Explain different branches of accounting.

Branches of Accounting Different branches of accounting came into existence keeping in view various types of accounting information needed by a different class of people viz. owners, shareholders, management, suppliers, creditors, taxation authorities and various government agencies, etc. There are three main branches of accounting which include financial accounting, cost accounting and management accounting. Financial Accounting Financial Accounting is based on a systematic method of recording transactions of any business according to the accounting principles. It is the original form of the accounting process. The main purpose of financial accounting is to calculate the profit or loss of a business during a period and to provide an accurate picture of the financial position of the business as on a particular date. The Trial Balances, Profit & Loss Accounts and Balance Sheets of a company are based on an application of financial accounting. These are used by creditors, banks and financial institutions to assess the financial status of the company. Further, taxation authorities are able to calculate the tax based on these records only. Cost Accounting Cost accounting deals with evaluating the cost of a product or service offered. It calculates the cost by considering all factors that contribute to the production of the output, both manufacturing and administrative factors. The objective of cost accounting is to help the management in fixing the prices and controlli