Accounting For Managers – Interpreting Accounting Information For Decision Making trading + found at redsamara com

Paul C. Collier9780470845028, 0470845023

Accounting for Managers explains how accounting information is used by non-financial managers. The book emphasizes the interpretation, rather than the construction, of accounting information and encourages a critical, rather than unthinking acceptance, of the underlying assumptions behind accounting. It links theory with practical examples and case studies drawn from real life business situations in service, retail and manufacturing industries.
Paul M. Collier applies a managerial approach to show how to: Understand the relationship between strategy, business events and financial information. Use accounting information in planning, decision-making and control. Identify the concepts that underlie the construction of accounting reports and the limitations of accounting numbers. The book has been written for MBA and other postgraduate students, undergraduate students who are undertaking courses in accounting that do not lead to professional accreditation, and non-financial managers who need a better understanding of the role of accounting in their organizations.

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Table of contents :
Team DDU……Page 2
Contents……Page 11
Preface……Page 17
Acknowledgements……Page 21
About the Author……Page 23
Context of Accounting……Page 25
PART I Context of Accounting……Page 5
1 Introduction to Accounting……Page 27
A short history of accounting……Page 29
The role of management accounting……Page 30
Recent developments in management accounting……Page 33
A critical perspective……Page 34
Conclusion……Page 35
References……Page 36
2 Accounting and its Relationship to Shareholder Value and Business Structure……Page 37
Value-based management……Page 38
Accounting and strategy……Page 41
Structure of business organizations……Page 43
A critical perspective……Page 45
Conclusion……Page 47
3 Recording Financial Transactions and the Limitations of Accounting……Page 49
The double entry: recording transactions……Page 51
Extracting nancial information from the accounting system……Page 53
Principles and limitations of accounting……Page 55
Cost terms and concepts……Page 58
Conclusion……Page 59
4 Management Control, Management Accounting and its Rational-Economic Assumptions……Page 61
Management planning and control systems and management accounting……Page 66
Non-.nancial performance measurement……Page 67
Strategic management accounting……Page 71
A theoretical framework for management accounting……Page 73
Conclusion……Page 75
5 Interpretive and Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Decision-Making……Page 79
The interpretive paradigm and the social construction perspective……Page 83
Culture, control and accounting……Page 84
The radical paradigm and critical accounting……Page 85
Power and accounting……Page 86
Conclusion……Page 87
References……Page 88
6 Constructing Financial Statements and the Framework of Accounting……Page 91
Reporting pro.tability……Page 93
Reporting nancial position……Page 94
Accruals accounting……Page 96
Depreciation……Page 97
Reporting cash ow……Page 98
Working capital……Page 99
Managing debtors……Page 100
Managing stock……Page 101
A theoretical perspective on nancial statements……Page 102
Conclusion……Page 103
PART II Using Accounting Information for Decision-Making, Planning and Control……Page 105
7 Interpreting Financial Statements and Alternative Theoretical Perspectives……Page 107
Ratio analysis……Page 108
Liquidity……Page 109
Activity/ef.ciency……Page 110
Shareholder return……Page 111
Interpreting nancial information using ratios……Page 112
Case study: Ottakar’s -interpreting nancial statements……Page 114
Alternative theoretical perspectives on nancial statements……Page 118
Intellectual capital……Page 120
Case study: Carrington Printers -an accounting critique……Page 121
Creative accounting and ethics……Page 123
Conclusion……Page 124
References……Page 125
8 Marketing Decisions……Page 127
Cost behaviour……Page 129
Cost-Volume-pro.t analysis……Page 130
Alternative approaches to pricing……Page 135
Target rate of return pricing……Page 136
Special pricing decisions……Page 137
Transfer pricing……Page 139
Case study: Retail Stores PLC -the loss-making division……Page 141
Case study: SuperTech -using accounting information to win sales……Page 143
Conclusion……Page 144
9 Operating Decisions……Page 145
Managing operations -manufacturing……Page 146
Managing operations -services……Page 149
Accounting for the cost of spare capacity……Page 150
Capacity utilization and product mix……Page 151
Theory of Constraints……Page 152
Operating decisions: relevant costs……Page 153
Make versus buy-……Page 154
Equipment replacement……Page 155
Other costing approaches……Page 157
Total quality management……Page 159
Cost of quality……Page 160
Case study: Quality Printing Company -pricing for capacity utilization……Page 161
Case study: Vehicle Parts Co. -the effect of equipment replacementon costs and prices……Page 162
Conclusion……Page 164
10 Human Resource Decisions……Page 165
The cost of labour……Page 166
Relevant cost of labour……Page 168
Business processes and activity-based costs……Page 170
Case study: The Database Management Company -labour costs and unused capacity……Page 172
Case study: Trojan Sales -the cost of losing a customer……Page 175
Conclusion……Page 176
11 Accounting Decisions……Page 179
Calculating product/service costs……Page 182
Shifts in management accounting thinking……Page 183
Alternative methods of overhead allocation……Page 185
Contingency theory……Page 194
International comparisons……Page 195
Behavioural implications of management accounting……Page 197
Case study: Quality Bank – the overhead allocation problem……Page 200
Conclusion……Page 202
12 Strategic Investment Decisions……Page 205
Investment appraisal……Page 206
Accounting rate of return……Page 208
Payback……Page 210
Case study: Goliath Co. – investment evaluation……Page 213
Conclusion: a critical perspective……Page 215
References……Page 216
Appendix: Present value factors……Page 217
13 Performance Evaluation of Business Units……Page 219
Return on investment……Page 220
Residual income……Page 221
Controllability……Page 222
Case study: Majestic Services – divisional performance measurement……Page 223
Transfer pricing……Page 225
Transaction cost economics……Page 227
Conclusion: a critical perspective……Page 229
References……Page 230
14 Budgeting……Page 231
The budgeting process……Page 233
Retail budget example: Sports Stores Co-operative Ltd……Page 237
Manufacturing budget example: Telcon Manufacturing……Page 238
Cash forecasting……Page 240
Cash forecasting example: Retail News Group……Page 241
Theoretical perspectives on budgeting……Page 243
Case study: Svenska Handelsbanken – is budgeting necessary-……Page 246
Conclusion……Page 247
15 Budgetary Control……Page 249
Flexible budgeting……Page 250
Variance analysis……Page 251
Variance analysis example: Wood’s Furniture Co…….Page 252
Reconciling the variances……Page 261
Criticism of variance analysis……Page 262
Cost control……Page 264
Conclusion……Page 266
PART III Supporting Information……Page 269
16 Research in Management Accounting, Conclusions and Further Reading……Page 271
Conclusion: revisiting the rationale……Page 274
References……Page 275
17 Introduction to the Readings……Page 277
A Cooper and Kaplan (1988). How cost accounting distorts product costs……Page 279
B Otley, Broadbent and Berry (1995). Research in management control: An overview of its development……Page 295
C Covaleski, Dirsmith and Samuel (1996). Managerial accounting research: The contributions of organizational and sociological theories……Page 317
D Dent (1991). Accounting and organizational cultures: A eld study of the emergence of a new organizational reality……Page 355
Glossary of Accounting Terms……Page 393
Appendices: Questions and Case Studies……Page 405
Appendix 1: Questions……Page 407
Appendix 2: Solutions to Questions……Page 431
Appendix 3: Case Studies……Page 467
Appendix 4: Solutions to Case Studies……Page 481
Author Index……Page 491
Subject Index……Page 493