One of important tasks management accounting is the collection and synthesis of information useful for the adoption by managers and senior management of the enterprise of the correct management decisions.

The decision-making process begins with the definition of the goals and objectives of the enterprise. Ultimately, the selection of initial management information and the chosen solution algorithm depend on this. Accounting management accounting has a whole arsenal of techniques and methods that allow you to process and summarize the source information.

Making a management decisioninvolves a comparative assessment of a number of alternative options and the choice of the optimal one, best suited to the goals of the enterprise.

Management decision cycle consists of several stages:

I - definition of goals and objectives;

II - consideration of alternative courses of action;

III - analysis of the impact of each of the alternative options on business transactions (negative and positive aspects of each option are identified to determine the practical effect of them);

IV - choosing the best course of action from alternative options (decision making) or "cost-benefit analysis";

V - implementation of the selected option;

VI - analysis of the consequences of decisions (feedback).

Any decision must be economically justified, and this requires high-quality and objective initial information. It is in management accounting that the information necessary for making many management decisions is formed. To make many management decisions, first of all, it is necessary to have information about the costs of all alternative options, and we are talking about the costs of the future period. In some cases, in the calculations it is necessary to take into account the lost profits of the enterprise.

Management decisions, depending on the time period, can be divided into short-term (operational) and long-term (perspective).

Main short-term management decisions made on the basis of management accounting information are:

Determination of the break-even point;

Planning the range of products (goods) to be sold;

Determining the structure of output, taking into account the limiting factor;

Refusal or attraction of additional orders;

Making decisions on pricing;

Deciding whether to produce or buy.

Management decisions prospective, those. having long-term strategic importance, taken on the basis of management accounting information, these are decisions:

About investments;

On business restructuring;

On the expediency of developing new types of products.

The difference between short-term and long-term solutions is time, i.e. the period from the moment of investment of funds to the moment of receipt of profit. Short-term decisions are made for a relatively short period of time. Long-term decisions, and these include investment ones, are characterized by a long payback period. Therefore, the organization's investment decisions should be based on economic calculations.

Nikolay Valerievich Sapuntsov Implementation Consultant ERP systems, Incom

Introduction

Target

The purpose of the report is to show the possibility of obtaining management information and, as a result, making management decisions based on accounting (financial) accounting data during the period of transition from manual or partially automated accounting to an integrated management system.

Types of accounting used in the enterprise

There are the following types of accounting: accounting and statistical. They are interconnected and together ensure the normal functioning of the enterprise.

Statistical accounting is a system of registration, generalization, study and reflects massive homogeneous socio-economic phenomena in order to analyze, plan and predict scientifically based indicators. It is used to reflect indicators that characterize the patterns and trends in the development of the economy.

Accounting is the main type of accounting in an enterprise and is a system for identifying, measuring, registering, accumulating, summarizing, storing and transmitting information in a valuation about the activities of an enterprise to external and internal users for decision making.

Accounting can be of two types - financial and on-farm (management). Financial accounting comprehensively covers accounting information that characterizes the financial and property condition of the enterprise, and is intended for external users. This determines the regulation of financial accounting and reporting forms.

On-farm (managerial) accounting is a system for processing and preparing information about the activities of an enterprise for internal users in the process of managing an enterprise.

Rice. 1 Types of accounting used in the enterprise

Unlike financial accounting, management accounting is optional and entirely dependent on the administration of the enterprise.

Management accounting provides information on operational, tactical, strategic, economic, technological, innovative and structural management of an enterprise; allows you to generate information for the future and influence the course of production financial activities enterprises.

Reporting Requirements

Although external and internal users often have very different financial information requirements, many of the data underlying the reports are relevant to both types of reporting. But the same data can be prepared in different ways, depending on the respective requirements. The concept of "management accounting" refers to non-standardized accounting and reporting that supports the decision-making process of management.

Financial accounting and reporting reports include income statement and balance sheet. Management accounting reports can be structured individually, a typical example is a plan/actual comparison for the current period sent to a department. Accounting and reporting function

As you can see, internal and external accounting and reporting are accounting and reporting systems that are closely related. Both, however, use various methods, views and cost estimates to support various decision-making processes.

Tools used by enterprises to implement the functions of accounting and reporting: External accounting and reporting - the "Finance" component of integrated systems, separate financial accounting systems, spreadsheets, manual accounting. Internal accounting and reporting - the "Controlling" component of integrated systems, spreadsheets, selections from the financial accounting system.

Controlling as a management technology

Sometimes the concept of "Controlling" is simply understood as cost accounting.

Traditionally, controlling is considered as a philosophy or as a management technology that contains the following elements:

• determination of the goals of the enterprise;
• reflection of these goals in the system of indicators;
• activity planning and determination of planned (target) values ​​of indicators;
• regular control (measurement) of the actual values ​​of indicators;
• analysis and identification of the causes of deviations of the actual values ​​of indicators from the planned ones;
• adoption on this basis of management decisions to minimize deviations.

