Sometimes, a decision which appears to be easily quantified and clear cut on paper may not be so straight forward when put into practice, thus management must contemplate carefully as these decisions will ultimately determine whether a decision is correct or not.

For example, managers should not only take into accounts the costs, revenues, incomes, etc. But also the less obvious factors such as the competition environment, interest rates imposed by the government, future operating conditions and any other uncertainty associated with the costs and benefits contribution.

Stage 3 and 4 : The choice of decision rules and ranking of alternative courses of action

Making competent decisions depends on two indispensable criteria selected by managers:

1. The appropriate basis for decision making
2. The types of data to use in decision-making and, by implication, the types of data not to use.

Decision means choices, thus decision-making implies making choices between alternatives, competing course of action. If there is no available alternative, then decision-making is not necessary. Management has to assess whether choosing a particular product X has the overall benefits or choosing an alternative, Y i.e. compare the two products, and weight up any differences between choosing on and not the other.

Management accounting is a key part in an iterative decision making process:

• Alternative courses of actions are identified.
• Estimating is made of the results of each alternative.
• Preferred courses of actions are chosen in terms of business objectives.
• Actual results are compared with corresponding estimates.
• New course of action are identified.

This is a continuous process.

The fundamental question for consideration here is, “How is management to choose