What is the Difference Between Financial Accounting , Management Accounting and Cost Accounting ?

( Financial Acccounting ) Primary Users : External ( Investors, government authorities, creditors) .
Purpose of Information : Help investors, creditors, and others make investment, credit, and other decisions .
Timelines : Delayed or historical .
Restriction : GAAP FASB AND SEC .
Nature of Information : Objective, auditable, reliable, consistent and precise .
Scope : Highly aggregated information about the overall organisation .
Behavioral Implications : Concern about adequacy of disclosure .
Features : Must be accurate and timelyCompulsory under company law Is an end in itself .
Segments Of Organization : It is primarily concerned with reporting for the company as a whole.
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Objective : It provides information about financial performance andfinancial position of the business.
Nature : It classifies records, presents and interprets transactions in terms of money .
Recording of Data : It records historical data .
Users of Information : External users like shareholders, creditors, financial analysts, government and its agencies,etc .
Analysis of Costs and Profits : It shows profit/loss of the organization .
Time Period : They are prepared for a definite period, usually a year .
Presentation of Information : A set format is used for presenting financial information .
( Management Accounting ) Primary Users : Internal (Managers of business, employees) .
Purpose of Information : Help managers plan and control business operations .
Timelines : Current and future oriented .
Restriction : GAAP does not apply, but information should be restricted to strategic and operational needs .
Nature of Information : More subjective and judgmental, valid, relevant and accurate .
Scope : Disaggregated information to support local decisions .
Behavioral Implications : Concern about how reports will affect employees behaviour .
Features : Usually approximate but relevant and flexibleExcept for few companies, it is not mandatory Is a mean to the end .
Segments Of Organization : Segment reporting is the primary emphasis .
( Cost Accounting ) Objective : It provides information of ascertainments of costs to control costs and for decision making about the costs.
Nature : It classifies, records, presents and interprets in a significant manner materials, labour and overhead costs.
Recording of Data : It records and presents estimated, budgeted data.
It makes use of both historical costs and predetermined costs.
Users of Information : Used by Internal management at different levels .
Analysis of Costs and Profits : It provides details of costs and profit of each product, process, job,etc .
Time Period : They are prepared as and when required .
Presentation of Information : There are no set formats for presenting cost informations .

Financial accounting : reporting to external users , through a set of of financial statements produced in accordance with GAAP , also has a historical focus .
Management accounting : reporting to internal users , also is future orinted and improve organization decision making .
Cost accounting : support both financial and management accounting , info about the cost of resources acquired and consumed by an org.
underlines effective reporting for both internal and external users .

Financial accounting is mainly for external users of financial statements.
On the other hand, management accounting and cost accounting are for internal users to help them in making decisions regarding the company and business.

Financial Accounting, as shows by the name, is for financial matters, mean this accounting is attract the investors to invest in business either they are from stock market or from other sources.
Management Accounting for Managers and persons who wants to know the actual position of business and to keep open eyes on many issues.
Cost Accounting is for cost occurred during the process of work, job or project, to know about the cost company bear to make income.

Financial Accounting gives out information about the enterprise’s financial activities and situation. It makes use of the past or historical data. All the transactions and statements are recorded and presented in terms of money mostly. Persons who make use of these financial statements are outsiders like banks, shareholders, creditors, government authorities etc.  Financial statements are usually presented once in a year and there is a certain format for their presentation. It is mandatory for the companies to follow the rules and policies framed under GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). It indicates whether the company is running in loss or profit.

Cost Accounting helps in the determination of the cost of the product, how to control it and in making decisions. It makes use of both past and present data for ascertainment of product cost. There is no specific format for the preparation of cost accounting statements. It is used by the internal management of the company and usually the cost accountant prepares this to ascertain the cost of a particular product taking into account the cost of materials, labor and different overheads. No certain periodicity is needed for the preparation of these statements and they are needed as and when required by the management. This makes use of certain rules and regulations while computing the cost of different products in different industries.

Unlike the above two accounting, Management Accounting deals with both quantitative and qualitative aspects. This involves the preparation of budgets, forecasts to make viable and valuable future decisions by the management. Many decisions are taken based on the projected figures of the future. There is no question of rules and regulations to be followed while preparing these statements but the management can set their own principles. Like cost accounting, in management accounting also there is no specific time span for its statement and report preparation.  It makes use of both cost and financial statements as well to analyze the data.