To date, many enterprises are ready for detailed accounting of actual income and costs, i.e. implementation of the function of control (measurement) of the actual values ​​of indicators.

At the same time, the issues of setting goals and budgeting are either absent “as a class”, or were not included in the scope of the project for the implementation of an integrated management system, or are postponed for objective reasons. However, the system of indicators and directions of analysis should be developed and taken into account as early as possible, regardless of the current state of automation of accounting in the enterprise.

Usually, the analysis of performance results can be carried out both by elements of the organizational structure of the enterprise (divisions), and by the range of products (types, calculated groups, etc.).

In addition, based on the goals and objectives of controlling, many enterprises create a separate controlling unit, which may include part of the employees of the accounting department and the planning and economic department.

Discussion of the issues of setting up a controlling system is beyond the scope of this report. Today we will talk about the possibility of obtaining management information, using financial accounting data (perhaps already more or less automated), as well as ways to improve the accounting policy of an enterprise for these purposes.

Obtaining management reporting based on data accounting

So, one of the tasks of accounting is to provide information about the activities of the enterprise to external and internal users for decision making. Therefore, it is difficult to overestimate the role of the accounting service in the enterprise.

The role of the accounting service in the enterprise

A modern accountant occupies one of the leading places in enterprise management. He is engaged not only in maintaining accounting accounts, but also carries out a lot of work, including planning, control, evaluation, review of activities, audits and development of management decisions regarding economic activity enterprises.

In connection with the new working conditions and the changing role of accounting, the methodological and methodological aspects of accounting should be subject to significant adjustments.

Accounting and accounting information in terms of automatic processing are used much more widely than in manual processing.

Classification of enterprise activities

The activities of the enterprise can be classified as shown in the diagram (Fig. 2), which also shows the most typical operations related to each type of activity.

Rice. 2 Classification of enterprise activities

Most accounting transactions are related to the main operating activities of the enterprise. It is this block of operations that will be discussed.

Accounting according to NAS

Accounting in Ukraine is regulated by a number of regulations.

The method of grouping and reflecting business transactions are accounting accounts, entries on which are made only on the basis of documents.

The new Chart of Accounts, which has been in use since 2000, has several significant differences from the previous one. One of them - high degree details of income and expenses. In other words, each type of income is reflected in a separate sub-account, each type of expense - respectively, too.

If you look objectively, then such a system is quite convenient for reporting and is as clear as possible for decision-making. According to the credentials without additional samples, the results of any direction are obvious.

In the current chart of accounts, accounts are grouped into 9 classes:

Class 1 - Non-current assets
Class 2 - Stocks
Class 3 - Funds, settlements and other assets
Class 4 - Equity and collateral
Class 5 - Long-term liabilities
Class 6 - Current liabilities
Class 7 - Income and results of operations
Class 8 - Cost by Element
Class 9 - Activity costs
+
Class 0 - Off-balance sheet accounts

Within the framework of the report, we will consider only accounts of classes 7-9.

Due to the fact that today the selling price for most types of products, goods and services is regulated by the market, enterprises can manage income from sales within fairly limited limits.

Therefore, accounting, control and analysis as elements of management should be focused primarily on costs.

"Matrix" of costs in accounting

The instruction on the application of the Chart of Accounts does not regulate which cost accounting system to choose. Everything stated in the preamble to the description of cost class accounts is advisory in nature, which is confirmed by the word “may” and not “should”. Thus, the responsible employees of the enterprise (accountant and / or controlling specialist) will have to make the choice.

8th class of accounts. The accounting system, focused on the use of accounts only of the 8th class (by cost elements), required minimal restructuring in the mind of the accountant, and therefore was recommended when switching to accounting in accordance with NAS. Obtaining more detailed information is difficult when using this scheme. 9th class of accounts. Such a system is justified only in those "non-production" enterprises where investment and financial activities are widely developed.

Using accounts of classes 8 and 9. It is the most time-consuming method for manual accounting. The technical difficulty lies in the fact that some operating expenses are reflected in two (rather than one) accounting entries. However, many computer systems financial accounting allow you to set up such a scheme. At the same time, maximum information is provided for the preparation of financial reports and the possibility of obtaining management information from accounting data.

In this case, class 8 accounts can be divided into sub-accounts for financial reporting purposes, and class 9 accounts can be divided into sub-accounts that best meet the needs of management accounting.

Tables 1-3 contain a conditional example of cost accounting using 8 and 9 classes of accounts.

Table 1
Example of cost accounting using 8 and 9 account classes

table 2
Cost analysis by elements

Table 3
Cost analysis by items

In this example, the cost structure by elements (table 2) may not arouse suspicion. The sum of material costs, salaries and deductions is 85% of the total operating costs, which is typical for many manufacturing enterprises.

