Managerial Uses of Accounting Information [Hardcover]

J. Demski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0792394062 | ISBN-13: 978-0792394068 | Edition: 1

This book is an invitation to study managerial uses of accounting information and how accounting information is used in the management of an organization. Three themes run throughout the book. First, the accounting system is thought of as a library of financial statistics. Answers to a variety of questions are unlikely to be found in prefabricated format; but valuable information awaits those equipped to interrogate the library. Second, the information in the accounting library is not likely to be the only information at the manager's disposal. So knowing how to combine accounting and nonaccounting bits of information is an important, indeed indispensable managerial skill. Finally, the role of a professional manager is emphasized.
The book also makes demands on the reader. It assumes the reader has had prior exposure to financial accounting, to economics, to statistics, and to the economics of uncertainty. A modest acquaintance with strategic, or equilibrium, modeling and linear programming and the ability to take a simple derivative is also presumed.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Managerial Uses of Accounting Information, Second Edition, emphasizes economic fundamentals in the study of product costing, decision making, and evaluation in organizations, using the accounting system as a "library" of financial information at the manager’s disposal. Chapter One contains an introduction and overview. Chapters Two through Seven discuss product costing. Chapters Eight through Twelve deal with managerial decision making, with an emphasis on a "what it might cost?" theme. Chapters Thirteen through Eighteen discuss managerial performance evaluation, with an emphasis on a "did it cost too much?" theme; and Chapter Nineteen concludes and provides a synthesis. This edition may be used as an undergraduate or graduate textbook and as a professional reference. The solutions manual is available upon request at [e-mail]. "For any serious student of the use of accounting information Professor Demski's book is imperative. A plethora of institutional detail is anchored on intellectual foundations. It is the most important book on accounting since [Pacioli’s] Summa de Arithmetica." John Fellingham Fisher College of Business Ohio State University "This book is profound and engaging, an absolute gem. It is, by far, the most meaningful and disciplined treatment on the roles of accounting in organizations." Geoff Sprinkle Kelly School of Business Indiana University "Managerial Uses of Accounting Information is an excellent text that is the only one I know of that seriously addresses the question of product costing and decision making in a setting of interacting products, uncertainty, and strategic interactions among firms. It abstracts away from the details to get at what is fundamental and lasting about the accountant's art. Finally, its focus on decision framing is a novel and interesting unifying theme. It is a fantastic book to use for any advanced business class." Richard A. Young Fisher College of Business Ohio State University --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Professor Demski has focused on disclosure incentives and optimal contracting. Professor Demski has served on the faculty of Columbia University (1967 - 68), Stanford University (1968 - 1985), and Yale University (1985 - 1994). He has been recognized a number of times for Outstanding Research and Education and received an AAA Seminal Contribution Award in 1994. Professor Demski is noted as one of the most widely published authors in the field with over eighty articles published. Honors and Grants: Honorary Doctorate, Odense University, 1994; AAA Seminal Contribution Award, 1994; Elm-lvy Award, 1989; AAA Outstanding Educator Award, 1986;AICPA Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Accounting Literature, 1967 and 1970; Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Literature Award, 1996; University of Florida Foundation Research Professorship (2000, 2002); Accounting Hall of Fame, 2000; President, American Accounting Association, 2001-2001. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 676 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (December 31, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792394062
• ISBN-13: 978-0792394068
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,883,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars A foreign language, January 13, 2010

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WannabeWriter (Scribbling, Imagination) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Managerial Uses of Accounting Information (Springer Series in Accounting Scholarship) (Hardcover)

Our school uses this book for its graduate management program. Many students in the program have not taken managerial accounting (like myself) and, therefore, would be much better off with a different textbook. After comparing this to other books, I discovered that this book is all "quantitative" managerial accounting--a subject that only takes up a single chapter in several other books.

This book seems geared toward students who are studying the subject for their master's or Ph.Ds. Our professor had us read the book before ever "teaching" anything, and we were quizzed from book-learning alone. That said, I somehow managed to decipher the text well enough to get an A in the course--and that is no mean feat.

Best of luck.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See below., March 3, 1999

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[e-mail] (The Ohio State University) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managerial Uses of Accounting Information (Paperback)

A must for graduate students in accounting who wish to undertake a serious study of economic aspects of accounting information design and use.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible Book!, November 29, 2008

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Upset Student (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managerial Uses of Accounting Information (Springer Series in Accounting Scholarship) (Hardcover)

The book itself it of terrible quality. Hard to read, hard to understand, and way overpriced. The book is also completely in black and white and full of typos. The author seems to be a pompous person. Hopefully you are not required to purchase this book for a course and fatten your professor's wallet and ego.