Main objective of management accounting is to help the management in performing its functions efficiently. The major functions of management are planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Management accounting helps the management in performing these functions effectively. Management accounting helps the management is two ways:
I. Providing necessary accounting information to management
II. Helps in various activities and tasks performed by the management.
I. Providing necessary accounting information to management:
(a) Measuring: For helping the management in measuring the work efficiency in different areas it is done on the past and present incidents with context to the future. In standard costing and budgetary any control, standard and actual performance is compared to find out efficiency.
(b) Recording: In management accounting both the quantitative and qualitative types of data are included and this accounting is done on the basis of assumptions and even those items which cannot be expressed financially are included in management accounting.
(c) Analysis: The work of management accounting is to collect and analyze the fact related to the managerial problems and then present them in clear and simple way.
(d) Reporting: For the use of management various reports are prepared. Generally two types of reports are prepared:-
a. Regular Reports
b. Special Reports.
II. Helping in Managerial works and Activities:
The main functions of management are planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. Management accounting provides information to the various levels of managers to fulfill the above mentioned responsibilities properly and effectively. It is helpful in various management functions as under:
(a) Planning: Through management accounting forecasts regarding the sales, purchases, production etc. can be obtained, which helps in making justifiable plans. The tools of management accounting like standard costing, cost -volume-profit analysis etc. are of great managerial costing, help in planning.
(b) Organizing: In management accounting whole organization is divided into various departments, on the basis of work or production, and then detailed information is prepared to simplify the thing. The budgetary control and establishing cost centre techniques of management accounting helps which result in efficient management.
(c) Staffing: Merit rating and job evaluation are two important functions to be performed for staffing. Generally only those employs are useful for the organization, whose value of work done by them is more than the value paid to them. Thus by doing cost-benefit analysis management accounting is useful in staffing functions.
(d) Directing: For proper directing, the essentials are co-ordination, leadership, communications and motivation. In all these tasks management accounting is of great help. By analyzing the financial and non financial motivational factors, management accounting can be an asset to find out the best motivational factor.
(e) Co-ordination: The targets of different departments are communicated to them and their performance is reported to the management from time to time. This continual reporting helps the management in coordinating various activities to improve the overall performance.