The article discusses the concept and basic methodological provisions of management accounting, as well as its role and place in the cost management system and in the budgeting system. Currently, Western, domestic scientific and practical publications express various points of view on the essence, place and role of management accounting in the management system of financial and economic activities of companies. Management accounting is a value–adding process of continuous improvement of planning, design, evaluation and functioning of financial and nonfinancial information systems that guides management actions, motivates behavior, supports and creates cultural values necessary to achieve strategic, tactical and operational goals of the organization. The points of view of various scientists on management accounting are also considered. The authors propose to achieve any goals and formulate as a system of information flow in the form of management reports aimed at achieving any goal and making effective and operational decisions on this basis.