On the other hand, an itemized analysis (Table 3) may indicate, for example, inflated distribution costs. Of course, the case presented here is ideal - there is no work in progress and finished product residues, so the sum of operating costs for the 8th and 9th classes of accounts is equal.

In real enterprises, these amounts are usually not equal. On the example of material costs, this is easy to demonstrate. Postings for the 8th class appear at the time the materials are written off to production. The same amount of material costs will be reflected in the 9th grade at the time of sale as part of the cost of goods sold. Based on the requirement to compare income with the cost of exactly sold, and not manufactured (more precisely, put into production) products, we come to the need to detail the accounting on accounts of the 9th class.

Thus, by adding sub-accounts or analytical objects (in systems where possible), we lay the foundation for conducting factor analysis enterprise activities.

The financial analysis

Being an integral part of the analysis of the financial and economic activities of an enterprise, financial analysis studies the entire set financial resources(which are the most important resources of the enterprise), which is characterized by a certain system of indicators of their availability, placement and use.

Main tasks financial analysis are:

• General assessment of the financial condition of the enterprise;
• Analysis of financial stability;
• Analysis of solvency and liquidity;
• Cash flow analysis;
• Analysis of the efficiency of capital use, etc.

Despite the undoubted usefulness of financial analysis and the possibility of conducting it on the basis of accounting data, the values ​​​​of indicators as such do not always help the manager to quickly make an informed decision.

More informative in this regard is another part of the analysis of the financial and economic activities of the enterprise - economic (managerial) analysis.

The minimum composition of management reporting

It's believed that minimum set management reporting is as follows:

• Cash flow statement;
• Raw material stock report and finished products;
• Accounts receivable report;
• Report on accounts payable;
• Sales report;
• Production report;
• Procurement report.

Taken together, these reports can provide a relatively complete picture of the real situation.

Consider the possibility of obtaining the listed reports directly on the basis of financial accounting data.

The cash flow statement shows the receipt and use of cash in the context of the enterprise.

In the general case, such a report can be compiled according to accounting data in a consolidated way: cash flow from the main, investment and financial activities; cash at the beginning and end of the period.

Detailing by products, types of receipts and payments is possible with appropriate detailing of the chart of accounts or adding analytical objects.

The production report analyzes the production of each product and compares it with the production plan.

Obtaining such a report in quantitative terms is usually not difficult. The question of valuation almost always arises, namely, the actual cost. So, if in the analysis of the past period this indicator is reliably known, then in the operational analysis of the current period, it is necessary to apply the planned cost values. These data are often not available in the financial accounting system. In principle, for the purposes of management accounting, instead of the planned values ​​of the current period, you can use the actual values ​​of the past.

The sales report indicates how each type of product is sold. May also indicate the relative importance of each customer to the enterprise.

Directly according to financial accounting data (by postings), a report can be relatively easily built either in the context of customers or in the context of product groups (goods). Naturally, in the detail with which records are kept on the accounts (subaccounts) of income / expenses.

The Raw Materials and Finished Goods Inventory Report shows the stock levels of raw materials and finished goods, their suitability, and their minimum allowable level based on sales and production needs.

At most enterprises, inventory and finished products are kept in the context of individual items, so there should be no problems with compiling such a report. The only question is the speed with which material accounting operations are recorded in the system.

The Accounts Receivable Statement shows how much the company's customers owe the company. The report can indicate when a payment is due, and if the payment is overdue, by how long.

Data financial system, as a rule, will allow you to get a report in the context of customers. It is possible to rank clients according to the amount of debt. And here is the data that would allow us to rank accounts receivable according to the timing of occurrence (for example, using grouping by days: 0-30 days, 31-60 days, etc.) may not be. In this case, you can recommend using sub-accounts or analytical objects to divide receivables, at least into normal and overdue. The Accounts Payable Statement shows how much a business owes its suppliers and when payments are due.

See Accounts Receivable Statement.

Analysis of the results of activities at the "incomplete" cost

Today one has to observe how many reports provided to the management of enterprises operate with the concepts of “tons produced”, “costs of materials and other resources for production”, etc., while the analysis of the enterprise’s activity should be based primarily on the concepts of “revenue from sales of products” , "the cost of goods sold" (namely, sold, not manufactured).

Moreover, information can go a long way before being put on the manager’s desk in the form of a report…

Analysts at many enterprises are now estimating the so-called total unit cost, which includes the cost of production, distributed overhead, administrative and distribution costs.

Due to the need to allocate a large number of indirect costs, many of which become reliably known only at the close of the period (month), such an analysis is quite difficult to conduct quickly.

On the other hand, in the cost structure of enterprises, as a rule, in addition to the production cost, only marketing costs (namely, transportation costs) are significant. Based on the foregoing and guided by the principle of materiality, the operational analysis of the results of activities, according to the author, can be carried out at an incomplete cost. Indirect confirmation of this is an example of a profit and loss statement (Profit & Loss Statement), used to evaluate the activities of the management of many European manufacturing companies. In such reports, quantitative indicators are usually given for reference.

