unit.
What time periods are included?
Historical and Actual Results typically reported on a quarterly and annually basis.
Plans, Actual Results and Forecasts that depends on management’s needs; some daily some only once per year.
Are there any requirements for the standards of report presentation?
GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) determine the content and format of financial statements. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) requires publicly traded companies to issue annual audit. Concerns are about adequacy of disclosure; and behavioral implications are secondary.
Management determines what they would like to include in the report. No authoritative body requires managerial accounting reports. Management carefully considers behavioral implications, when designing the managerial accounting system.
If accounting were your career choice, which of the two would you choose?
This decision would depend on the organization type, for instance if it were a publicly traded
Managerial accounting focuses on the needs of internal users (managers) and on data relevant for decision making.
Managerial accounting provides essential data about the functions within the business. The reports that are provided by the managerial accountants focus on the performance of the business and the business environment. Managerial accounting is manager oriented and managerial accounting focus on the accounting duties of a manager. Managerial accounting is used on a day to day operation providing an analysis of cost and the cost benefits. Managerial accounting function as a source for the business developments and the capital budgeting. The primary concern with managerial accounting is to provide positive outcomes in the business production and the profit.
The firm’s accounting system is very much a part of the fabric that helps hold the organization together. It provides knowledge for decision making, and it provides information for evaluation and motivating the behavior of individuals within the firm. Zimmerman, J. L. (2014). Managerial accounting is for internal use. I like your idea that you analyzing your reports weekly, monthly, and quarterly. Doing so will alleviate lots of room for error. Therefore; it is important for managers to analyze their information on a monthly or quarterly basis. Doing so will help them to monitor the budget and that will eliminate problems towards the end of the fiscal year, for example; revenue loss and job loss.
Management accounting is for commercial finance, analyzing past performance and projecting future results aiding in the commercial decision-making. This department defines and measures key targets needed to achieve for McDonald’s business strategy to be successful (McDonald’s Corporation, 2008).
The Report describes a proposal for the group of 20 of doctors with regard to the creating a hospital. Due to the 500,000 population of the city $100 million dollars would actually be a great start. Because the facility would be located 30 miles from the downtown area it would allow the facility to attract patients without being crowded. On the downside this affects its financial position and market condition because of distance. A lot of patients are not able to get to the doctor due to the high gas prices. Using various strategies, such as looking into ways to connect with public transportation to deal with this problem and gain
“The accounting system generates the information that satisfies two reporting needs that coexist within an organization: financial accounting and managerial accounting” (Schneider, 2012, ch 1.1, para 1). Managerial accounting is the process of preparing reports and accounts required by management to make business decisions for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly projects. Financial accounting is the branch of accounting that organizes accounting information for presentation to interested parties outside of the organization. Financial accountants produce annual reports for external
Financial accounting is an information-processing system that generates general-purpose reports of financial operations (income statement and statement of cash flows) and financial position (balance sheet) for an organization. It is used by decision makers inside and outside the firm, such as security investors, analysts, and lenders. Adding to this external orientation are external financial reporting requirements determined by law and generally accepted accounting principles.
The structure of an organization will affect its financial management. Generally financial accounting is for outside use so they emphasize external reporting; which means they report to third parties such as; Medicare, Medicaid and other government entities and health plan payers. Managerial accounting is considered to be prospective as well as retrospective. It is of the upmost importance that the accountant must follow the guidelines principles and ethical standards of planning, controlling, organizing and directing, and decision making if they want to be successful at their job.
Managerial accounting underlines on future choices and it is not an obligatory practice. It gives data to the association's insiders in connection with performance assessment, inspiration, course and control. The opportuneness of report is a noteworthy prerequisite and accentuation are set on the significance of things in choice making (Needles, Powers and Crosson, 2010). Administrative bookkeeping gives a report on clients, items, workers and divisions. Also, it is not an absolute necessity for administrative bookkeeping to take the proper accounting rules.
3. Managerial Accounting deals with procuring of data for the organisation's management i.e. to serve the internal users with necessary accounting information to carry out the management tasks of planning, organising, actualising and controlling. " Management Accounting is the presentation of accounting Information in such a way as to assist management in creation of policy and in the day to day operations of an undertaking". 4. Financial Management deals with the process adopted by an organisation for taking financial decisions through analysing and interpretation of financial data for meeting the organisations objectives.
The first impression of the course managerial accounting for managers was that it would involve learning how to manage operations of a firm, especially in relation to its financial records and activities to ensure efficient and successful operation of a firm. I expected to learn how to deal with the final financial records and using them to perform an analysis of the records which will help to make informed decisions. It would also involve learning how to deal with the accounting records to make effective budget plans in considerations of resources available. My expectations of the course
In contrast GAAP financial statements are usually prepared on a going concern basis unless immediate liquidation is required. If immediate liquidation is required then there are specific requirements and guidelines that must be followed for disclosers and recognitions. Assessment periods are prohibited from exceeding past 1 year past the financial statement that are being audited. Also
Accounting is used to manage the finance of the business. It calculates cost, records financial transaction and calculates profit by the business in the end of the finance year.
According to Will S, Ray H, & Eric E.N. (2009), management accounting is a branch of accounting that is concerned with providing information to managers who direct and control the firm’s operations. Management directing function seeks to effectively use both the human and raw material wealth of a firm to achieve organizational set objectives on routine basis. Controlling function is the art of tele-guarding the activities of the organization to consistently fall in line with set objectives. Management accounting achieves this function through effective budgeting.
According to the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Management Accounting is "the process of identification, measurement, accumulation, analysis, preparation, interpretation and communication of information used by management to plan, evaluate and control within an entity and to assure appropriate use of and accountability for its resources. Management accounting also comprises the preparation of financial reports for non management groups such as shareholders, cr->ors, regulatory agencies and tax authorities" (CIMA Official Terminology)