ABSTRACT
This chapter helps to find out what accounting, costing and statistical information is provided for American management at different levels; by what methods it is obtained and how it is used. The team's investigations were nevertheless comprehensive enough to enable it to present an account of American methods which should be of considerable value to managers and accountants in industry in this country. The methods of costing and accounting vary widely but nearly every company employs some form of budgeting, usually on a long-term basis for cost ascertainment and prices with short-term budgets set up for control purposes. Standard costs are in fairly common use but the extremes of historical and marginal costs are rarely to be found. Industrial accountants, the team suggests, should constantly consider what information senior management and other levels need; and study problems of management and technical processes to produce information which will serve as a guide to policy and action.
