Managers in an entity need quantitative information on practically every aspect of their business, in order to make informed decisions. Quality of decision depends upon the quality of information presented. This data is usually provided by the accounting information system established within a business. Role of management accounting is to ensure that this accounting information is readily available to the managers in their desired format, for both the planning and decision-making stages. It also helps managers to evaluate the outcome of their decision, further assisting them in making better decisions in future.

Although both Management Accounting (MA) and Financial Accounting (FA) use the same accounting information system to draw data, they do differ in the following ways:

1. MA provides information for internal users, while FA is beneficial for external users. 

2. Typical examples of MA reports include but not limited to various budget (e.g. sales, production, labour, material etc.), variance analysis stating the difference between the budget and the actual results. On the other hand, examples of FA reports are Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement. 

3. MA uses historical data to create future reports, as against use of only historical information for FA. 

4. MA can generate reports at any point of time, as against FA, which has a set period usually the fiscal or financial year. 

5. MA can be prepared using an entity's own rules and regulation, in contrast to FA, which follows the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. 

6. MA can produce tailor-made reports; on the other hand, FA has a set of standard financial report. 

7. Independent review is not required for MA report however; an entity needs to appoint an auditor to audit the FA reports.

Role of management accountant has seen a massive shift. It involves not only the preparation of various reports and developing standards, but also participating in strategic decision-making process. Suggestions provided by them often help managers improve productivity and reduce process inefficiency. They also play an active part in the Total Quality Management process.