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Some of the differences I found between financial and managerial accounting are who is using them (internal versus external), the compliance with accounting principles, the use of historical data and futures projections, and the summary of data versus a more detailed account of data.

Financial accounting is going to be more for the external use with investors and analysts while complying with the generally accepted accounting principles, GAAP, as we have all come to know during this course. Financial accounting will also use historical data and present a summary of information to include costs, revenue and profits. Financial accounting is the form used to generate external reports to the shareholders, creditors and analysts of the company.

Managerial accounting is going to used more on the internal side of the company with managers and employees using it. This method doesn't need to comply with GAAP as it is used internally and will not be shown to outside investors. The company will use a cost/benefit evaluation to determine what information they are going to need for their analysis. Managerial accounting is going to use estimates on the future expenses and budgeting and be more detailed in the data with costs, revenues and profits. Managerial accounting is going to generate forms for more in depth review on each specific product a company may be producing and its expenses written out to more detail.

After visiting the IMA website, I was initially overwhelmed with all of the acronyms in place, but they perform great job of explaining each one in detail and what certifications are used in different careers and the route to obtain each one. I also noticed there is quite a bit of information on the different career tracks and opportunities to volunteer with the IMA to gain experiences in the profession.