| A variety of organisations affect our daily lives. | | | | they provide is financial, there is a strong trend |
| Manufacturers, retailers, service firms, agribusiness | | | | toward the presentation of substantial non-financial |
| companies, non-profit organisations and | | | | data as well. Actually, they supply all kinds of |
| governmental agencies provide us with a vast | | | | information to management and act as strategic |
| array of goods and services. All of these | | | | planners in support of management's role in |
| companies share two common things. First, they | | | | decision making and managing the organisation |
| all have a set of goals or objectives. A bank's | | | | activities. |
| goals might be profitability and customer service, | | | | Compared to financial accounting, managerial |
| or a hotel's goals might be total quality services | | | | accounting is a young discipline that focuses on |
| and cost minimisation. Second, in pursuing an | | | | the needs of managers within the organisation, |
| organisation's goals, managers need accurate | | | | rather than interested parties outside the |
| information. The information management needs | | | | organisation. As a result, managerial accounting |
| range across financial, production, marketing, legal, | | | | concepts and tools are still evolving as new ways |
| and environmental issues. Generally, the largest | | | | are found to provide information that assists |
| the organisation is, the greater is management's | | | | management. Moreover, the business environment |
| need for information. | | | | is changing rapidly. For managerial accounting to be |
| Managerial accounting is the process of identifying, | | | | as useful a tool in the future as it has been in the |
| measuring, analysing, interpreting, and | | | | recent past, managerial accounting has to be |
| communicating information in pursuit of an | | | | studied and improved. |
| organisation's goals. Managerial accounting is an | | | | In the 21st century the business environment is |
| integral part of the management process, and | | | | changing very rapidly. These changes are |
| managerial accountants are important strategic | | | | reflected in global competition, rapidly advancing |
| partners in an organisation's management team. | | | | technology, and improved communication |
| The management team seeks to create value for | | | | systems, such as the Internet. The activities that |
| the organisation, by managing resources, activities, | | | | make an enterprise successful today may no |
| and people to achieve the organisation's goals | | | | longer be sufficient next year. A crucial role of |
| effectively. The day-to-day work of the | | | | managerial accounting is to continually assess how |
| management team comprises four activities: | | | | an organisation stacks up against the competition, |
| decision making, planning, directing operational | | | | with an eye towards continuously improving. In |
| activities and controlling. | | | | fact, moving away from a historical cost |
| Nowadays managerial accounting analysis is | | | | accounting perspective and towards a proactive |
| considered so crucial in managing an enterprise | | | | cost management is the challenge that an |
| that in most cases, far from playing a passive | | | | enterprise has to face. Assigning the costs to a |
| role as information providers, managerial | | | | larger number of cost pools that better represent |
| accountants take a proactive role in both the | | | | those activities that are responsible for their birth, |
| strategic and day-to-day decisions that confront | | | | portrays the general idea upon which future |
| an enterprise. Although much of the information | | | | managerial accounting will evolve. |