The results for an individual product (often a type of product) are evaluated by gross profit (GROSS MARGIN), which is obtained as sales volume (NET SALES) minus cost of sales (Cost of Sales) and transportation costs (Transport Costs).

For the purposes of horizontal analysis (compared to other periods), the result of an enterprise or line of business is measured by operating income (OPERATING INCOME) or by earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT).

For industrial enterprises of the countries of the former "socialist camp" (in particular, Poland), a more meaningful indicator is profit without deducting interest and taxes and excluding depreciation as part of costs (EBITDA). The calculated profitability based on this indicator will be more comparable, because does not depend on the distorted value of fixed assets (indexation, etc.), which is typical for Ukrainian enterprises. Thus, based on the experience of domestic and foreign enterprises, the author proposes to consider the possibility of evaluating performance (from the point of view of business, and not statistical reporting) without using the full cost of production, while reducing labor intensity and increasing efficiency.

Based on the foregoing, we conclude that without integrated automation accounting system of enterprise management is devoid of some elements. For example, many of the financial accounting and reporting systems used today do not allow for plan / fact analysis, often have insufficient analytics, etc.

However, the improvement of the accounting policy of the enterprise, the expansion of the use of 8 and 9 classes of accounts, the application of the methodology for analyzing the results of activities at "incomplete" cost, even in conditions of poorly automated accounting, open up the possibility of obtaining certain management information for decision making.

Thus, real conditions are formed at the enterprise for the further introduction of controlling elements, and eventually the system as a whole.

List of sources

1. Zavgorodniy V.P. Accounting in Ukraine (Using national standards): Proc. allowance for university students. - 5th ed., add. and reworked. – K.: A.S.K., 2001. – 848 p. - (Economics. Finance. Law).
2. V.V. Kovalev, O.N. Volkov. Analysis of the economic activity of the enterprise. - M.: PBOYuL Grizhenko E.M., 2000. - 424 p.
3. Lakhtionova L.A. Financial analysis of subjects of government: Monograph. - K .: KNEU, 2001. - 387 p.
4. Accounting appearance and financial status in Ukraine. Collection of normative-legal acts. – K.: Pravo, 2000. – 284 p.
5. Karlin T.R. Makmin A.R. Analysis of financial statements (based on GAAP): Textbook - M .: INFRA-M, 2001. - 448 p. - (Series "Higher education").
6. Welsh Glen A., Short Daniel G. Fundamentals of financial appearance / Per. from English. O. Minin, O. Tkach. – K.: Osnovi, 1999. – 943 p.
7. Zastosuvannya plan rahunkіv accounting oblіku / For red. V. M. Parkhomenka. - K .: Compass, 2002. - 156 p. - (Bukh. form - 2002).
8. Economics of manufacturing business: Navch. posib. / J.M. Petrovich, I.O. Budishcheva, I.G. Ustinova ta in.; For red. Y.M. Petrovich. - 2nd view., Rev. i add. - K .: T-vo "Knowledge", KOO, 2001. - 405 p. – (Vishcha osvita XXI century).

The price for the seller of products is the amount of money that he would like to receive from the buyer in exchange for a unit of production. When making a price offer, the seller must take into account a number of external and internal factors. External factors include consumer demand, competitors' price offers for similar products, legal requirements. internal factor are expenses. In this regard, cost management is an integral part of achieving a positive financial result of economic activity.

The tasks of management accounting in the field of pricing are:

• 1) providing information for the possibility of cost accounting for pricing purposes;
• 2) providing information for discount management;
• 3) evaluation of the effectiveness of the selected pricing methods.

Pricing methods are varied (Fig. 5.6).

Rice. 5.6.

The most widely used in practice are calculation methods based on costs.

1. Pricing based on total costs.

The cost-based price is determined by the formula

Price = Expenses + Profit Percentage Expenses,

where Costs are the costs of procurement, production and sale per unit of output; Percentage of profit - the ratio of the amount of profit to expenses. The percentage of profit is calculated by the formula

Profit percentage + Planned profit / (Sales x x Expenses per unit of production).

This method is effective in cases of carrying out activities in a monopolized market, when sales are actually guaranteed.

Example 5.9

Pricing Based on Total Costs

The organization operates in a stable market with strong demand for products and limited competition.

The actual costs of procurement, production and sales per unit of output for the first half of 20XX - 8 rubles.

Sales volume for the second half of 20XX - 10,000 units. products The planned profit for the second half of 20XX is 1,500,000 rubles.

Price = 8 rubles. + (1,500,000 rubles / (10,000 units 8 rubles)) 8 rubles. = 158 rubles.

Advantages of the cost-based pricing method: ease of calculation, the ability to set a price limit below which it cannot fall.

