The Different Functions of Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting

1940 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Financial accounting vs managerial accounting

Business requires the appropriation of funds and the analysis of how these funds are and should be used. The primary task of an accountant is to account for all transactions that were done over a period of time for a specific organization and to arrange these facts into financial statements that can be analyzed. The two main types of accounting, financial and managerial accounting are used to evaluate a businesses financial status through financial information that is specific to the audience. Although financial and managerial accounting use similar primary financial statements, the analysis of the documents and the information presented differs tremendously primarily because the financial accounting statements are directed to external users and the managerial accounting statements are directed to internal users. This difference varies the information presented on the financial statements and the analysis that can be surmised from reviewing the documents. Due to regulations that require financial information to be standardized, two primary forms of accounting have been developed to address concerns specific to an audience. Financial accounting is the most public accounting information and is available to external users, such as creditors, auditors, and analysts. This information is an aggregate overview of the company’s financial statement because they are used by external users and controlled by reporting standards established by the SEC and the Financial Accountings Standards Board (Walther, 2009). The information provided in the financial statements under the financial accounting system is used by auditors to analyze the businesses financial position. Maintaining an accounting standard for report for external users is al... ... middle of paper ... ...nancial information and how to analyze the information reported. While each type of accounting is necessary, they are aimed at different audiences and have various standards that are necessary to adequately evaluate the financial position of the company. Financial accounting is primarily the function of putting financial statements together in accordance to GAAP so that the information can be viewed and analyzed for external users, including auditors and shareholders. Managerial accounting is the process of compiling financial statements that will aid the management team in making decisions for the organization. The decision-making process requires information that is specific to the question at hand. The issue that is posed is will the information be evaluated adequately omitting information that the government feels is necessary to thoroughly evaluate a business.

Show More
Related

  • Examining Financial Statements - Landry's Restaurants

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    Financial statement users around the globe use financial statements to evaluate the performance of companies (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006). In order to locate a company’s reported assets, liabilities, expenses and revenues, statement users rely on four types of financial statements. The four financial statements include: Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Retained Earnings, and Statement of Cash Flows (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p. 6). Each of these reports provides different information to the financial statement user. The Balance Sheet reports at a point in time: a company’s assets (what it owns), liabilities (what it owes) and stockholder’s equity (what is left over for the owners) (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p.7). The Income Statement shows whether a business made a profit (net income) during a specific period of time (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p. 10). The Statement of Retained Earnings illustrates what portions of the company’s earnings was paid to stockholders and retained by the company for future operations (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p.12). Finally, the Statement of Cash Flows reports summarizes how a business’ “operating, investing, and financial activities caused its cash balance to change over a particular range of time” (Fundamentals of Financial Accounting, 2006, p.13).

    Read More

  • A Critical Component Of Any Accounting Theory Course

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the conceptual framework, the potential users of financial statements are investors, creditors, suppliers, employees, customers, governments and agencies, and the general public (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2006). The primary users are investors, creditors, and those who advise them. It goes on to define the criteria that make up each potential user, as well as, the limitations of financial reporting. The FASB explicitly states that financial reporting is “but one source of information needed by those who make investment, credit, and similar resource allocation decisions. Users also need to consider pertinent information from other sources, and be aware of the characteristics and limitations of the information in them” (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2006). With this in mind, it is still particularly difficult to determine whom the financials should be catered towards and what level of prudence is necessary for quality judgment.

    Read More

  • Budget Analysis

    1842 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marshall, M.H., McManus, W.W., Viele, V.F. (2003). Accounting: What the Numbers Mean. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.

    Read More

  • ASDA: The Retail Giant In The World

    1928 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Management Accounting a manager has to have knowledge on both the financial and non-financial terms of the business and operational sides of the business. Both the financial and non-financial items are reported and analyzed by the managers to come to any decision. Again, the corporate social performance is also analyzed and a report is made on that. They have to take care of the other points also, i. e, profit of the organization, the final and end users, i. e ,customers and their satisfaction levels, employees of the organization, environmental matters related to the

    Read More

  • Debenhams PLC

    2104 Words  | 5 Pages

    Management accounting in organisation is very important for decision-making and to make the business more efficient and therefore increasing its profits. Is the process of preparing accounts that can help managers to make day-to-day and short-term decisions, by providing them with accurate and timely key financial and statistical information...

