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Managerial Accounting for Undergraduates
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Managerial Accounting for Undergraduates

Fourth Edition


February 2026 | 672 pages | Cambridge Business Publishers

Formerly published by Cambridge Business Publishers, now published by Sage 

 

Designed for students taking their first managerial accounting course, Managerial Accounting for Undergraduates, Fourth Edition provides the tools to connect accounting concepts with real-world business decisions. Authors Theodore E. Christensen, L. Scott Hobson, James S. Wallace, and Jason W. Matthews focus on service and merchandising enterprises, emphasizing practical examples and analytical skills to prepare future professionals for today’s competitive market. This accessible text delivers a fresh, engaging approach to managerial accounting.

 A Complete Teaching and Learning Package
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Learning Platform: This text is available with myBusinessCourse™, an easy-to-use online platform that helps students learn accounting. It includes auto-graded homework, integrated Excel® assignments, and engaging, author-created videos that reinforce key concepts. Designed to complement classroom instruction, it offers interactive tools that build understanding, improve retention, and boost student readiness for the CPA Exam and their entry into the professional world. And it works — 95.5% of students said it helped them learn accounting. myBusinessCourse™ is available with LTI integration for Blackboard, Canvas, Brightspace (D2L), and Moodle.

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Chapter 1 Overview of Managerial Accounting
Introduction to Managerial Accounting

 
Types of Business and Managerial accounting

 
Introducing Two New Companies

 
Careers in Managerial Accounting

 
Professional Certifications

 
 
Chapter 2 Managerial Accounting Concepts and Cost Flows
Key Objectives of a Managerial Accounting System

 
Inventories and Cpst Categories

 
Product Cost Flows

 
Illustration of Product Cost Accumulation

 
Illustration of Product Cost Journal Entries

 
 
Chapter 3 Cost Accounting Systems: Job Order Costing
Cost Accounting Systems

 
Predetermined Overhead Rates

 
Job Order Costing Systems

 
Departmental Overhead Rates

 
 
Chapter 4 Cost Accounting Systems: Process Costing
Introduction to Process Costing

 
Characteristics of Process Costing

 
Process Costing Steps

 
The Product Cost Report

 
Journal Entries Illustrated

 
 
Chapter 5 Activity-Based Costing
Understanding Indirect Costs Using Activity-Based Costing

 
Activity-Based Costing

 
Traditional Product Costing and ABC Compared

 
ABC Implementation Issues

 
ABS and Customer Profitiability Analysis

 
Activity-Based Management

 
 
Chapter 6 Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships
Cost Behavior Analysis

 
Relevant Range

 
Analyzing Cost Behavior

 
Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis

 
Planning for Profit

 
 
Chapter 7 Variable Costing: A Tool for Decision-Making
Treatment of Product Costs

 
Variable Costing Income Statement

 
Advantages and Disadvantages of Variable Costing

 
 
Chapter 8 Relevant Costs and Short Term Decision-Making
Management and the Decision-Making Process

 
Relevant Costs and Differential Analysis

 
Illustrations of Differential Anlaysis

 
 
Chapter 9 Planning and Budgeting
The Planning Process

 
The Budgeting Process

 
The Framework of the Master Budget

 
Illustration of a Master Budget and Its Components

 
Chapter 10 Flexible Budgets, Segment Reporting, and Performance Analysis

 
Static Budgets

 
Flexible Budgets

 
Internal Reporting of Segment Operations

 
Segment Reporting

 
Service Company Segment Reporting Illustration

 
Performance Analysis

 
 
Chapter 11 Standard Costing and Variance Analysis
Standard Costs

 
Determining Standard Costs

 
Review of Flexible Budget Cost Variance

 
Standard Costs in Financial Statements

 
 
Chapter 12 Capital Budgeting
Elements of Capital Budgeting

 
Required Rates of Return and the Time Value of Money

 
Performing New Present Value Calculations

 
Measuerment of Investments and Returns

 
Net Present Value Anlaysis

 
Other Capital Budgeting Analyses

 
 
Chapter 13 Statement of Cash Flows
Cash and Cash Equivalents

 
Activity Classifcations in the Statemtn of Cash Flows

 
Noncash Investing and Financing Activities

 
Using the Statement of Cash Flows

 
Cash Flow form Operating Activities

 
Preparing the Statement of Cash Flows Using the Indirect Method

 
Analyzing Cash Flows

 
 
Chapter 14 Analysis and Interpretation of Financial Statements
Persistent Earnings and the Income Statement

 
Sources of Information

 
Horizontal Analysis

 
Trend Analysis

 
Vertical Analysis

 
Ratio Analysis

 
Limitations of Financial Statement Analsysis

 
 
Appendix A Accounting and the Time Value of Money
Tame Value of Money Concept

 
Future Value of an Amount

 
Future Value of an Annuity

 
Present Value of an Amount

 
Present Value of an Annuity

 
 
Appendix B Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence
Data Analytics

 
Artificial Intelligence in Accounting

 

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Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

  • The new edition is available withmyBusinessCourse™, an easy-to-use online platform that helps students learn accounting. It includes auto-graded homework, integratedMicrosoftExcel®assignments, and engaging, author-created videos that reinforce key concepts. Designed to complement classroom instruction, it offers interactive tools that build understanding, improve retention, and boost student readiness for the CPA Exam and their entry into the professional world. And it works—95.5% of students said it helped them learn accounting.

  • Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence: We have expanded Data Analytics and AI coverage in this edition.

  • New Extending Your Knowledge: Artificial Intelligenceboxes have been incorporated throughout the text. These boxes describe how AI is being used in business.

  • New Data Analytics assignmentsusing Excel have been included in each chapter.

  • New Integrated Excel assignments have been included in myBusinessCourse.

  • Appendix B on Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence has been significantly expanded and includes content on AI in accounting.

  • Expanded the number of guided example videos and assignments included in myBusinessCourse.

  • Streamlining: Many chapters and exhibits have been edited to reduce redundancy and increase clarity. 

  • The focus companies for two chapters have been changed or updated:

  • Jacobs replaced CH2M in Chapter 3.

  • Updated vignette on Disney+ in Chapter 6.

  • Updated vignette on Boeing in Chapter 11.

  • Updated vignette on Waste Management, Inc. in Chapter 12. 

 

KEY FEATURES:

 

  • Real-World Integration: Includes examples from companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Boeing, along with a continuous problem based on a fictitious consulting firm, reflecting the hands-on experience of one author as a former CFO.

  • Service Industry and Responsible Business Practice Focus: Highlights the growing service sector and the importance of Responsible Business Practices (RBP), with dedicated sections and real-world examples.

  • Practical Learning Tools: Features Accounting in Practice inserts, Certified Management Accountant (CMA®) exam questions, and realistic scenarios to prepare students for real-world decision-making.

  • Student Support: Offers chapter Road Mapsand Your Turn!exercises with solutions and online video demonstrations to reinforce learning and build confidence.