Definition of Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)

Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)

an organization composed of individuals interested in the field of management accounting; it coordinates the Certified management
Accountant program through its affiliate organization
(the institute of Certified management accountants)

Abusive Earnings Management

The use of various forms of gimmickry to distort a company's true financial performance in order to achieve a desired result.

Abusive Earnings Management

A characterization used by the Securities and Exchange
Commission to designate earnings management that results in an intentional and material misrepresentation
of results.

activity-based management (ABM)

a discipline that focuses on the activities incurred during the production/performance process as the way to improve the value received
by a customer and the resulting profit achieved by providing
this value

approximated net realizable value at split-off allocation

a method of allocating joint cost to joint products using a
simulated net realizable value at the split-off point; approximated
value is computed as final sales price minus
incremental separate costs

Asset/liability management

Also called surplus management, the task of managing funds of a financial
institution to accomplish the two goals of a financial institution:
1) to earn an adequate return on funds invested, and
2) to maintain a comfortable surplus of assets beyond liabilities.

Bottom-up equity management style

A management style that de-emphasizes the significance of economic
and market cycles, focusing instead on the analysis of individual stocks.

Cash management bill

Very short maturity bills that the Treasury occasionally sells because its cash
balances are down and it needs money for a few days.

Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

a professional designation in the area of management accounting that
recognizes the successful completion of an examination,
acceptable work experience, and continuing education requirements

Change in Accounting Estimate

A change in accounting that occurs as the result of new information
or as additional experience is acquired—for example, a change in the residual values
or useful lives of fixed assets. A change in accounting estimate is accounted for prospectively,
over the current and future accounting periods affected by the change.

Change in Accounting Estimate

A change in the implementation of an existing accounting
policy. A common example would be extending the useful life or changing the expected residual
value of a fixed asset. Another would be making any necessary adjustments to allowances for
uncollectible accounts, warranty obligations, and reserves for inventory obsolescense.

Claimant

A party to an explicit or implicit contract.

Claimant

Person or party making request for payment of benefits under the terms of an insurance policy.

Corporate financial management

The application of financial principals within a corporation to create and
maintain value through decision making and proper resource management.

cost management system (CMS)

a set of formal methods
developed for planning and controlling an organization’s
cost-generating activities relative to its goals and objectives
cost object anything to which costs attach or are related

Cost Plus Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings

Revenue recognized to date under the percentage-of-completion method in excess of amounts billed. Also known as unbilled accounts
receivable.

Demand Management Policy

Fiscal or monetary policy designed to influence aggregate demand for goods and services.

Direct estimate method

A method of cash budgeting based on detailed estimates of cash receipts and cash
disbursements category by category.

Earnings Management

The active manipulation of earnings toward a predetermined target.
That target may be one set by management, a forecast made by analysts, or an amount that is consistent
with a smoother, more sustainable earnings stream. Often, although not always, earnings
management entails taking steps to reduce and “store” profits during good years for use during
slower years. This more limited form of earnings management is known as income smoothing.

Management

management refers to the individuals in an entity that have the authority and the responsibility to manage the entity. The positions of these individuals, and their titles, vary from one entity to another and, to some extent, from one country to another depending on the local laws and customs. Thus, when the context requires it, the term includes the board of directors or committees of the board which are designated to oversee certain matters (e.g., audit committee).

Management accounting

The production of financial and non-financial information used in planning for the future; making decisions about products, services, prices and what costs to incur; and ensuring that plans are implemented and achieved.

management accounting

a discipline that includes almost
all manipulations of financial information for use by managers
in performing their organizational functions and in
assuring the proper use and handling of an entity’s resources;
it includes the discipline of cost accounting

Management Accounting Guidelines (MAGs)

pronouncements of the Society of management accountants of
Canada that advocate appropriate practices for specific
management accounting situations

Management buyout (MBO)

Leveraged buyout whereby the acquiring group is led by the firm's management.

management buyout (MBO)

Acquisition of the firm by its own management in a leveraged buyout.

Management/closely held shares

Percentage of shares held by persons closely related to a company, as
defined by the Securities and exchange commission. Part of these percentages often is included in
Institutional Holdings -- making the combined total of these percentages over 100. There is overlap as
institutions sometimes acquire enough stock to be considered by the SEC to be closely allied to the company.

management control

This is difficult to define in a few words—indeed, an
entire chapter is devoted to the topic (Chapter 17). The essence of management
control is “keeping a close watch on everything.” Anything can
go wrong and get out of control. management control can be thought of
as the follow-through on decisions to ensure that the actual outcomes
happen according to purposes and goals of the management decisions
that set things in motion. Managers depend on feedback control reports
that contain very detailed information. The level of detail and range of
information in these control reports is very different from the summarylevel
information reported in external income statements.

management control system (MCS)

an information system that helps managers gather information about actual organizational occurrences, make comparisons against plans,
effect changes when they are necessary, and communicate
among appropriate parties; it should serve to guide organizations
in designing and implementing strategies so that
organizational goals and objectives are achieved

management expense ratio (MER)

The total expenses expressed as an annualized percentage of daily average net assets. MER does not include brokerage fees and commissions, which are also payable by the Fund.

