Managerial Accounting

In addition to featuring "real-world" business examples throughout, this text also includes "running cases" in each chapter to provide an integrated discussion of specific topics. It aims to provide a balance of managerial accounting topics in manufacturing, retail, non-profit and service-industry settings in order to show that managerial accounting is used by managers of all types of organizations, not just manufacturers. Each chapter is built around one major illustration and the text includes descriptions of such real companies as American Express, Wal-Mart, General Electric and McDonald's. As instructors often have differing views on the optimal chapter sequence, each chapter is a module which can be assigned in any order the instructor chooses. The book provides a blend of traditional material and up-to-date coverage of emerging topics in managerial accounting. Such innovations as just-in-time inventory systems, flexible manufacturing and computer-integrated manufacturing are changing the manufacturing environment and managerial accounting systems. This new edition discusses the importance of these changes - for instance, Chapter 5 is devoted entirely to cost management systems for the new manufacturing environment. The second edition also features a significant increase in end-chapter material. The number of assignment items (review questions, exercises, problems and cases) has been substantially increased. The number of cases has more than doubled. New missing-data problems have been added to allow students to build critical-thinking skills. In addition to new problem material, roughly 75% of the exercises, problems and cases from the first edition are either new or revised. Every chapter now has one or more problems and cases dealing with ethical issues. In addition, there are significant increases in the number of problems and cases that include international issues, critical thinking skills and written communication requirements. Step-by-step presentations have been added to explain various steps in te construction of a master budget and the steps in the implementation of an activity-based costing system. This edition also integrates contemporary topics throughout, including: earlier presentation of activity-based costing, featuring a conceptual introduction to ABC without getting into excessive detail; new coverage of performance measurement in the new manufacturing environment, including a discussion of the limitations of standard costing and a comparison of the relationships between ABC and standard costing; an expansion of international and ethical issues; and updated coverage of capital-budgeting practices, including an international discussion.