| Advertisement |
The CASB produced 20 cost accounting standards (of which one has been withdrawn) from its inception until it was terminated in 1980. The CASB was recreated in 1988 as an independent board of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. The board’s objectives are to:
• Increase the degree of uniformity in cost accounting practices among government contractors in like circumstances;
• Establish consistency in cost accounting practices in like circumstances by each individual contractor over time; and
• Require contractors to disclose their cost accounting practices in writing.
Although CASB standards do not constitute a comprehensive set of rules, compliance is required for companies bidding on or pricing cost-related contracts for the federal government. An organization important to the practice of management and cost accounting is the Institute of Management Accountants, or the IMA. The IMA is a voluntary membership organization of accountants, finance specialists, academics, and others. It sponsors two major certification programs: Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified in Financial Management (CFM). The IMA also issues directives on the practice of management and cost accounting called Statements on Management Accounting, or SMAs. The SMAs, unlike the pronouncements of the CASB, are not legally binding standards, but they undergo a rigorous developmental and exposure process that ensures their wide support.
