Cost Management: A Strategic Emphasis, by Blocher/Juras/Smith is dedicated to answering the question: Why Cost Management? It answers this question by providing cost-management tools and techniques needed to support an organization's competitiveness, improve its performance, and help the organization accomplish its strategy. The text is written to help students understand the broader role of cost accounting in helping an organization succeed - not just the measurement of costs. While the text does include coverage of traditional costing topics (e.g., job-order costing, process costing, service-department cost allocations, and accounting for joint and by-products), its primary strength is the linkage of these topics, as well as more contemporary topics, to an organization's strategy. And with Connect, an easy-to-use homework and learning management solution that embeds learning science and award-winning adaptive tools to improve student outcomes, instructors receive a course solution that includes high quality content and assessment paired with assignments that help students build the skills they need to succeed.

"Cost Management: A Strategic Emphasis," by Blocher/Stout/Cokins is the first cost accounting text to offer integrated coverage of strategic management topics in cost accounting. The text is written to help students understand more about management and the role of cost accounting in helping an organization succeed. This text aims to teach management concepts and methods, also to demonstrate how managers use cost management information to make better decisions and improve their organization's competitiveness. In teaching these key management skills, the text takes on a strategic focus. It addresses issues such as: "How does a firm compete? What type of cost management information is needed for a firm to succeed? How does the management accountant develop and present this information?" This text helps students learn why, when, and how cost information is used to make effective decisions that lead a firm to success.