Types of accounting information may be classified into four categories: Operating informationFinancial accounting informationManagement accounting information andCost accounting information 1. Operating Information: This is the kind of  information which is required to conduct the day-to-day activities. Examples of operating information are: Amount of wages paid and payable to employeesInformation about the stock of finished goods available for sale andEach one’s cost and selling priceInformation about amounts owed to and owing by the business enterpriseInformation about stock of raw materials, spare parts and accessories and so on. By far, the largest quantity of accounting information provides the raw data (input) for financial accounting, management accounting and cost accounting.  Spend Wisely 2. Financial Accounting: Financial accounting information is meant both for owners and managers and also for the use of individuals and agencies external to the business. This accounting is concerned with the recording of transactions for a business enterprise and the periodic preparation of various reports from such records. The records may be for general purpose or for a special purpose. Focus on the Long Term  3. Management Accounting: Management accounting makes use of  both historical and estimated data in assisting management in daily operations and in planning for future operations. It deals with specific problems that is faced by enterprise managers at various organizational levels. The management accountant is often concerned with finding alternative courses of action and then helping to select the best one. For e.g. The accountant may help the finance manager in preparing plans for future financing or may help the sales manager in deciding the selling price to be fixed on a new product by providing suitable data. Generally management accounting information is used in three important management functions: ControlCo-ordination andPlanning 4. Marginal costing This is an important technique of management accounting which provides multi dimensional information that helps in  decision making. Specialised Accounting Fields A number of specialized fields in accounting also have evolved besides financial accounting. Management accounting and cost accounting are the result of rapid technological advances and enhanced economic growth. The most important among them are explained below: 1. Tax Accounting: Tax accounting is all about the filing of tax returns and the consideration of the tax implications of proposed business transactions or alternative courses of action. Accountants specializing in this branch of accounting are familiar with the tax laws affecting their employer or clients and are up to date on administrative regulations and court decisions on tax cases. 2. International Accounting: This accounting is concerned with the special issues associated with the international trade of multinational business organizations or MNC’s. Accountants specializing in this area must be familiar with the influences that custom, law and taxation of various countries bring to bear on international operations and accounting principles. 3. Social Responsibility Accounting: This branch is the newest field of accounting and is the most difficult to describe. Social responsibility accounting is so called because it not only measures the economic effects of business decisions but also their social effects, which have previously been considered to be immeasurable. Social accounting is also known as social accounting and auditing, social and environmental accounting, corporate social reporting, corporate social responsibility reporting, non-financial reporting or accounting. Benefits of Social Accounting 4. Inflation Accounting: Inflation accounting is a term describing a range of accounting models designed to correct problems arising from historical cost accounting in the presence of highinflation and hyperinflation. Inflation accounting is used in countries experiencing high inflation or hyperinflation. 5. Human Resources Accounting: Human resource accounting is the process of identifying and reporting investments made in the human resources of an organization that are presently unaccounted for in the conventional accounting practices. It is an extension of standard accounting principles. This system of accounting...

Cost-A Key Concept in Economics for Managerial Decision Making The concept of cost along with demand and supply constitute three of the basic areas of managerial economics. Analysis of cost is essential when it comes to large-scale production, where the firm is in a position to factorize the economies of scale. For a profit-maximizing firm, the decision to add a new product is done by comparing additional revenues to additional costs associated with that project.   Aids in Decision Making Decisions on capital investment are made by comparing rate of return on investment with the opportunity cost of the funds used to make capital acquisition. Costs are equally important in non-profit sector. For example, to obtain funding for a new dam, a government agency has to demonstrate that the value of the benefits of the dam like flood control and water supply, will exceed the cost of the project. It is necessary that we define the term ‘cost’ for better understanding. The traditional definition tends to focus on the explicit and historical dimensions of cost. In contrast, the economic approach to cost emphasizes opportunity cost rather than historical and includes both explicit and implicit costs.   Opportunity Cost: Opportunity costs are fundamental costs in economics, and are used in computing cost benefit analysis of a project. Such costs, however, are not recorded in the account books but are recognized in decision making by computing the cash outlays and their resulting profit or loss. Opportunity cost is the minimum price that would be necessary to retain a factor-service in it’s given use. It is also defined as the cost of sacrificed alternatives. For instance, a person chooses to forgo his present lucrative job which offers him Rs.50000 per month, and organizes his own business. The opportunity lost (earning Rs. 50,000) will be the opportunity cost of running his own business. Fixed and Variable Cost: A company’s total cost is composed of its total fixed costs and its total variable costs combined. Variable costs vary with the amount produced. Fixed costs remain the same, no matter how much output a company produces. Semi-variable is the type of costs, which have the characteristics of both fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs and variable costs comprise total cost. Total cost is a determinant of a company’s profits which is calculated as: Profits = Sales – Total Costs. The cost which remains same, regardless of the volume produced, is known as fixed cost. A variable cost is a corporate expense that changes in proportion with production output. Variable costs increase or decrease depending on a company’s production volume; they rise as production increases and fall as production decreases. Feel free to share this infographic on “Concept of Costs” Cost Reduction: Cut Costs and Maximise Profits: Be flooded with ideas on how to cut your...

The main aim of management accounting is to help an organization in its functions of planning, directing, controlling and areas of specialization included within the admit of management accounting. The main concern of management accounting is to provide necessary quantitative and qualitative information to the management for planning and control. For this purpose it draws out information from accounting as well as non-accounting sources. Hence, its scope is quite vast and it includes within its fold almost all aspects of business operations.

The purpose of accounting is to provide the information that is needed for sound economic decision making. The main purpose of financial accounting is to prepare financial reports that provide information about a firm’s performance to external parties such as investors, creditors, and tax authorities.