What support does my business need?
Management accountant
A management accountant produces figures for running the business, such as monthly profit, cash and costs against budget, rather than accounts for Companies House and HMRC.
The short answer
A management accountant prepares internal figures that show how the business is doing: monthly or quarterly management accounts, budgets, and analysis of costs, prices and margins. Year-end accounts and tax returns are for outsiders; management accounts are for you. CIMA is a professional body for management accountants. Some accountancy firms produce management accounts too, so you may not need a separate person.
What a management accountant does
CIMA, a professional body for management accountants, lists tasks such as reviewing budgets, analysing data to advise leaders, preparing internal reports for managers and teams, and measuring performance with financial and non-financial data.1 For a smaller business, that may mean:
- A monthly or quarterly profit and loss, balance sheet and cash position.
- A budget for the year, and a comparison of actual results against it.
- Analysis of which products, customers or jobs make money.
- Figures a lender or investor asks for.
For what a good set of management accounts contains, see Management accounts: what good looks like.
How it differs from neighbouring roles
CIMA describes the difference this way: a management accountant "monitors and analyses a company's financial and non-financial data to advise leadership on strategic planning and performance management", while a financial accountant prepares statements such as profit and loss reports and balance sheets that "comply with requirements of governments and regulatory bodies".1 In practice the lines blur:
| Role | Focus |
|---|---|
| Accountant | Year-end accounts and tax returns; some also produce management accounts and forecasts |
| Management accountant | Monthly or quarterly figures, budgets and analysis for running the business |
| Financial controller | Runs month-end, financial controls and approvals, and may manage a finance team |
| Part-time finance director | Plans, funding and finance decisions, using figures like these |
Who it may suit
- Businesses that only see figures once a year, when the accounts are done.
- Owners who can't tell which parts of the business make money.
- Businesses whose lender or investor asks for regular figures.
- Businesses that want a budget and to track results against it.
Qualifications
CIMA awards the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) qualification. CIMA says you earn it by passing the three levels of its syllabus and submitting at least three years of practical experience.2 Management accounts can also be prepared by accountants with other qualifications, such as ICAEW, ACCA or AAT members. Ask what qualification the person doing the work holds.
What it costs
We have not found a reliable published source for what management accountants charge in the UK, or for what management accounts cost from an accountancy firm, so we do not give a figure. The cost depends on how often you want the figures, how much analysis you want and how up to date your records are.
Questions to ask before you hire one
- What will we get each month or quarter, and by when after the period ends?
- Will you explain the figures, or only send them?
- Can you set a budget and compare our results against it?
- Do our records need to be up to date first, and who does that?
- How will you work with our accountant at the year end?
When a smaller step may be enough
Ask your current accountant whether they can produce quarterly or monthly management accounts. If your bookkeeping is up to date, the software may already give you basic monthly reports. A separate management accountant may make sense when you want more analysis than your accountant offers.
Sources
- CIMA, "What is management accounting?". myfuture.cimaglobal.com. Checked 12 October 2026.
- CIMA, "Your future in management accounting starts here". myfuture.cimaglobal.com. Checked 12 October 2026.