The disadvantages of the method are that it does not directly take into account the influence of external factors, and that it does not allow identifying reserves to reduce costs. Thus, the growth of competition, an increase in the number of offers of similar products, while maintaining the volume of demand, will most likely lead to a decrease in prices for it on the market. As a result, cost-based pricing can lead to losses.

Example 5.10

Calculation of the competitiveness of the price offer

Price based on expenses -158 RUB.

The average offer price on the market is 100 rubles.

The actual sales volume is 500 units.

The actual financial result of sales = 158 rubles. 500 units - - 8 rub. 10000 units = -1000 rub.

The main reason for the loss was an uncompetitive price offer.

Reducing the price, taking into account the current level of prices in the market, will increase sales and minimize losses.

Example 5.11

Calculation of price changes taking into account competition

The cost-based price is adjusted for competitors' prices and set at RUB 100.

The actual financial result of sales = 100 rubles. 800 units - - 8 rub. ? 10,000 units = 0 rub.

Reducing the price to the average price offer in the market allowed to increase sales and minimize losses to zero.

A further price reduction can lead to additional income, subject to an increase in demand and an increase in sales.

Calculation of a price change below the average price offered on the market by competitors

The actual financial result of sales = 90 rubles. 1200 units - - 8 rub. 10,000 units = 28,000 rubles.

In this case, a positive financial result can only be achieved by increasing the volume of sales to cover the costs incurred.

Thus, the amount of expenses is a control value for the cost of sales.

2. Pricing based on regulatory (standard) costs.

The price method of standard (normative) costs is free from many of the disadvantages of simply recording costs. This method allows you to form prices based on the calculation of costs according to the norms, taking into account deviations of actual costs from the normative ones. Deviations from the standards (norms) are analyzed for the reasons that caused them.

Example 5.13

Calculation of price change at absolute growth actual costs in terms of their reduction in relation to the cost standard

If the prices of raw materials and materials used in the manufacture of the product x, increased by 5%, and the consumption relative to the norm decreased by 8.6%, the deviation is +10 rubles. is defined as follows.

As a result of the increase in prices, the cost of raw materials and materials amounted to:

(250 + 250 × 5/100) = 262.5 rubles,

those. for this product, an overrun was received relative to the norm:

(262.5-250) = 12.5 rubles.

As a result of saving raw materials and materials, the costs decreased:

(262.5 - 262.5 8.6 / 100) \u003d 240 (rubles),

those. Savings received:

262.5 - 240 \u003d + 22.5 rubles.

Then the deviation is +10 rubles. can be represented as the sum of deviations: -12.5 rubles, received as a result of price changes, and +22.5 rubles, received as a result of changes in material savings.

3. Pricing based on direct costs.

Order price = Time cost + Material costs.

Cost of time = Direct salary per hour +

Overhead per hour +- + Hourly cost to secure profit.

Material costs = Direct materials + Part of the costs of transportation and storage of materials.

The price method of direct costs is a method of pricing based on determining direct costs based on market conditions and expected selling prices (Table 5.16). Almost all conditionally variable costs (depending on the volume of output) are considered as direct. The rest of the costs are financial results. That's why this method also called the reduced cost pricing method.

Table 5.16

Scheme of the price method of direct costs, thousand rubles.

Indirect costs do not change when the scale of production changes, so the higher the difference between the price of the product and the amount of reduced costs, the greater the coverage (gross profit) and, accordingly, the profitability.

4. Target costing- a strategy by which an organization first determines the acceptable price of a new product and its marginal cost, and then designs the product itself, the production and sale of which will ensure the achievement of a certain goal.

Regardless of the chosen pricing method, its effectiveness is always evaluated taking into account data on actual costs incurred.

5. Discount policy.

Providing discounts is also an element of the pricing system. As discounts reduce revenues, they take the form of expenses.

Discounts are targeted (Table 5.17).

Table 5.17

Targeting of discounts

Purpose of the discount	Discount name
Bringing products to the market	introductory discount
Cutting costs as demand grows	Purchase volume discount
Reduce storage costs	Seasonal discounts
Completion of the production of goods	Discount on discontinued products

Introduction

Decision-making in an enterprise is always a choice between options for action with different forecasts of results. Current management decisions are rarely so global that valuable information for them can be obtained from the final figures of financial statements that reflect the state of the company as a whole. The management accounting system is, first of all, the working tool of the manager and only then - the accountant.

Management accounting, as a rule, contains additional data on all operations necessary for the effective management of the enterprise. This allows you to quickly analyze certain aspects of the enterprise for making management decisions. A simple operational and formalized system for evaluating the actions of the management staff (which is the management accounting system) allows the owners to understand what is happening in their enterprise and participate in monitoring its activities without a huge investment of time and effort.

Relevance of the topic term paper is due to the fact that modern conditions When enterprises independently make and implement management decisions, bear the most important economic and legal responsibility for the results of economic activity, the importance of using management accounting data in making management decisions objectively increases.

