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...

Just in Time Manufacturing Concept JIT Philosophy: With the progression in product-process technologies and the hybrid manufacturing systems, the Japanese have been perfecting a manufacturing system called ‘Just in Time’ or ‘JIT’. This JIT operating system is nothing but a production strategy that strives to improve business return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs. The JIT purchasing system has emphasis on timing to supply materials just in time for use on the factory floor. Equally important emphasis is given to close and long term relationship with a few suppliers. The suppliers in JIT manufacturing are geographically closely located. Specifications: Producing and delivering finished goods ‘just in time’ to be sold Partly finished goods ‘just in time’ to be assembled into finished goods Parts ‘just in time’ to go into partly finished goods Materials ‘just in time’ to be made into parts. Loose specifications instead of rigid product specifications are used which leads to best use of supplier specialization and expertise for low cost and better quality. Frequent deliveries (daily deliveries) of small lots of exact quantities required are supplied directly to the shop floor avoiding large inventories, paper work and double inspection. The JIT system underlines the mutual confidence between buyer and supplier and long term relationship. This leads to investment by the supplier for the benefit of the buyer in terms of plant and equipment for improvement of quality, reduction of cost and shortening manufacturing lead times. Where does the responsibility lie? ‘The responsibility for the quality rests with the manufacturer of the part’ is the principle behind this Japanese practice. The primary responsibility for quality is transferred from quality control department to the production department. The quality control is considered a line function rather than staff function. The processes are designed to have less specialization on the part of workers. The physical layout is arranged in such a way that workers can operate two or three machines effectively and thereby become multifunctional. Good Quality First Time Every Time: Workers are organized in small closely linked groups thereby building team work. The production for each stage is planned in small lot sizes just meeting the needs of the subsequent stage. The system is such that even if one item produced is substandard, it would affect subsequent processes causing shortages and exposing the process or worker who has produced substandard item. This acts as a great motivator to produce good quality first time, every time. This also heightens the awareness among the workers about the inter dependence of processes. Taiichi Ohno, Father of the Toyota Production System saw this as an attribute rather than a problem. He used an analogy of lowering the water level in a river to expose the rocks to explain how reducing inventory showed where production flow was disrupted. Once bottle necks were exposed, they could be rectified or removed. Since one of the main barriers was rework, lowering inventory shoved each shop to improve its own quality. Just-in-time is a means to improving performance of the system, not an end. The result of the Japanese manufacturing system is quite pervasive in the areas of: Reduction in inventory Reduction in scrap Reduction in work Reduction in indirect costs Reduction in spare Reduction in administrative costs Increase in motivation of workers Increase in quality Better response to customers Better system flexibility and quicker response. What is kanban? Kanban is Japanese for “visual signal” or “card.” Toyota line-workers used a Kanban (i.e., an actual card) to signal steps in their manufacturing process. The system’s highly visual nature allowed teams to communicate more easily on what work needed to be done and when. It...

 Strategy Implementation Organizational objectives must be accomplished by strategic planning and thinking that makes your organization unique and also helps to have a competitive edge. What are the elements that are part of this planning strategy? Proper allocation of resources An appropriate organization structure Efficient human resource personnel An effective management information system A feasible budgeting system A good reward system Periodic strategy review system There are many more aspects that can be attributed to broadly define strategic planning and execution. The success or failure of this exercise is in the hands of managers, who should be adequately prepared for the planning process. The objectives of the organization must be well defined and clear so that the people in the organization can evolve the necessary plans to accomplish those objectives. The action plans are then formulated based on these initially formed plans. So, the planning premises form the base on which the organization is built. Strategic business units must be identified and nurtured to add value to the organization.  Why strategic planning becomes a failure in some of the organizations? Lack of proper training in strategic planning, and the key persons are the managers at all levels. Vague goals and objectives don’t make them meaningful and strategic excellence cannot be achieved. Long term goals not subjected to periodic review. If there is fluctuation in the political, economic or social environment, that is detrimental to the industry in which the firm operates, the goals can be reviewed and a revised strategic plan can be devised for the long term health of that organization. Poor budget planning. To enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage in the market, you need to have a good financial backup to give shape to your plans. The strategic plans must be supported by specific action plans. It is a pity that in many organizations, there is neither co-ordination nor co-operation between the peers to make the strategic plans successful. Integrating these various functional groups becomes a tough task for the management. Simple but effective measures: Above all odds, a company can make things work, if the management is wise enough to follow these  First and foremost thing to be done is to communicate the strategic plans to all the managers who are key decision makers.  The management must make sure that everybody involved in the strategic implementation understand those strategies.  Well devised action plans that contribute to the accomplishment of the firm’s objectives must be laid down.  A well defined span of management that makes communication flow easy and simple.  Revising the strategies in lieu of the contingencies.  A conducive organizational climate that is devoid of conflicts and pressure  Involvement of top management to ensure success. Thinking Out of the Box: You need “thinking managers“, to make your organization grow. The modern business management lays great emphasis on “getting people together” to accomplish the goals and objectives. How do you get people to work together? They should have a common business ideology that binds them to work for the upliftment of the organization. Although top level management cadre is responsible for formulating strategic plans, organizations must understand that the idea also reaches the lower level management in the right sense. That facilitates smooth execution delivering the expected result. Benefit from this Free Udemy Course on Marketing Strategies https://www.udemy.com/one-minute-marketing-lessons-30-quick-marketing-strategies/...