Management fee

An investment advisory fee charged by the financial advisor to a fund based on the fund's
average assets, but sometimes determined on a sliding scale that declines as the dollar amount of the fund increases.

management fee

The fee paid to the fund’s manager for supervising the administration of the fund.

management information system (MIS)

a structure of interrelated elements that collects, organizes, and communicates
data to managers so they may plan, control, evaluate
performance, and make decisions; the emphasis of the
MIS is on internal demands for information rather than external
demands; some or all of the MIS may be computerized
for ease of access to information, reliability of input
and processing, and ability to simulate outcomes of
alternative situations

management style

the preference of a manager in how he/she interacts with other stakeholders in the organization;
it influences the way the firm engages in transactions and
is manifested in managerial decisions, interpersonal and
interorganizational relationships, and resource allocations

Money management

Related: Investment management.

open-book management

a philosophy about increasing a firm’s performance by involving all workers and by ensuring
that all workers have access to operational and financial
information necessary to achieve performance improvements

Operational Earnings Management

management actions taken in the effort to create stable
financial performance by acceptable, voluntary business decisions. An example: a special discount
promotion to increase flagging sales near the end of a quarter when targets are not being met.

Optimal contract

The contract that balances the three types of agency costs (contracting, monitoring, and
misbehavior) against one another to minimize the total cost.

optimal mix of capital

the combination of capital sources at which the lowest weighted average cost of capital is achieved

Optimal portfolio

An efficient portfolio most preferred by an investor because its risk/reward characteristics
approximate the investor's utility function. A portfolio that maximizes an investor's preferences with respect
to return and risk.

Optimal redemption provision

Provision of a bond indenture that governs the issuer's ability to call the
bonds for redemption prior to their scheduled maturity date.

optimal solution

the solution to a linear programming problem
that provides the best answer to the objective function

Passive investment management

Buying a well-diversified portfolio to represent a broad-based market
index without attempting to search out mispriced securities.

performance management system

a system reflecting the entire package of decisions regarding performance measurement and evaluation

Portfolio management

Related: Investment management

Primary location

A storage location labeled as the primary location for a specific
inventory item.

Primary market

The first buyer of a newly issued security buys that security in the primary market. All
subsequent trading of those securities is done in the secondary market.

Primary Market

Market where debt and equity securities are sold by an issuing
company to investors to raise capital for its operations

primary market

Market for the sale of new securities by corporations.

Primary offering

A firm selling some of its own newly issued shares to investors.

Real Actions (Earnings) Management

Involves operational steps and not simply acceleration
or delay in the recognition of revenue or expenses. The delay or acceleration of shipment would
be an example.

Risk management

The process of identifying and evaluating risks and selecting and managing techniques to
adapt to risk exposures.

Society of Management Accountants of Canada

the professional body representing an influential and diverse
group of Certified management accountants; this body produces
numerous publications that address business management issues

standard error of the estimate

a measure of dispersion that reflects the average difference between actual observations and expected results provided by a regression line

Statement on Management Accounting (SMA)

a pronouncement developed and issued by the management
Accounting Practices Committee of the institute of management
accountants; application of these statements is
through voluntary, not legal, compliance

Strategic management accounting

The provision and analysis of management accounting data about a business and its competitors, which is of use in the development and monitoring of strategy (Simmonds).

strategic resource management

organizational planning for the deployment of resources to create value for customers and shareholders; key varibles in the process include the management of information and the management of change in response to threats and opportunities

supply-chain management

the cooperative strategic planning,
controlling, and problem solving by a company and
its vendors and customers to conduct efficient and effective
transfers of goods and services within the supply chain

Surplus management

Related: asset management

synchronous management

the use of all techniques that help an organization achieve its goals

Top-down equity management style

A management style that begins with an assessment of the overall
economic environment and makes a general asset allocation decision regarding various sectors of the financial
markets and various industries. The bottom-up manager, in contrast, selects the specific securities within the
favored sectors.

total quality management (TQM)

a structural system for creating organization-wide participation in planning and implementing a continuous improvement process that exceeds
the expectations of the customer/client; the application
of quality principles to all company endeavors; it is also known as total quality control

Value-based management

A variety of approaches that emphasize increasing shareholder value as the primary goal of every business.

Working capital management

The management of current assets and current liabilities to maximize shortterm liquidity.

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