1. What are the three main areas of management’s responsibility? How are these three areas interrelated? How does managerial accounting support each of the responsibility areas of managers?

2. What is the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)? How does SOX affect financial accounting? How does SOX impact managerial accounting? Is there any overlap between financial and managerial accounting in terms of the SOX impact? If so, what are the areas of overlap?

3. Why is managerial accounting more suitable for internal reporting than financial accounting?

4. A company currently has all of its managerial accountants reporting to the controller. What might be inefficient about this organizational structure? How might the company restructure? What benefits would be offered by the restructuring?

5. What skills are required of a management accountant? In what college courses are these skills taught or developed? What skills would be further developed in the workplace?

6. What is the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)? How could being a member of a professional organization help a person’s career?

7. How might a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification benefit a person in his or her career? How does the CMA certification differ from the Certified Public ­Accountant (CPA) certification? What skills are assessed on the CMA exam?

8. What are the four ethical standards in the Institute of Management Accountants’ Statement of Ethical Professional Practice? Describe the meaning of each of the four standards. How does each of these standards impact planning, directing, and controlling?

9. How has technology changed the work of management accountants? What other business trends are influencing managerial accounting today? How do these other trends ­impact management accountants’ roles in the organization?

10. What significant regulatory trends are impacting accounting in general today? How do these regulatory trends affect the field of managerial accounting?