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Difference Between Financial and Managerial Accounting

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The Difference Between Managerial Accounting and Financial Accounting
ACC 560
Term Paper

In this term paper the author will discuss Managerial Accounting and the components of Managerial Accounting. The author will also compare the different components of financial accounting compared to managerial accounting. According to McGraw Hill, Managerial Accounting is concerned with providing information to managers, people inside an organization who direct and control its operations.” (Garrison & Noreen) Financial Accounting according to McGraw Hill “is concerned with providing information to stockholders, creditors and others who are outside an organization.” (Garrison & Noreen) In managerial accounting a wide variety of reports are prepared. Reports in managerial accounting focus on how well managers and businesses have performed. Most of these reports provide timely, frequent updates on information regarding when orders are received, sales, order backlog, and

utilization. Also, according to McGraw Hill, “financial accounting is oriented toward providing a limited set of specific annual and quarterly financial statements in accordance to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).” (Garrison & Noreen) Managerial Accounting does not have too followed the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). For this reason, managers set aside their own rules concerning the content and form of internal reports. The only constraints to managerial accounting are that the expected benefits from using the information should outweigh the costs of collecting and analyzing, and summarizing the data. “Managers are responsible to carryout all major responsibilities including planning, directing, motivating, and controlling.”(Garrison & Noreen) “For many managers planning involves establishing a basic

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