ACCT 102 - Fundamentals of Accounting II
Managerial Acct Concepts and Principles
Financial Accounting Managerial Accounting
| Concerned with reporting historical financial data to the public - focuses on external reporting | More concerned with providing information to management to assist in internal decisions |
| Focuses on results of operations that have already occurred - Based on the past | Focuses on decisions that will affect the future |
| Uses a standard set of rules and guidelines (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP) to insure that the financial statements objectively and periodically report results of past operations | Data and reports are much more subjective. Historical data is used, but only to assist in making decisions that will affect the future. |
| Information is prepared based on very explicit requirements | No restrictions set forth by GAAP. There are few rules. |
| Financial reports are required to be published at least annually: most publish quarterly | Reports are very flexible. They can be generated as needed. No stringent time lines. |
| Financial data is usually shown for the company as a whole | Management reports vary in scope. Some may be concerned with only one segment, one product, one location. Others may include larger parts of a company. |