Accounting Case Assignment

Case 1

ACC 202

Discuss and analyze the difference between managerial and financial accounting. Pay particular attention to:

* How is managerial accounting different from financial accounting?

There are many differences between managerial accounting and financial accounting. First I will cover managerial accounting. First of all Managerial accounting is not mandatory for a company to do. A company can do as much or as little as it sees fit to work this part of their business. Managerial accounting does not follow the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Next, managerial reports are reports that are for the inside of the organization for planning, directing and motivating, and performance evaluations. This part of accounting is for the future of the company. Timeliness of the information provided by the managerial accountant is required to set up the business for success.

On the other hand financial accounting must follow GAAP principles and there financial accounting reports are mandatory. Timeliness of the reports is not as important as the precision of the information reported. Also the financial accounting report is based on past activities of the company. Lastly the reports go to those on the outside of the organization, lenders, tax authorities and regulators.

* Comment on the different needs and use of financial information for internal purposes.

Accurate Financial accounting is necessary in the internal part of a business for several reasons. First it helps the business decisions easier when you have precise financial reports that show how the company has been doing. It also helps show the profit of the business to help the owners decide if they would like to expand the company.

* The managerial accounting profession and its role in today’s business environment. How has it changed over time?

Managerial accounting started back in the industrial revolution period, 19th century. Back then most firms where...