The correct answer is: Both A and B.
Accounting is a positive science because it is concerned with the description and explanation of past events. It is a normative science because it is concerned with the prescription of how things should be done.
Financial accounting is the process of recording, summarizing, and reporting financial information about a business entity in a way that is useful to decision-makers. Cost accounting is the process of identifying, measuring, and assigning costs to products, services, or activities.
Both financial accounting and cost accounting are concerned with the measurement and reporting of financial information. However, they differ in their purpose and scope. Financial accounting is primarily concerned with providing information to external users, such as investors, creditors, and regulators. Cost accounting is primarily concerned with providing information to internal users, such as managers, who need to make decisions about how to run the business.
Budgetary control is a system of planning and controlling business activities by setting budgets and comparing actual results to budgets. Standard costing is a system of setting standards for costs and comparing actual costs to standards. Both budgetary control and standard costing are techniques that can be used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a business.
Therefore, accounting is not only a positive science but also a normative science because it includes techniques of budgetary control and standard costing.