Maskell challenges you to take a fresh look at your accounting systems and then clarifies world class methods required for innovative, proactive management accounting. As we move our analytical skills into new areas of the production organization and abandon many of the traditional methods, there are new techniques we must learn.

The average management accountant is woefully ignorant of the company's processes and procedures. They do not have a clear understanding of the accounting and administration procedures because these tend to be complex and convoluted. As well, very few management accountants have more than a passing knowledge of the manufacturing processes -- not to mention the engineering and technology the product uses.

To be a valuable contributor to your organization, you must be intimately familiar with the company's products, processes, markets, and customers. You must also have a clear understanding of what people in other departments think, feel, and do. These things are not learned in training classes; They are learned by taking the time and effort -- often in your own time -- to get alongside other people in your organization and become a part of the team.

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Concise, with clear steps to creating an improvement plan, the book is meant to start a dialogue among the Accounting community that will inevitably lead to a fundamental shift in how Accountants see their role in the organization. "Traditional Management Accounting is irrelevant at best," is enough to wake up even the stauchest dyed-in-the-Wool Cost Accountants and start them on a path to looking forward in the organization instead of focusing on past results.

Waste is a Terrible Thing to MindAug 30, 2008
By Stephen A. Harvey
Maskell makes the case that typical cost account managers currently waste their financial knowledge tallying irrelevant columns of numbers and complying with narrow governmental regulations. He then details how they can provide critical business information to help managers make daily operational decisions (hence the book's title). Agile companies understand that this is definitely not an esoteric topic (despite only 2 reviews in 6 years). Business leaders who undertake the transformation of their accounting departments can realize a big competitive advantage. You can spot such evolved companies when their accounting books no longer represent inventory as an asset and developing employees as a liability.