How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers John A. Tracy CPA

As a teacher of Business Administration, I have found some of the training that often frustrates most students is to understand and prepare a cash flow statement, income statement and balance sheet. This book is written in a way that really facilitates understanding of the statements, but it would certainly be a plus if the reader had no previous knowledge of basic accounting principles.
Financial reports for some, a challenge and they can easily master with an understanding of basic accounting principles. For others, without knowledge of bookkeeping, accounts can be a nightmare. Although this book will help to simplify the matter, without any previous experience the book can be quite confusing. First and foremost, one should at least be familiar with general accounting terminology. If you are, it will simplify this book immensely and make learning more fun. But be prepared to sit down and use your largest concentration of the book. The question is not one that can be mastered by skimming through the book in an evening or two. For many people understand the financial statements give a course that takes several months to fully understand. Some learn the process easily, others never master challenge, no matter how long or hard they try. The degree of success usually depends in part apptitude, commitment and previous knowledge and experience to the reader.

Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making Hardcover Paul D. Kimmel

If you are new to accounting then this book should definitely be on your list. Explains step by step how to record basic journal entries and how these items relate to the various financial statements (income statement, cash flow ...), in a clear and organized manner. The only reason I am unwilling to rate this book five stars because of the price that most people will use the book as an introduction to accounting is such that it seems a bit expensive. It is also worth noting the problems and examples used in the book are of excellent quality, especially the financial statements set out in Annexes A and B. If you have previous experience in the accounting field I would probably recommend a book on a higher level, but beginners could do no better.

This user-friendly book teaches readers fundamental accounting with an emphasis on the relationship between the formal details and the basic accounting equation. It gives readers the conceptual and procedural accounting tools they need to make sound internal and external business decisions. - This text refers to an out or unavailable edition of this title.

Managerial Accounting Hardcover Ray Garrison Eric Noreen

In the industry we call this "Lighthouse Series." It is the most prominent textbook in Management Accounting. My company uses this book as a resource, and it is available to us at work. I am a practicing CPA, licensed in Washington DC with a master's degree in accounting practices.

At first I hesitated to review the 13th edition of the Lighthouse series, because it is difficult to find something critical to say. But the authors dedicated this book "To our family and our many colleagues who use this book." Management Accounting is designed to be the number one textbook in his field, as it is, and the largest internal accounting resource for practicing accountants, as is the case.

This book is dominant because of the huge investment to make it simply the most student-friendly and resource-rich text in the field. This is one of the few texts that no money was spared to make it what it is today, and the list of professors who have contributed by being reviewers and consultants, this text longer than this list I have ever seen. You can hardly find any written work that has benefited and survived such scrutiny.

The three authors are well known in the profession, they have published many scientific articles in professional journals. But what impresses me more is that they all have won major awards for teaching, although rates as decided by the students. I'm even more impressed with the auditors the star teacher than prolific publisher auditors because their contributions will ultimately be greater.

There are many topics in this text and the following is just one example, job costing, process costing, ABC, cost-volume-profit, stock, balanced scorecards, overhead application and analysis, budgeting, financial analysis, decentralization, and segment information, valuation methods, investment management, decision-making of all kinds, including make-or-buy decisions and the distribution type and more.

The textbook is part of a set that is produced and reviewed by all the same people. The 896-page hardcover with good paper and sturdy binding is a fraction of the material. You also get the best supplements of a book on the subject of accounting and, fortunately, you can use a password to access all the book's online resources. These charges include, but are not limited to Homework Manager (a lot of problems, of which only a fraction would be assigned by a professor with immediate feedback), syllabus at the Centre (includes many Internet-based activities such as quizzes, trips and details about career and jobs), Subject Tackle Plus (interactive multimedia lessons), Study Guide Workbook, Templates, Practice Set, Notes, and AIDS Study. Again, no expense spared, and the list of professors who add value to these resources is extensive hardly believe.

Finally, I am surprised at the relatively low cost of Amazon given the quality of the textbook, online resources spent behind the text and the money to produce this 13th edition of the Lighthouse series. I know that for students, it is not a cheap book, but it's not as expensive as many textbooks with far less expertise and resources needed for production.

Intermediate Accounting Hardcover Donald E. Kieso

Aside from having to buy new, there is reason to suffer Kieso series, including this 13 edition of Intermediate Accounting, which is really Financial Accounting II. These authors have made every effort to make the subject progressively more available in each edition. I know because I have suffered through the exercise again, too. I have a master's degree in accounting and is a CPA. It is surprising how many accounting texts assume that the students have some prerequisite skills and knowledge, and equally surprising how so many are professors want to teach about what will increase their knowledge base instead of teaching the students. The Kieso books are really textbooks. I buy used earlier versions of myself only as a reference because they are so well made and so cheap. Not all CPA do it, but I practice accounting.

You will be lucky if the professor is lenient enough to go with an older series, as most students quickly sell these books when the course is over, so used versions are much cheaper. But most professors insist that the latest edition. I think they are justified because their authority rests on being up to date. In this 13th edition, is a strong emphasis on international accounting standards, and you can be sure that professors want to bone up on this myself. The financial meltdown has discredited the entire U.S. financial complex, and the result is that the move is now stronger in the direction of international accounting standards instead of U.S. GAAP. Although the authors expect that everyone wants to use the cheaper previous release, so they always change at the end of chapter problems. The publisher also provides professors with additional materials, including exam material, so there is always an incentive for teachers to use the latest version and claim it is the only acceptable reason for the end of chapter problems.

These are really heavy books - not fun to carry around. The book weighs 6.2 pounds. It's ridiculous. 1440 pages, and you darn well need to know this material. This gives some indication of why so many people, despite knowing that a good accountant will tend to be employed in a recession, will not even consider this route. But at least Kieso books other than their workbooks hardcover with large dimensions and high-quality paper and binding. Nothing is worse than using a thick binder text that feels like a phone book. Unfortunately they are expensive new, and one day you could buy, 18 version used at a fraction of that price.

Note that if you need WileyPlus access to the code, it is not in this book. If your teacher makes you code, you have to spend even more money. You can access the code on Wileyplus website. A kind of student emailed me the code now costs $ 83.50 on the spot. Wiley also included separate contracts with some but not all college bookstores, but so are prices vary widely in college bookstore level. Sometimes, depending on how the professor intends to use WileyPlus resource, you can ask only the professor and get the code, but such cases are rare.

A word of warning and encouragement: The Intermediate Accounting course with the first, accounting, the two that have traditionally been used to weed out students to become accounting majors. You have to spend much more time on this course than you normally would for a regular course. Good luck - I wish you good luck!

Intermediate Accounting Hardcover Text book

The best-selling book for intermediate accounting, Kieso is an excellent reference for practicing accountants and an invaluable resource for anyone who comes into the area. They will learn to use everyday accounting software such as Excel, GLS and other computerized accounting software gives them a strong background in the tools of the accounting profession. Intermediate Accounting 14th Edition is the leading supplier of the tools necessary to understand what GAAP is and how it is used in practice. Through many editions, continued this textbook to reflect the constant changes in GAAP environment. This edition continues this tradition, which has become even more important as the financial reporting environment has exploded with big changes. There are three areas of great importance that are now in much of the text: New way to look at GAAP convergence of U.S. GAAP and IFRS and fair value movement. The core of Kieso value proposition continues to be the authority and preparation for the profession (CPA exam).