Difference Between Cost Accounting And Management Accounting

Major differences between cost accounting and management accounting are as follows:

1. Meaning

Cost Accounting: Process of collecting, tracking, analyzing and ascertaining the cost of the product. It provides cost data regarding the product.

Management Accounting: It Provides financial and non financial data or information to the top level management.

2. Information

Cost Accounting: It provides quantitative (which can be measured in monetary term) information about the product or services.

Management Accounting: It deals with both quantitative and qualitative (cannot be measured in monetary term) information and data.

3. Objective

Cost Accounting: To track the cost data and to help the management in cost control and cost reduction process.

Management Accounting: It helps the management in future planning, policy making, coordinating and controlling by providing financial and non-financial information.

4. Scope

Cost Accounting: It only deals with the cost data. So, its scope is not wide.

Management Accounting: It has a wider scope than cost accounting. It deals with financial and non-financial data. It also deals with financial accounting, economics and mathematics also.

5. Nature

Cost Accounting: It deals with past and present cost data.

Management Accounting: It focuses on present data as well as future plan and projection.

6. Interdependancy

Cost Accounting: It can be practiced without the help of management accounting.

Management Accounting: In the absence of cost accounting management accounting cannot be practical.

7. Procedure

Cost Accounting: It follows specific rules, technique and procedure.

Management Accounting: It does not follow any specific rules and procedure.

8. Planning

Cost Accounting: It focuses on short term planning.

Management Accounting: It stresses on both short term planning and long term planning.

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