Definition of Financial Accounting
Financial accounting has its focus on the financial statements which are distributed to stockholders, lenders, financial analysts, and others outside of a corporation or other organization. Because of the many users, the financial statements must comply with the generally accepted accounting principles, known as GAAP or US GAAP.
Definition of Managerial Accounting
Managerial accounting is focused on assisting management in the operation of the company. This will include analyzing a company’s costs, assisting in financial decisions, profit planning, calculating break-even points, capital budgeting, and calculating the costs of existing products in order to value the company’s inventory and to determine the cost of goods sold (both to be used on the financial statements).