Financial Accounting Essentials You Always Wanted To Know: 4th Edition by Kalpesh Ashar
| Financial Accounting Essentials You Always Wanted To Know: 4th Edition by Kalpesh Ashar | |
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| Category: Business and Finance | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: If you've ever looked at a set of accounts and wondered what you were looking at, this is the book for you. The concepts are explained in clear language and even after half a century of involvement with accounts and accounting principles I still had a few lightbulb moments. Recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 130 | Date: July 2019 |
| Publisher: Vibrant Publishers | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1949395327 | |
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Financial Accounting Essentials You Always Wanted to Know gives people without an accounting background, who have risen in a company, the knowledge to understand the accounts which show how the company is doing. The book begins by looking at why financial accounting systems are necessary, then moves on to give an excellent overview of the types of accounting systems which will be encountered and the terms used. We then look in detail at the balance sheet, the income statement and the statement of cash flows. If you understand these three sections on a set of accounts they will tell you a story. You will understand the company (or indeed any other business) but if you don't understand what's there you will be missing vital clues as to whether or not the company is thriving.
There's a neat flow of information through the book. There's a logic to it. I particularly liked that you read a chapter, solve some exercises where the solution is given immediately (giving you excellent feedback as to whether or not you've understood what you've read) and then you move on to practice exercises where you will have to look online to find the solution. Finally, at the end of each chapter there's a summary of what you've learned. It's a useful reference point and revision aid.
Kalpesh Ashar knows what he's talking about. He has an MBA from one of Asia's top business schools and an engineering degree with honours in electronics. He knows the theory and the practice and he's capable of writing in terms which the layman can understand. Occasionally the lack of definite and indefinite articles suggest that he's not a native English speaker, but that's not an insurmountable problem. One problem which did give me cause for concern was that I found a couple of typos in examples. The correct answer was fairly obvious but it did mean that I spent an inordinate amount of time checking other examples to ensure they were correct before I moved on.
The book has been written primarily for the American market. Examples are in dollars and make reference the American tax system and if you're looking to buy this book in the USA then it's worth the full 4 stars. In the United Kingdom, you could probably deduct a half to one star, although there is an explanation of a balance sheet which is probably the clearest I've encountered.
I've had half a century of dealing with accounts and the people responsible for them and regularly been surprised at the number of people who present accounts to government authorities or banks whilst freely admitting that they didn't understand what they meant. The accountant seems to know what he's doing, they say, but it's not good enough. With a book like this, it doesn't take long to get a basic understanding.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If you need to understand more about what your accounts show we can recommend Cost Accounting & Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know by Vibrant Publishers. If you're undertaking a big project we think that you'll appreciate Beginner's Project Management Handbook: Art of Project Delivery by Dr Sunil C Gebalanage.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Financial Accounting Essentials You Always Wanted To Know: 4th Edition by Kalpesh Ashar at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Financial Accounting Essentials You Always Wanted To Know: 4th Edition by Kalpesh Ashar at Amazon.com.
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