Activate Learning with Warren/Reeve/Duchac's, ACCOUNTING! For 25 editions, market-leading ACCOUNTING has been on the forefront of innovation and change based on the needs of today's teaching and learning environment. Warren offers students clear guid The above is the description for Accounting
Financial Accounting For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))
Your plain-English guide to navigating a financial accounting courseDespite the economic landscape and job market, demand for accountants remains strong, and accountants will continue to see high demand for their services as the economy rebounds and The above is the description for Financial Accounting For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))
Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Recommended to those entering - or considering - the field of accounting. A bit too technical for the novice though., June 5, 2011
This review is from: Financial Accounting For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)) (Paperback)
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Recommended to those entering - or considering - the field of accounting. It gets a bit too technical for the novice who wants to understand financial statements.
While I usually review CDs and DVDs as well as entertainment related books here on Amazon, in my major occupation, I am a CPA with over 35 years of work in the nonprofit field. I also sit as Treasurer on a Nonprofit so I feel qualified to provide an accurate review of this book.
This is one in the series of "For Dummies" books now published by Wiley. The "Dummies" series goes back to 1991 when Dan Gookin wrote "DOS for Dummies". To date over 1600 (!) "Dummies" titles have been published. The topics range from the sublime to the ridiculous. All the titles share the format in common. Chapters begin with a related cartoon; There are "remember" and "tip" icons and all see to run about 300 pages. In a series this large, some are too simple and some too complicated.
In reading through this volume - a first edition, published in 2011 - I can only think that the target of this book is the high school student who is thinking about entering the field of accounting and pursuing it in college. Years ago I was one of those high school students and a book like this may have been helpful to me in deciding if that was a career I wanted. It also tries to explain - in plain English - the various governing boars and rules such as: Sarbanes-Oxley and ACBOA. The author explains each of this in just two sentences. Later chapters discuss journal entries and financial statements.
The book may be of some interest to owners of businesses who want to understand the financial statements prepared by their accountants as well as investors trying to understand an Annual Report from one of their investments, but - honestly - I think this is not the book for them. The later chapters read more like an Accounting 101 text book.
The author does have good overall credentials. She was worked in industry, government and nonprofits as well as public accounting. The specialized industries such as nonprofits, healthcare, real estate and governmental accounting are only briefly mentioned in the back with only a few sentences devoted to each.
So if you are starting a general or corporate accounting course or preparing to enter college as a business major, you might gain something from this book. Otherwise I can't really recommend it.
Steve Ramm Steven Ramm CPA
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This review is from: Financial Accounting For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program(What's this?)
It is hard to understand business and executive decisions if you do not speak the language of finance accounting. Without an understanding of finance, good people are left in the dark as unfortunately companies keep score via the balance sheet and income statement more than customer satisfaction and personal innovation.
MBAs and other have to wade through financial accounting texts as they have the time and focus to work through the blur of terms and assumptions. Pick up this book and you will not only understand how financial accounting works, but also how it influences business decisions.
The `dummies' genre is always a misnomer as people who seek out these books are not dummies - it takes a smart person to know that they need to learn. I learned the hard way with a four and a half inch book on Financial Accounting. I could have learned more, faster and understood it if this book was around 20 years ago.
Recommended for anyone who wants to understand what accounting is, the language it uses, the rules behind it and finally how it shapes and influences business decisions. Every person needs this basic knowledge to understand what is really going on and why companies do some things that do not seem to make sense.
Strengths
The book is written from the perspective of someone who needs to understand financial accounting rather than someone who needs to create/maintain financial accounts.
The writing is clear, understandable and builds on itself, starting with a few accounting terms and incorporating new ones as the reader builds familiarity with the subject area.
The chapters are short and focused, explaining the concept first and then illustrating it via a financial statement, so you know what you are reading.
The book asks provocative questions and then answers them, rather than being a dry recitation of financial accounting rules and processes. An example is the question "Do service companies have inventory?" something someone would ask but that would not be readily answered in a discussion of inventory accounting practices.
Challenges
Like any large and complex subject there are some things that are simplified or omitted. Breaking things down into small chapters helps make the concepts more readable but they will not make you a financial accounting expert. That is ok, as understanding what financial accounting is will put you ahead of about 95%+ of the people you will meet.
You cannot understand business without understanding the fundamentals of marketing, production, finance and financial accounting. This book is a great accelerator for building that last part of knowledge.
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This review is from: Financial Accounting For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program(What's this?)
I was interested in this book because of a job change. I now have more direct interface with the accounting and finance folks in our organization than I have in the past. I thought that something with a title like "for Dummies" would be a good way to learn a bit of the lingo and some of the concepts.
Well, first of all, I wasn't the intended audience. This book is for students who are looking for extra help while muddling though accounting courses at college. In fact, it continually references, "in your class" or "your professor may..." I found this a bit irritating. I don't have time to go back to college for this stuff.
Now, it does a pretty good job of explaining the different types of financial documents, what they are for and what to look for. The examples are simple- which is good to a point- but don't really relate well to people in my position that are looking at very complex documents and not simple examples. I was also hoping for more "rules of thumb" than are in the book.
Another strong point is the ability to enter the book at any point to reference a particular topic. For example if you want to ready chapter 4 it is not NECESSARY to read chapters 1 to 3. That said, I did read it in order.
The explanations are good, the examples easy to follow. For a student, its is probably a great book. That said, any student who buys a second book (Text book plus one) in order to master a subject is probably the kind of student who is going to succeed anyway.
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Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making
This successful book continues to provide accountants with an understanding of the fundamental concepts necessary to use accounting effectively. The sixth edition offers new discussions on IFRS, including new codification numbers, examples of IFRS fi The above is the description for Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making
Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Very good book but way too expensive, February 14, 2012
This review is from: Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making (Hardcover)
The book is very good. It presents the information multiple ways to suit all learning styles and provides examples with solutions after each major concept. The price of the book is outrageous, especially in campus bookstores. Amazon definitely has it at one of the cheaper prices.
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This review is from: Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making (Hardcover)
I needed this book for one of the classes I needed for my degree. The book was helpful and I still have it ,so that I am able to refer to it for future classes. I would purchaes from thei seller again.
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