Profile of a successful leader Adaptive Capabilities:  Leaders need to radically change their mindset so as to stand the test of time; but the core leadership attributes like vision or creativity, intelligence, commitment, and a healthy dose of luck still continue to define the pre-requisites of success. Integrity of  Character is most important when talking about successful leadership. The philosophical undercurrent is that “Be Good, Do Good” and you will be good. The motive must be devoid of mistakes though there is room for mistakes in judgment. Leaders must have a clear vision and be able to communicate this vision to others so that it becomes a shared vision and everybody willingly contributes in fulfilling the vision. Six ‘C’s or six criteria that determine a leader’s credibility  Conviction Character Care Courage Composure Competence Cross-Functional Expertise – Acquisition of knowledge should make a leader humble and flexible and gaining knowledge must be seen as a life long experience rather than collection of voluminous data or skills. A leader will try to apply his broad functional knowledge and expertise in the right places and the results will be definitely magnificent. A leader must look into the possible options rather than to plan, the possible rather than the perfect, involvement instead of obedience. Change is the only entity that remains unchanged and it is inevitable for the leaders to consider change as the core element of growth. With accelerated pace of change in the economic, political and socio-cultural environment, leaders not only need to acquire new knowledge and skills but they also need to unlearn many of the things that have out-grown their purposes. Leaders should follow the CODE OF PRIDE to motivate the workforce. P– PROVIDE FOR A POSITIVE WORKING ENVIRONMENT R– RECOGNISE EVERYONE’S EFFORTS I– INVOLVE EVERYONE D– DEVELOP SKILLS AND POTENTIAL E– EVALUATE AND MEASURE CONTINUOUSLY In large corporate organizations, the leader must be willing to share power and control so that leadership is encouraged at various levels. Successful leaders are those who are self-motivated by setting their own standards and compete with themselves. Innovation is the need of the hour What do you mean by innovation? Creating something new or modifying the old one. Here the term innovation implies the change in the “THOUGHT PROCESS” of leaders who are able to turn a crisis into an opportunity. Also called as “THINKING OUT OF THE BOX” where a leader finds new application for old ideas which cannot be discarded or dis-regarded. “You must learn from your past mistakes but not Lea(r)n on your past successes”. High achievers take moderate risks calculating the circumstances and they rely on their own abilities unlike low achievers who invariably like to minimize risks or take wild and irrational risks. Running a corporate business has become more like an experiment since we cannot control or predict the future. It is highly unstable and unpredictable. So leaders have to cope up with this non-linear force acting in the external environment building up pressure. Leaving things as they are can be just as predictable as changing everything, you lose or win both ways. Now let us look at some of the definitions of Leadership 1. “Leadership is generally defined as influencing people so that they will strive willingly towards the achievement of group goals.”- Koontz and O’Donnell 2.  “Leadership is the lifting of man’s visions to higher heights, the raising of man’s performance to higher standards, the building of man’s personality beyond its normal limitations.”- Peter F.Drucker 3. “Leadership is the ability to secure desirable actions from a group of followers voluntarily without the use of correction.”- Alford and Beatty 4. “Leadership refers to the quality of the behavior of individuals where by they guide people on their activities in organized efforts.”- Chester I.Bernard  Behavioral Commitments of a Leader: Challenging the process Challenging the status quo and act as radical change agents Inspiring others by being pioneers, instigators, navigators and learners Showing risk-taking ability,...