Managerial accounting, which is also known as management accounting, is an accounting occupation in which an individual helps an organization’s managers to locate the financial information that each manager needs to make his or her financial decisions. Managerial accountants typically use a number of different accounting analysis techniques, such as activity-based accounting, cost accounting, ratio analyses, and variance analyses to analyze financial records. They also create financial reports that are designed for internal use; create performance reports; determine the likelihood that the organization will receive a return on an investment or experience a loss; identify areas in which the organization may be wasting resources and/or areas in which resources are being misused; help the organization to establish its budget and issue reports related to that budget; help the organization to mitigate the risk of an investment through insurance or other similar techniques; make financial projections; and perform other similar tasks.

• An individual in the field of managerial accounting is typically required to perform a number of different tasks that may vary from organization to organization and position to position. Managerial accountants, as a result, may have any of number of different job titles, including accounting manager, accounting officer, business analyst, internal auditor (it is important to note that managerial accountants are almost always considered to be internal auditors and not external auditors because they primarily provide internal reports), managerial accountant, and management accountant.

In most cases, an individual will be able to obtain a managerial accounting position with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a bachelor’s degree in business with an accounting certificate or an accounting concentration, or another similar degree from an accredited school of accounting. Some employers, however, may require an individual to have an Accredited Business Accountant (ABA) certificate, a Certified Business Manager (CBM) certificate, a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) certificate, a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certificate, a Certified Manager (CM) certificate, and/or another similar certificate related to managerial accounting in addition to a bachelor’s degree. A master’s degree in accounting, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA), or a master’s degree in managerial accounting may be required for some positions.