Theoretical Foundations for Making Management Decisions Based on Management Accounting and Reporting Data

Management accounting as a subsystem of information exchange in the structure of enterprise management

One of the important tasks of management accounting is the collection and synthesis of information useful for making correct management decisions by managers and top management of the enterprise.

Management decision is the result of analysis, forecasting, business case and choosing an alternative.

The managerial decision, on the one hand, precedes the managerial impact, on the other hand, it acts as a process that includes certain stages.

Decision making is the process of choosing a course of action from 2 or more alternatives in order to achieve a given goal.

The process of making and implementing a management decision includes the following steps:

1. Adoption (preparation) of a management decision.

Identification of the problem, setting goals and objectives.

Seeking information about alternative courses of action.

Data processing.

Choosing an alternative course of action from alternative options.

2. Implementation of the adopted decision.

Implementation of the selected option.

3. Control and regulation.

Monitoring the implementation of the solution and the results obtained.

Comparison of received and planned results.

Correction of actions aimed at bringing the actual results in line with the planned model.

4. Collection of information for subsequent decisions.

The following tasks are solved on the basis of management accounting information:

1) operational tasks:

Determination of the break-even point;

Refusal or attraction of additional orders;

Planning the range of products (goods) to be sold;

Determining the structure of products, taking into account the limiting factor;

Making decisions on pricing;

Making decisions to reduce costs;

Making decisions on inventory and materials management;

Decisions to terminate the activities of a non-profitable segment;

The decision to buy or produce ourselves;

2) tasks of a long-term nature that are of long-term strategic importance:

Equipment upgrade decisions;

About investments;

On business restructuring;

On the expediency of developing new types of products.

The solution to such problems involves a long-term distraction own funds from circulation (immobilization current assets), in some cases requires a long-term attraction of borrowed resources, and therefore deserves special attention. An enterprise should finance an investment project only if the income from it exceeds the income from investing free funds in securities traded on the stock market.

In a modern enterprise, management is a very common activity. The control system affects management object through common functions, the relationship and interaction of which forms a closed cycle (Fig. 1.1).

Rice. 1.1 Management accounting and management decision making

The control process is implemented in the form of a certain sequence of decisions, the effectiveness of which can only be verified on the basis of obtaining information about intermediate and final results that reliably and timely reflect the state and behavior of the controlled parameters. Such information is provided by the accounting system, which identifies and systematizes data on the economic activity of the enterprise. The part of the accounting system that provides management information needs is called management accounting. Management accounting is the information basis for making management decisions within the enterprise, both operational and current, and prospective.

Having defined management accounting as a subsystem of accounting that participates in information exchange and is intended for making management decisions, we can say that we are talking, first of all, about information of a financial nature. Therefore, the management accounting system can be considered part of the overall financial management system of the enterprise. Management accounting should be organized meaningfully as a set of methods and procedures for managing information, and organizationally - as a separate part of the financial service of the enterprise.

The functions of the financial management system can be divided into two areas:

a set of monetary and financial actions;

a set of accounting and control actions.

Currently, two options for the relationship between management and financial accounting are used:

integrated accounting system;

autonomous accounting system.

Thus, management accounting helps to implement effective information exchange, primarily by building an internal control system.

Management accounting has already ceased to be just accounting, "parallel" to accounting, which is confirmed by the financial directors of leading companies. The results of a study conducted by foreign experts5 show that in all countries management accounting has developed in stages in accordance with changes in the competitive situation and the challenges facing companies (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Stages of development of management accounting at enterprises in developed countries

Over the past 10-15 years, Russian enterprises have been trying to follow the path that Western companies took a century to reach. At the same time, the main stages in the development of management accounting are the same for both Russian and Western companies, as they are dictated by the development of markets.

Since at the initial stage the key competitive advantages are the price and the level of costs, then the most important place in management accounting is cost accounting. Then the company grows, and in order to streamline financial flows, budgeting is introduced and centers of financial responsibility are allocated. Non-financial and qualitative parameters come to the fore at the stage when the main factor in the company's competitiveness is effective management unique resources of the enterprise, development of specific knowledge and competence of the staff.

In Russia, many markets are mostly price-competitive, which is why some of the study participants are still focused on financial performance. However, in the service market, where the degree of customer satisfaction is important, companies are already actively introducing qualitative indicators that allow them to track not only the result, but also the process of achieving it.

A significant part of the way in setting up management accounting, many Russian companies already overcome, but there is still a lot of work ahead. As our study showed, Russian enterprises have to solve the following main tasks:

• - it is necessary to create a single information environment that would cover the entire management accounting system. Today, functional units solve individual local tasks, information about which is not provided to other services, but is found out only during discussion with the company's management or at company-wide meetings;
• - Non-financial indicators should be actively used in the management accounting system, since without them it is impossible to make sound management decisions. Today, these indicators are still assigned the role of "production" statistics and statistics for the internal use of functional services;
• - it is necessary to link the systems of personnel motivation and management accounting in order to ensure the objectivity of employee bonuses. This relationship is still being built. Difficulties can be associated both with the ill-conceived motivation system and with technical problems associated with the collection and processing of information.

