There are two primary means of accounting, finance and management accounting. While both types of accounting work from the same set of numbers, the uses of each vary according to the intended uses of the resulting reports.

balance sheet.  The balance sheet provides information relating to the assets, liabilities, and owner's equity of the company.     Two other financial reports are the Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flow.  Financial accounting impacts businesses in many different ways. The income and cash flow statements reflect transactions at a given point in time relating to the business operations being reported.  With the information provided in these reports, organizations can answer questions about the company's past financial experience.  In addition investors may begin to forecast the future possibilities a company may hold and make necessary operational or financial changes in order to get the results that they are looking for.  Business leaders and investors need to bear in mind that this information is based on history and that there is no guarantee that the organization's future will have the same results as in the past.Managerial Accounting     Managerial accounting, or better yet cost accounting, principles have been around since the early 20s, but during these early years it was seen as more of a subset or subordinate to financial accounting (Richardson, 2002, p91).  The advent of the IMA and its push for managerial accounting specific certification such as Certified Management Accountant (CMA) has begun changing this view, by legitimizing it as a profession in its own right (White, 2005, p6).     Managerial accounting as the name suggests is concerned with the use of economic and financial information to plan and control many of the activities of the entity and to support the management decision making process (Marshall, 2004, p7).  What sets managerial accounting apart from basic financial accounting is its focus.  As Larry White, out going Chair of the Institute of Management Accountants, (IMA) points out, "Management accounting is about building quality decision support, planning, and control processes over the value-creating operations inside organizations" (White, 2005, p6). This sets it apart from financial accounting whose focus is more on symptoms verses causes because of its adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (White, 2005, p6).  Key here is that the managerial accountant should be more of an internal annalist that helps the corporation uncover root causes and provideinput towards possible fix actions, whereas the financial accountant's role is that of external information preparer.Applications in Today's Business World     Accounting standards provide the accountant with a guideline to report economic transactions and events for an organization.  How economic events and transactions should be recorded can vary from country to country (McCombie & Deo p.154).  The state of American accounting is much better than it was before the Enron scandal, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) but it is still in need of improvement.  The Exchange Commission feels that changes are needed in accounting leases, pensions and derivatives, all aimed to make things better for investors to determine the accurate state of balance sheets in U.S. companies (Norris p. 12).     Federal financial managers are confronted with increasing demand to implement improvements in financial management practices to further enhance service to the public. One of the ways to keep accounting standards fair globally is by the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC).  The IASC was established to formulate and publish international accounting standards and to promote their acceptance worldwide; these standards are not universally applied.     Some of the issues that the financial community is facing in today's business world are:* Federal financial offices are increasingly faced with more and more work demands that frequently involve lengthy operational activities.* Financial offices may be performing functions that are "non-core."* Financial staff needs to augment their skill set by utilizing expert contractor support that can apply state-of-the-art technology.* Financial offices are evolving from transactional offices to business partners in their agencies by offering more analytical support to the program office (Tisone 2005).     Enron and similar scandals have opened the eyes of investors, government officials and corporate leaders.  Investors and corporate leaders are justifiably concerned with the way organization accountant's, auditors and financial advisors have misused invested funds and the global effects these improprieties have had.  Federal organizations have set new rules concerning internal controls, including the 2004 revisions of the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-123.  These rules are holding auditors and accountants responsible for the unfair actions that take place in the misuse of invested money.  Congress has felt the needed to tighten the hands of management because of the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA).  With improved control this will help the quality of financial data.     Financial accounting is accounting that will be used primarily in any external or public disclosure.  These reports can be used to show growth and growth potential as well as to help identify any devious intent.  Management accounting will amass financial data that will be kept internal to the business organization.  Primarily the management and leadership team in the management of day-to-day and month-to-month operations of the organization will use this information.  Accounting is a much-needed facet of every business.  Applying and adhering to the terms of the generally accepted accounting principals along with an ethical approach to data management, will help keep a business healthy and investors happy.ReferencesElissetche, M. M. (2003). Social science dictionary. Retrieved Jun. 26, 2005, from Social     Science Dictionary Web site: http://www.geocities.com/elissetche/dico/dico.htm.Marshall, D. H., McManus, W. W., & Viele, D. F. (2004). Accounting: What the numbers mean (6th ed.). Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.McCombie, K., & Deo, H.,  (2005). The international harmonization of accounting standards: Making progress in accounting practice or an endless struggle? Journal of  American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 7(1), 154.Norris, F., (2005). Report card says auditing still needs improvement." New York Times on the Web. Retrieved June 25, 2005. from ProQuest database.Richardson, Allen J.(2002). Professional dominance: The relationship between financial accounting and managerial accounting. Accounting Historians Journal, 29.Tisone, A. A., (2005). Federal financial managers plus private sector support: Synergyfor change.  The Journal of Government Financial Management.White, Larry., Moving management accounting forward. Strategic Finance, 8,  (12), 6-7.Wikipedia, (2005). Retrieved Jun. 26, 2005, from The Free Encyclopedia Web site:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finance.