For courses in managerial accounting.
Go beyond managerial accounting theory to the techniques used in management today.
Managerial Accounting: Making Decisions and Motivating Performance enables future managers and business owners to attain the core skills they need to become integral members of their company’s decision-making teams.
This new program from established authors Srikant M. Datar and Madhav Rajan emphasizes decision-making and the implications of decisions. While many texts teach the theories and frameworks of management education, Managerial Accounting goes further by covering the capabilities and techniques necessary for effective management practice, as well as fostering attitudes that typify integrity, honesty, and fairness.
A high-level business case in each chapter illustrates key concepts and helps students place the material in the context of real-world practice. And deep integration with MyAccountingLab provides students numerous opportunities to review and hone their understanding throughout the learning experience.
Three key facets of cost accounting and cost management are highlighted throughout the text:
• Calculating cost of products, services, and other cost objects; • Analyzing relevant information for making decisions; and
• Obtaining information for planning and control and performance evaluation.The emphasis on these three concepts across a wide range of topics keeps students focused on the practical applications of course material—and on how they will use what they learn in their future careers.
To help students see the concepts of managerial accounting in action, each chapter closes with a case that illustrates the managerial decision-making process. Each case describes a company, presents a challenge facing the managers, and explores how the managers address the challenge. The cases come from a varied group of high-level sources, including the Harvard Business School.
Emphasizing managerial decision making throughout, each chapter is built around an extended real-world example that illustrates a challenge that a manager or management team faces. These examples help students build the decision-making skills they will need to pursue managerial careers.
Modern topics and traditional coverage are integrated throughout the text to help students develop a comprehensive view of the management accounting tools and techniques used today. Hallmark concepts that remain relevant, such as job costing and variance analysis, are presented in conjunction with newer concepts, such as activity-based costing and lean accounting, to give students a comprehensive overview of contemporary practice.
Focusing on the practice of management accounting, the text emphasizes how the concepts presented in the chapter play out in practice. To this end, the text covers the challenges of implementing ideas, the potential difficulties in obtaining information, and the incentives for various parties to act or refrain from taking action.
Managerial Accounting emphasizes that successful managers pay particular attention to behavioral aspects of management accounting. The text fosters the understanding of human behavior, persuasion, and intelligent interpretation students need to implement management accounting techniques effectively in their future careers.
The authors were mindful of clarity of presentation, focusing on the needs of managers throughout. As such, accounting ideas, such as T-accounts, have been included only where they support the discussion. An ideal balance between simplicity and detail helps students understand the material without the burden of excessive information.
Concepts in Action boxes in each chapter cover real-world cost accounting issues across a variety of industries including retailing, manufacturing, health care, and entertainment.
Keys to Success boxes filter key concepts through a managerial prism. Scattered throughout the text, they prompt students to focus on how to apply concepts in practice.
Building managerial decision-making skills requires practice. Students may apply and practice what they have learned by way of an extensive array of assignment materials for each chapter: 10 questions, 10—12 exercises, 10—12 problems, and one case study. Many of the problems contain managerial questions that require students to interpret data and recommend plans of action. Students can complete these and additional exercises on MyAccountingLab, where they can receive tutorial help, as well as instant feedback and assistance on exercises they answered incorrectly.
MyAccountingLab is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program that truly engages students in learning. With multimedia demos and videos that bring course material to life, and tools that afford frequent practice, MyAccountingLab enables students to better unders