However, one should not rely on any "special" software which will solve all problems. Any tool without a thinking analyst is like a microscope used to hammer nails.

Formation of management information. The needs of enterprises for management information change according to certain patterns associated with the evolution of the organization itself. The stages of formation of management reporting can be formulated as follows:

• - collection of individual elements of management information (money receipts and debts of specific customers, urgent payments, etc.);
• - distribution of revenue by divisions;
• - distribution of costs by departments;
• - Formation (tentatively) of the budget and analysis of the profitability of units;
• - distribution of proceeds from individual goods and services;
• - analysis of the profitability of individual goods and services;
• - forecasting income and expenses;
• -preparation and periodic adjustment of a reasonably realistic budget;
• - preparation of individual management decisions (for example, investments) taking into account management accounting information;
• - evaluation of various options for decisions of a strategic nature based on management accounting information.

The phased implementation of management accounting is due to the need to master the information received and develop the skill to analyze them. Graduality and simplicity are the key to the effectiveness of the implementation and development of management accounting.

Many companies start implementing management accounting only when faced with economic difficulties. This problem is expressed in the writings of the well-known economic publicist S. N. Parkinson, who formulated many patterns of business life, including his famous "laws". When the flow of money is large and seems to be unlimited, then the only economy that takes place is the economy of thought. In the second half of the XX century. Parkinson described evolution, the period of the last 50-70 years.

In Russia, the events he describes probably fit in 10-15 years of development market economy. Parkinson described that "previously, money was spent on organizing banquets and keeping dancers. But there are (at least theoretically) some physiological limits to such excesses. There are no such restrictions on administrative innovations, administrative staff and various consultants can be kept in such numbers annoying and generally unbearable."

The habit of large incomes and large expenses quickly adjusting to them leads to a kind of innovation in accounting, when money is spent that is not really there. in Russia since the early 1990s. and until 1998, it was the most important feature of the development of many companies. Then the situation began to gradually change. During periods of economic reform, when financial flows are significantly reduced, there is an increase in efficiency: companies put things in order in their “household”, establish normal accounting, etc. But periods of difficulties, of course, are a catalyst for the process of realizing the need to collect and analyze information that improves the quality of management decisions.

When adopting management accounting, you can use A B C analysis - this is a method of resource research, which consists in dividing products into categories A, B and C, which make up 80, 15 and 5% in the sales structure, respectively, and involves different approaches to managing these product groups. ABC analysis is also used to rank clients.

One of the conditions for improving the quality and efficiency of managerial decisions is to ensure their multivariance. Based on this, at least three organizational and technical options for performing the same function to achieve the goal should be worked out. For example, two metal sheets can be connected by the following technological ways: welding, gluing, riveting, bolting, etc. The task of the specialist is to choose such a connection method that would perform the required functions efficiently and, at the same time, with minimal costs for developing the problem, manufacturing, operating and disposing of the structure. At the same time, it should be taken into account that different technological solutions cannot be implemented with absolutely the same level of quality. Therefore, when comparing the effectiveness of options for solving a problem, it is imperative to bring them into a comparable form in terms of quality.

Alternative options for management decisions are given in a comparable form according to the following factors:

• - time factor (time of implementation of projects or investments);
• - object quality factor;
• - factor of scale (volume) of production of the object;
• - the level of development of the object in production;
• - a method of obtaining information for making a managerial decision;
• - conditions for the use (operation) of the object;
• - inflation factor;
• - factor of risk and uncertainty.

The technology for ensuring the comparability of options for the factors listed above lies in the fact that the number of factors taken into account is determined by a specific situation.

The first, ensuring the comparability of alternative options in terms of the time factor, is carried out on the basis of the premise that "today's ruble is more expensive than tomorrow's." For example, having placed 100 conventional monetary units on a deposit account today, in a year at an interest rate of 10 percent per annum we will have 110 units, in two years - 121, in three years - 131 conventional monetary units.

To take into account the time factor, past costs are reduced to the next year - the year the facility is put into operation or to the year of implementation of measures (to the billing year) using the discounting procedure.

This is achieved by multiplying nominal past costs by a discount factor, which is calculated using the formula

where kd - discount factor;

r - interest rate on the deposit;

t is the number of years between the year of placement of funds and the current year to which past costs are adjusted.

Knowing the amount of forthcoming expenses and the interest rate, it is possible to determine the present value of this sum of money. To do this, the costs of the future period must be divided by the discount factor, which is calculated using the above formula.

Thus, the method of taking into account the time factor allows you to compare the size of past and future costs with the current value of the monetary unit.

The second factor, the quality of the object, is taken into account when developing a management decision according to the following formula:

Pack \u003d UN * kkQ1

where U n is the value of the function of the old version of the object reduced in quality to the new version (investment, price, cost, labor intensity, consumption costs, etc.);

Y n - the same nominal value of the function;

k to - coefficient taking into account the quality factor of the object;

Q 1 - coefficient of weight of the analyzed indicator of the quality of the object.

