Managerial Accounting: Creating Value in a Dynamic Business Environment 12th Edition by Ronald Hilto

toward actionable corrective accomplishments. Nikki suggests that they include decreased
financing charges as a result of lowering of the federal interest rate by 1% (a rate at which their
company borrows money). Is this a good financial goal to include in the balanced scorecard?
Explain.
The financial perspective of the balanced scorecard should be focused on something that is
controllable or actionable. Therefore, this is not a good financial goal. While the company would
benefit by a lower interest rate, the federal interest rate is not something that the company can
control. Alternatively, if the company has an interest rate that could be lowered due to their action of
gaining a better credit rating, then this might be a good goal. However, in its current form it would
have to be rewritten to include this information about the company’s controllable action.
References
Essay Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 01-03 List and
describe five objectives of managerial
accounting activity.
 97.
Award: 1.00 point
Nikki and Bart have been tasked by top management with assembling measures to include in their
company’s balanced scorecard. The two compiled more than 100 metrics during a brainstorming
session. As they now begin to discuss the list and eliminate some, their question is: What is the ideal
number of goals for each of the four balanced scorecard perspectives? Discuss.
Continual assessment and improvement of how an organization stacks up against the competition
(using the perspectives of internal operations and business processes, customer needs, company
employee training, and financial viability) requires several types of financial and nonfinancial
performance measurements. Questions asked about these perspectives must be sufficient to
achieve strategic objectives but not too onerous to leave the company with beleaguered sense of
information overload. While there is not a magic number or amount established by business
research when preparing the final scorecard, most companies recognize anywhere from two to four
metrics for each of the four perspectives.
References
Essay Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 01-03 List and
describe five objectives of managerial
accounting activity.
 98.
Award: 1.00 point
Consider the descriptors that follow.
1. Is heavily involved with the recordkeeping and reporting of assets, liabilities, and stockholders'
equity.
2. Focuses on planning, decision making, directing, and control.
3. Is heavily regulated.
4. A field that is becoming more "cross-functional" in nature.
5. Much of the field is based on costs and benefits.
6. Is involved almost exclusively with past transactions and events.
7. Much of the information provided is directed toward stockholders, financial analysts, creditors,
and other external parties.
8. Tends to focus more on subunits within an entity rather than the organization as a whole.
9. May become involved with measures of customer satisfaction, and the amount of actual cost
incurred vs. budgeted targets.
Required:
Determine whether the descriptors are most closely associated with financial accounting or
managerial accounting.
1. Financial accounting 6. Financial accounting
2. Managerial accounting 7. Financial accounting
3. Financial accounting 8. Managerial accounting
4. Managerial accounting 9. Managerial accounting
5. Managerial accounting 
References
Essay Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 01-04 Explain the
major differences between managerial
and financial accounting.
 99.
Award: 1.00 point
Briefly distinguish between managerial accounting and financial accounting. Be sure to comment on
the general focus, users, and regulation related to the two fields.
Managerial accounting is concerned with providing information to personnel within an organization
so that they can plan, make decisions, evaluate performance, and control operations. There are no
rules and regulations associated with this field since the information is intended solely for use within
the firm.
Financial accounting, in contrast, focuses on financial statements and other financial reports. This
area deals with reporting to groups outside of an organization (e.g., stockholders, lenders,
government agencies) so that some assessment of profitability and overall financial health can be
made. Given the large number of firms in our economy and the varying level of user sophistication,
the field is heavily regulated (by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and, to a lesser degree,
by the Securities and Exchange Commission).
References
Essay Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 01-05 Describe the