    Read More

  • Essay On Managerial Accounting

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    Management accountants use their skills to help with decisions that help a business make good decisions so they company will be valuable and in an ethical manner. They assess risk and implement strategy through planning, budgeting, and forecasting. Now managerial accounts have become critical with their analysis while managing a business. They do more than provide financial information they also have an active role in the business. Over the years managerial accountants has changed and now provide nonfinancial information. They can help a business achieve their goals. Today there is many things that is influencing how managerial accountants do their job with the emergence of e-business. They can use their knowledge to streamline the e-business (Hilton,2008). Now global competition has new challenges for managerial accounts because trade agreements can affect the way the business performs abroad. Gillet (n.d) said, “To be competitive, manufacturers must keep up

    Read More

  • Financial vs. Managerial Accounting

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    Financial and Managerial accounting are used for making sound financial decisions about an organization. They provide information of past quantitative financial activities and are useful in making future economic decisions. (Albrecht, Stice, Stice, & Skousen, 2002) The same financial data is used to derive reports for each accounting process yet they differ in some ways. Financial accounting primarily provides external reports for external users such as stock holders, creditors, regulating authority and others. (Garrison, Noreen, & Brewer, 2010) On the other hand Managerial accounting is concern with providing information that deals with the internal viability of the organization and is tailored to meet the needs of an individual organization. (Albrecht, Stice, Stice, & Skousen, 2002)

    Read More

  • Hca 602 Financial Analysis Paper

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many companies that use financial accounting statements to maintain a financially sound organization. Bookkeepers are able to give a report of the company’s financial health through these statements. These statements are reports that contain information pertaining to the organization’s financial position and results of their activities. (Finkler, et, al., 2013). The purpose of Management's discussion and analysis (MD&A), is to provides an overview of previous operations to develop a framework to meet the goals for the next year (Finkler, et, al., 2013). These outcomes can highlight areas of positive and negative managerial styles and decision making. It offers a breakdown of the overall financial position and results of operations to assist users in assessing whether that financial position has improved or deteriorated as a result of the year’s activities. (Finkler, et, al., 2013).

    Read More

  • Smes: Case Study

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    GAAP reporting standards (AICPA, n.d.). A private business owner can utilize the concise and familiar accounting principles and accrual income tax or cash basis method of financial reporting to assess the company’s performance and provide relatable decision-making information to stakeholders (AICPA, n.d.). Moreover, it is a cost-effective measure for business owners that do not have to comply with U.S. GAAP base financial statements. In addition, CPAs can provide value pricing by preparing meaningful and concise reporting to internal and external parties. However, a business owner should carefully consider and examine the available options before deciding on an appropriate reporting framework. In order to provide the best short-term and long-term solution, it is imperative to consider a company’s business structure and future

    Read More

  • BUS 630: Managerial Accounting

    2365 Words  | 5 Pages

    Final Paper BUS 630, Managerial Accounting Name Date Instructor Introduction “Managerial Accounting is the branch of accounting that meets managers' information needs. Because managerial accounting is designed to assist the firm's managers in making business decisions, relatively few restrictions are imposed by outside regulatory bodies and generally accepted accounting principles. Therefore, a manager must define which data are relevant for a particular purpose and which are not” (Schneider, 2012). Managerial accounting is an important part of an organization’s setup that guides the managers and helps them to make important financial decisions. It is an important functional area that is conducted in each and every organization

    Read More

  • Decision Making in Managerial Accounting

    2652 Words  | 6 Pages

    Subsequent to obtaining the accounting information, managerial accountants will then proceed to use it to plan, evaluate the company performance and also control the business operations. With regards to planning, the managers are required to make decisions concerning the kind of product to introduce into the market, when to introduce the product and where the production should take place. In performance evaluation, individual product lin...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Financial Accounting And Managerial Accounting

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the other hand, managerial accounting is category of accounting that provides special purpose statements, and it reports to management and other persons inside the

    Read More

  • Accounting Regulatory Bodies Paper

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    The success of a company is very dependent upon its financial accounting. In accounting there are numerous Regulatory bodies that govern the accounting world. These companies are extremely important to a company because they set the standards when it comes to the language and decision making of a company. These regulatory bodies can be structured as agencies, associations, commissions, and boards. Without companies like the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Internal Accounting Standards Board (IASB), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and other regulatory bodies a company could not make well informed decisions. In this paper the author will look at only four of them.

    Read More

  • The Purpose of Accounting

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of this document is to describe the nature, purpose and scope of accounting and it deliberately explains the details of each category in accounting. Accounting involves in preparing financial documents of an entity by analyzing, verifying, and reporting this records. It emphasizes its major characteristic role in field of banking and finance, with a mixture of supportive sub topics.

    Read More

  • Differences Between Managerial Accounting And Financial Accounting

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition, financial accounting focuses on historical information about financial information about the company. Managerial accounting often focuses on

    Read More

More about The Different Functions of Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting

Open Document