Management vs. Accounting Responsibilities

Managers’ Primary Responsibilities

• Planning involves setting goals and objectives for the organization and determining how to achieve them.
• Directing motivates managers and staff to achieve the organization's goals in day-to-day operations.
• Controlling evaluates operation results against the plan and makes necessary adjustments to ensure actual results meet planned results.
• Decision-making is the most important function of managers and is a continuous process that supports planning, directing, and controlling.

Managerial vs. Financial Accounting

• Financial accounting provides information to external users, while managerial accounting provides information to internal users.
• Financial accounting focuses on the past while managerial accounting focuses on the future.
• Financial accounting is governed by GAAP, IFRS, Tax, and OSC regulations while managerial accounting is not.
• Financial accounting reports are mandatory and audited, while managerial accounting reports are not.
• Financial accounting focuses on accuracy and verifiability, while managerial accounting focuses on relevance and timeliness.

CPA Ethical Guidelines

• The CPA designation replaced the CMA, CA, and CGA designations in Canada.
• Ethical behavior is critical for accountants and is governed by GAAP, IFRS, Tax, and OSC rules, regulations, and laws.
• Examples of unethical behavior include submitting false expense reports, manipulating income, performing unqualified tasks, and breaching confidentiality requirements.
• CPA ethical guidelines include professional behavior, integrity and due care, objectivity, professional competence, and confidentiality.

Lean Production System

• Characterized by self-contained production cells, broad employee roles, small batch production, short setup times, shortened manufacturing cycle times, and an emphasis on quality.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

• Its goal is to provide customers with superior products and services.
• Continually sets higher goals for quality and is frequently tied to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Costs of Quality Framework

• There are four types of quality costs: prevention, appraisal, internal failure, and external failure.
• Prevention costs aim to prevent defects from occurring: e.g., training employees and implementing quality control measures.
• Appraisal costs are incurred to detect defects: e.g., inspections and testing.
• Internal failure costs arise from defects discovered before the product is shipped to customers: e.g., rework and scrap.
• External failure costs are incurred when defects are discovered after the product is shipped: e.g., warranty costs and customer returns.

Data Analytics

• Data analytics is the process of transforming data into relevant information to support decision-making.
• The volume, speed, accessibility, and variety of available data and the tools for collecting and analyzing it have significantly changed data analytics.
• Key benefits of data analytics include utilizing science to support decisions, quicker information gathering, efficiency, enhanced adaptation to rapid change, and driving innovation.
• The data analytics process involves: identifying the issue, collecting data, utilizing tools, transforming data into relevant information, communicating the information, and acting based on the information.

This quiz explores the key responsibilities of managers, including planning, directing, controlling, and decision-making. It also distinguishes between managerial and financial accounting, highlighting their unique audiences and reporting requirements. Test your understanding of these essential concepts in management and accounting.