The quality factor is calculated as the ratio of the analyzed quality indicator of the old and new versions of the object.

The third factor, the factor of scale (volume) of production of an object, is taken into account when developing a management decision according to the formula:

Q P = Q n *k m

where Q p is scaled to the new version of the function value of the old version of the object;

Q n - the nominal value of the function;

k m - coefficient taking into account the scale of production.

The coefficient taking into account the scale of production is determined individually for each type of product.

The fourth factor, the level of development of the object in production, is taken into account only when it is required to determine the cost or labor intensity of the first serial samples or batches of products until it is fully mastered in mass production. In conditions of fierce competition, there is a tendency to reduce the duration of serial production of products to 2-5 years. Therefore, the duration of the development of a new object in production is also reduced.

The fifth factor, the method of obtaining information for making a managerial decision, is to use the same approaches and methods for obtaining information and performing calculations, since otherwise errors of different magnitudes for this factor will be introduced into the initial information.

The sixth factor, the conditions for the use (consumption, operation) of an object to ensure the comparability of alternative options for a management decision, includes:

• - mode of operation of the consumer of the analyzed object;
• - type of production at the consumer (single, small-scale, serial, large-scale, mass);
• - features of products manufactured using this object (dimensions, weight, complexity, quantity, quality, etc.)
• - organizational - technical and social level of production at the consumer (level of production automation, progressiveness of technology, working and rest conditions for workers, etc.);
• - the image of the consumer and his production culture, geographical location.

The seventh factor of inflation takes into account the depreciation of money, which manifests itself in the form of an increase in prices for goods and services without improving their quality and increasing production costs. Let us illustrate the mechanism of action of inflation in fig. 5.

The inflation factor should not be confused with the time factor. The latter takes into account the "work" of money, the receipt of profit from their investment in the project, regardless of the inflation rate, which theoretically can be equal to zero.

The eighth factor is risk and uncertainty. According to this very important factor there are no generally accepted approaches and methods.

Uncertainty is understood as the incompleteness or inaccuracy of information about the conditions for the implementation of the project (solution), including the costs and results associated with it.

When evaluating projects, the following types of investment risk uncertainty are the most significant:

• - the risk associated with the instability of economic legislation and the current economic situation, investment conditions and the use of profits;
• - external economic risk;
• - the uncertainty of the political situation, the risk of adverse socio-economic changes in the country or region;
• - incompleteness or inaccuracy of information about the dynamics of technical and economic indicators, parameters new technology and technology;
• - fluctuations in market conditions, prices, exchange rates, etc.;
• - uncertainty of natural and climatic conditions, the possibility of natural disasters;
• - production and technological risk;
• - uncertainty of the purposes, interests and behavior of participants;
• - incomplete or inaccurate information about financial position and business reputation participating enterprises (possibility of non-payments, bankruptcies, breaches of contractual obligations).

The comparability of alternative options for the listed factors is ensured, as a rule, when updating technical, organizational or economic measures aimed at improving the particular indicators of the target management subsystem (indicators of quality and resource intensity of products, the organizational and technical level of production, the level social development team, environmental problems), as well as the development of supporting, functional or control subsystems, improving ties with external environment systems.

In each specific case, alternative options for management decisions may not differ in all factors. The task of a specialist, manager or decision maker is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of specific situations in order to ensure comparability in terms of the maximum number factors. The fewer factors taken into account, the lower the accuracy of system (process) efficiency forecasts.

There are four basic rules for ensuring the comparability of alternative management decisions:

• - the number of alternatives must be at least three;
• - the newest version in terms of time should be taken as the basic version of the decision. The remaining alternative options are reduced to the base one using corrective coefficients;
• - the formation of alternative options should be carried out on the basis of the conditions for ensuring the high quality and effectiveness of the management decision.

The implementation of this rule involves: the application of scientific management approaches to the development of a management decision; study of the influence of economic laws on the effectiveness of management decisions; providing the decision maker with quality information; application of methods of functional cost analysis, forecasting, modeling and economic justification of each decision; structuring the problem and building a tree of goals; ensuring comparability (comparability) of solutions; providing multi-variant solutions; legal preparedness of the person making the decision; automation of the process of collecting and processing information, developing and implementing solutions; development and functioning of the system of responsibility and motivation for the development and adoption of a high-quality and effective management decision; the presence of a mechanism for the implementation of management decisions.

To reduce time, improve the quality of a management decision and reduce costs, it is recommended to use coding methods more widely and modern technologies information support of the decision-making process.

In this way, best option is a consequence of the optimal solution, that is, the most efficient of all alternative solutions chosen according to some optimization criterion. In turn, decision optimization is a process of enumeration of many factors that affect the performance of a firm or organization.