Managerial Accounting For Dummies

Learn to: Interpret accounting information for managerial decision-making Discover the basic concepts, terminology, and methods in managerial accounting Score your highest in a managerial accounting course The easy way to master a managerial accounting course Are you enrolled in a managerial accounting class and finding yourself struggling? Fear not! Managerial Accounting For Dummies is the go-to study guide to help you easily master the concepts of this challenging course. You'll discover the basic concepts, terminology, and methods to identify, measure, analyze, interpret, and communicate information in the pursuit of an organization's goals. Managerial Accounting 101 — get a taste of what managerial accounting is, why it's important, and the important aspects of accounting that every businessperson needs to know The world of costs — discover the nature of different kinds of costs, how they behave, and how they flow through a business's operations Put the "I" in decision-making — find out how to use cost information to make decisions, such as whether to buy equipment, which products to make, and how to set prices Back to the future — get the 4-1-1 on the important role managerial accountants play in planning and budgeting for the future Take control — understand how managerial accountants monitor a company's performance to identify and address problems before they become crises Open the book and find: The role managerial accounting plays in business Key tools and concepts needed to communicate accounting information Examples illustrating terms, concepts, and formulas Foundational information about business, management, and decision-making Ten key managerial accounting formulas Financial statement ratios to know

Introduction 1 Part I: Introducing Managerial Accounting 7 Chapter 1: The Role of Managerial Accounting 9 Chapter 2: Using Managerial Accounting in Your Business 29 Part II: Understanding and Managing Costs 43 Chapter 3: Classifying Costs 45 Chapter 4: Figuring Cost of Goods Manufactured and Sold 57 Chapter 5: Teaching Costs to Behave: Variable and Fixed Costs 69 Chapter 6: Allocating Overhead 89 Chapter 7: Job Order Costing: Having It Your Way 105 Chapter 8: Process Costing: Get In Line 121 Part III: Using Costing Techniques for Decision–Making 145 Chapter 9: Straight to the Bottom Line: Examining Contribution Margin 147 Chapter 10: Capital Budgeting: Should You Buy That? 165 Chapter 11: Reality Check: Making and Selling More than One Product 179 Chapter 12: The Price Is Right: Knowing How Much to Charge 191 Chapter 13: Spreading the Wealth with Transfer Prices 203 Part IV: Planning and Budgeting 217 Chapter 14: Master Budgets: Planning for the Future 219 Chapter 15: Flexing Your Budget: When Plans Change 237 Part V: Using Managerial Accounting for Evaluation and Control 245 Chapter 16: Responsibility Accounting 247 Chapter 17: Variance Analysis: To Tell the Truth 259 Chapter 18: The Balanced Scorecard: Reviewing Your Business’s Report Card 279 Chapter 19: Using the Theory of Constraints to Squeeze Out of a Tight Spot 293 Part VI: The Part of Tens 301 Chapter 20: Ten Key Managerial Accounting Formulas 303 Chapter 21: Ten Careers in Managerial Accounting 311 Chapter 22: Ten Legends of Managerial Accounting 315 Index 319

Mark P. Holtzman, PhD, CPA , is Chair of the Department of Accounting and Taxation at Seton Hall University. He has taught accounting at the college level for 17 years and runs the Accountinator website at www.accountinator.com, which gives practical accounting advice to entrepreneurs.