Accounting for Managers - Interpreting Accounting Information for Decision-Making

Zusammenfassung This updated and revised fourth edition of Accounting for Managers builds on the international success of the previous editions in explaining how accounting is used by non-financial managers.Emphasizing the interpretation rather than the construction of accounting information! Accounting for Managers encourages a critical! rather than an unthinking acceptance of accounting techniques. Whilst immensely valuable for planning! decision-making and control! users of accounting information need to recognize the assumptions behind! and the limitations of particular accounting techniques.As in the previous editions! Accounting for Managers links theory with practical examples and case studies drawn from real business situations across a wide range of manufacturing! retail and service industries. Inhaltsverzeichnis PART I: CONTEXT OF ACCOUNTING1. Introduction to Accounting.2. Accounting and its Relationship to Shareholder Value and Corporate Governance.3. Recording Financial Transactions and the Principles of Accounting.4. Management Control! Management Accounting and its Rational-Economic Assumptions.5. Interpretive and Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Decision-Making.PART II: THE USE OF FINANCIAL REPORTS FOR DECISION-MAKING6. Constructing Financial Reports: IFRS and the Framework of Accounting.7. Interpreting Financial Reports and Alternative Perspectives.8. Accounting for Inventory.PART III: USING ACCOUNTING INFORMATION FOR DECISION-MAKING! PLANNING AND CONTROL9. Accounting and Information Systems.10. Marketing Decisions.11. Operating Decisions.12. Human Resource Decisions.13. Accounting Decisions.14. Strategic Investment Decisions.15. Performance Evaluation of Business Units.16. Budgeting.17. Budgetary Control.18. Strategic Management Accounting.PART IV: SUPPORTING INFORMATION.ReadingsGlossary of Accounting TermsSolutions to QuestionsIndex

List of contents

Preface to the Fourth Edition xvii
About the Author xxi

Acknowledgements xxii

PART I Context of Accounting 1

1 Introduction to Accounting 3

Accounting, accountability and the account 3

Introducing the functions of accounting 5

A short history of accounting 6

The role of financial accounting 7

The role of management accounting 8

Recent developments in accounting 10

The relationship between financial accounting and managementaccounting 12

A critical perspective 13

Conclusion 15

References 15

Questions 16

2 Accounting and its Relationship to Shareholder Value andCorporate Governance 17

Capital and product markets 17

Shareholder value-based management 18

Shareholder value, strategy and accounting 21

Company regulation and corporate governance 23

The regulation of companies 23

Corporate governance 23

Principles of corporate governance 24

Responsibility of directors 24

Audit 25

Audit committees 25

Stock Exchange Listing Rules 26

Risk management, internal control and accounting 26

A critical perspective 27

Conclusion 28

References 28

Websites 28

Questions 29

3 Recording Financial Transactions and the Principles ofAccounting 30

Business events, transactions and the accounting system 30

The double entry: recording transactions 31

Extracting financial information from the accounting system35

Basic principles of accounting 37

Accounting entity 37

Accounting period 37

Matching principle 38

Monetary measurement 38

Historic cost 38

Going concern 39

Conservatism 39

Consistency 39

Cost terms and concepts: the limitations of financial accounting39

Conclusion 41

References 41

Questions 42

4 Management Control, Accounting and its Rational-EconomicAssumptions 44

Management control systems 44

Planning and control in organizations 47

Non-financial performance measurement 51

A theoretical framework for accounting 55

Conclusion 56

References 56

Websites 58

5 Interpretive and Critical Perspectives on Accounting andDecision Making 59

Research and theory in management control and accounting 60

Alternative paradigms 62

The interpretive paradigm and the social constructionperspective 65

Culture, control and accounting 67

The radical paradigm and critical accounting 68

Power and accounting 70

Case study 5.1: easyJet 71

Ethics and accounting 74

Case study 5.2: Enron 76

Case study 5.3: WorldCom 77

Conclusion 77

References 78

PART II The Use of Financial Statements for Decision Making81

6 Constructing Financial Statements: IFRS and the Frameworkof Accounting 83

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 84

Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of FinancialStatements 85

Objectives of financial statements 86

Qualitative characteristics of financial statements 86

Elements of financial statements 87

Concepts of capital maintenance 88

True and fair view 88

Reporting profitability: the Statement of Comprehensive Income89

Reporting financial position: the Statement of FinancialPosition 92

Accruals accounting 94

Depreciation 95

Specific IFRS accounting treatments 97

Accounting for sales taxes 98

Accounting for goodwill and impairment testing 98

Accounting for research and development expenditure 99

Accounting for leases 99

Reporting cash flow: the Statement of Cash Flows 100

Differences between the financial statements 102

Illustration 102

A theoretical perspective on financial statements 103

Agency theory 104

A critical perspective on financial statements and accountingstandards 105

Conclusion 105

Reference 106

Websites 106

Appendix: IFRS as at 1 January 2011 106

Questions 107

7 Interpreting Financial Statements 111

Annual Reports 111

The context of financial statements 113

Ratio analysis 113

Profitability 115

Return on (shareholders') inv

Report

Competitive Advantage:

Holds a unique position between theory and practice putting techniques into their academic context. One of our reviewers commented the text provides an ideal blend for postgraduate students so that they can get to grips with the key issues but put them in a wider context.

According to another reviewer Collier is tailored for the postgraduate market generalist who needs a working knowledge of financial and management accounting techniques and an awareness of the assistance that can be provided by the accounting function in decision making and organizational and financial control. There is no other text that fulfils this specific need.

Product details

• Authors: Paul M Collier, Paul M. Collier
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2012
• EAN: 9781119979678
• ISBN: 978-1-119-97967-8
• No. of pages: 580
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Business administration; Rechnungswesen, Buchhaltung, Accounting, Allg. Rechnungswesen