 

Branches of Accounting -Financial accounting refers to accounting refers to accounting for revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities.
It involves the basic accounting processes of recording, classifying, and summarizing transactions.
Financial reports prepared under the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) promulgated by standard setting bodies are intended to be general purpose in orientation.
This means they are not prepared especially for owners, or creditors, or any other particular user group.
Instead, they are intended to be equally useful for all user groups.
As such, attempts are made to keep them free from bias (neutral).
-Cost accounting is the branch of accounting dealing with the recording, classification, allocation, and reporting of current and prospective costs.
Measurement of Cost involves the methods and techniques used in defining the components of cost (materials, labour & overhead), determining the basis of cost measurement, and establishing criteria for use of alternative cost measurement techniques.
-Managerial accounting is the branch of accounting designed to provide information to various management levels in the hospitality operation for the purpose of enhancing controls.
Managerial accounting information is intended to serve the specific needs of management.
Business managers are charged with business planning, controlling, and decision making.
As such, they may desire specialized reports, budgets, product costing data, and other details that are generally not reported on an external basis.

the difference is as follows: Financial accounts are supposed to be in accordance with a specific format by IAS so that financial accounts of different organizations can be easily compared whereas Financial accounts are supposed to be in accordance with a specific format by IAS so that financial accounts of different organizations can be easily compared.
  A financial accounting system produces information that is used by parties external to the organization, such as shareholders, bank and creditors whereas A management accounting system produces information that is used within an organization, by managers and employees.
   

Financial accounting is the field of accountancy concerned with the preparation of financial statements for decision makers, such as stockholders, suppliers, banks, employees, government agencies, owners, and other stakeholders.
Management accounting is concerned with the provisions and use of accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions.
Cost accounting is a process of collecting, analyzing, summarizing and evaluating various alternative courses of action.
Its goal is to advise the management on the most appropriate course of action based on the cost efficiency and capability.
Cost accounting provides the detailed cost information that management needs to control current operations and plan for the future.

ببساطة ولن اجيب باللغة الانجليزية : المحاسبة المالية : تفيد بالدرجة الاولى لمعرفة النسب ومعدلات البيع ومقارنتها بالاعوام السابقة واتخاذ قرارات تتعلق بديمومة العمل وليس الانتاج " تكاليف" وهي تفيد الجهت الخارجية والمقرضيين والموظفين محاسبة التكاليف : تفيد بالدرجة الاولى الادارة وتساعدهم في التخطيط واتخاذ القرارات والتسعير لمنتجات الشركة محاسبة ادارية : لعل وجه الشبه بينها وبين التكاليف انها تدخل بحساب الانتاج والموازنات التقديرية المستقبلية وايجاد نقطه التعادل والتي يتساوى الانتاج بها مع التكاليف وبالاخر انا من الاردن واتمنى الحصول على وظيفة في مجال المحاسبة

Financial accounting findout all financial final details and financial position of the concernce, Managment accounting is to help to the management for taking good decision, Cost accounting helps to understand detailes about costs,stock detailes,etc.

Objectives of Financial Accounting To know the results of the business To ascertain the financial position of the business To ensure control over the assets To facilitate proper management of cash To provide requisite information Cost Accounting vs Financial Accounting[edit] Financial accounting aims at finding out results of accounting year in the form of Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet.
Cost Accounting aims at computing cost of production/service in a scientific manner and facilitate cost control and cost reduction.
Financial accounting reports the results and position of business to government, creditors, investors, and external parties.
owners etc.
Cost Accounting is an internal reporting system for an organization’s own management for decision making.
In financial accounting, cost classification based on type of transactions, e.g.
salaries, repairs, insurance, stores etc.
In cost accounting, classification is basically on the basis of functions, activities, products, process and on internal planning and control and information needs of the organization.
Financial accounting aims at presenting ‘true and fair’ view of transactions, profit and loss for a period and Statement of financial position (Balance Sheet) on a given date.
It aims at computing ‘true and fair’ view of the cost of production/services offered by the firm.[3] Management accounting or managerial accounting is concerned with the provisions and use of accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions.
In contrast to financial accountancy information, management accounting information is: primarily forward-looking, instead of historical; model based with a degree of abstraction to support decision making generically, instead of case based; designed and intended for use by managers within the organization, instead of being intended for use by shareholders, creditors, and public regulators; usually confidential and used by management, instead of publicly reported; computed by reference to the needs of managers, often using management information systems, instead of by reference to general financial accounting standards.