Accounting for dummies
(Book)
Average Rating
Author
Published
Hoboken, NJ : Wiley Pub., Inc., [2008].
ISBN
9780470246009, 0470246006
Status
Available from another library
Description
Loading Description...
Copies
| Location | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Batavia Public Library District - Adult Nonfiction | 657 TRA | Checked out |
| Downers Grove Public Library - 2nd Floor - Adult | 657 TRA | On Shelf |
| Indian Prairie Public Library District - 1st Floor | 657 TRACY | On Shelf |
| Northlake Public Library District - Adult Nonfiction | 657 Trac | On Shelf |
| Riverdale Public Library District - On hold for someone | 657.22 TRA | On hold for someone |
| Riverside Public Library - Stacks | 657 TRA | On Shelf |
| Warrenville Public Library District - Adult Nonfiction | 657 TRA | On Shelf |
Table of Contents
Introduction
About this book
Conventions used in this book
What you're not to read
Foolish assumptions
How this book is organized
Part I : opening the books on accounting
Part II : figuring out financial statements
Part III : accounting in managing a business
Part IV : preparing and using financial reports
Part V : the parts of tens
Glossary
Icons used in this book
Where to go from here
pt. I. Opening the books on accounting
1. Accounting : the language of business, investing, finance, and taxes
Accounting is not just for accountants
Affecting both insiders and outsiders
Overcoming the stereotypes of accountants
Relating accounting to your personal financial life
Looking for accounting in all the right places
Taking a peek into the back office
Focusing on transactions
Taking the pulse of a business : financial statements
Meeting the balance sheet and the accounting equation
Reporting profit and loss, and cash flows
Respecting the importance of this trio
Considering accounting careers
Certified public accountant (CPA)
The controller : the chief accountant in an organization
A springboard to other careers
2. Financial statements and accounting standards
Introducing the information content of financial statements
Setting up the business example
The income statement
The balance sheet
The statement of cash flows
How profit and cash flow from profit differ
Gleaning key information from financial statements
How's profit performance?
Is there enough cash?
Can you trust the financial statement numbers?
Are the books cooked?
Why no cash distribution from profit?
Keeping in step with accounting and financial reporting standards
Recognizing U.S. standards
Getting to know the U.S. standard setters
Going worldwide
Noting a divide between public and private companies
Recognizing how income tax methods influence accounting methods
Following the rules and bending the rules
3. Bookkeeping and accounting systems
Bookkeeping and beyond
Pedaling through the bookkeeping cycle
Managing the bookkeeping and accounting system
Categorize your financial information : the chart of accounts
Standardize source document forms and procedures
Hire competent, trained personnel
Enforce strong
I mean strong!
internal controls
Complete the process with end-of-period procedures
Leave good audit trails
Look out for unusual events and developments
Design truly useful reports for managers
Double-entry accounting for single-entry folks
Juggling the books to conceal embezzlement and fraud
Using accounting software.
pt. II. Figuring out financial statements
4. Reporting revenue, expenses, and the bottom line
Presenting a typical income statement
Taking care of some housekeeping details
Your job : asking questions!
Finding profit
Getting particular about assets and liabilities
Making sales on credit
> accounts receivable asset
Selling products
> inventory asset
Prepaying operating costs
> prepaid expense asset
Fixed assets
> depreciation expense
Unpaid expenses
> accounts payable, accrued expenses payable, and income tax payable
Summing up the financial effects of profit
Reporting extraordinary gains and losses
Closing comments
5. Reporting assets, liabilities, and owners' equity
Understanding that transactions drive the balance sheet
Presenting a balance sheet
Kicking balance sheets out into the real world
Internal balance sheets
External balance sheets
Judging solvency
Current (short-term) assets
Current (short-term) liabilities
Current ratio
Preparing multiyear statements
Coupling the income statement and balance sheet
Sizing up assets and liabilities
Sales revenue and accounts receivable
Cost of goods sold expense and inventory
Fixed assets and depreciation expense
SG & A expenses and their three balance sheet accounts
Intangible assets and amortization expense
Debt and interest expense
Income tax expense and income tax payable
Net income and cash dividends (if any)
Financing a business
Costs and other balance sheet values
6. Reporting cash flows
Seeing the big picture of cash flows
Meeting the statement of cash flows
Dissecting the difference between cash flow and net income
Accounts receivable change
Inventory change
Prepaid expenses change
The depreciation factor
Changes in operating liabilities
Putting the cash flow pieces together
Sailing through the rest of the statement of cash flows
Investing activities
Financing activities
Trying to pin down "free cash flow"
Being an active reader
7. Choosing accounting methods : different strokes for different folks
Reading statements with a touch of skepticism
Recognizing a business's bias
Contrasting aggressive and conservative numbers
Figuring out why financial statements differ
Cash balance
Accounts receivable balance
Inventory and cost of goods sold expense
Cost of fixed assets, accumulated depreciation, and depreciation expense
Accrued expenses payable liability balance
Wrapping thing up
Calculating cost of goods sold and cost of inventory
The FIFO (first-in, first-out) method
The LIFO (last-in, first-out) method
The average cost method
Recording inventory losses under the lower of cost or market (LCM) rule
Appreciating depreciation methods
Scanning the expense horizon.
pt. III. Accounting in managing a business
8. Deciding the legal structure for a business
Studying the sources of business capital
Deciding on debt
Tapping two sources of owners' equity
Recognizing the legal roots of business entities
Incorporating a business
Issuing stock shares
Offering different classes of stock shares
Determining the market value of stock shares
Keeping alert for dilution of share value
Recognizing conflicts between stockholders and managers
Considering partnerships and limited liability companies
Going it alone : sole proprietorships
Choosing the right legal structure for income tax
C corporations
S corporations
Partnerships and LLCs
9. Analyzing and managing profit
Helping managers do their jobs
Following the organizational structure
Centering on profit centers
Presenting a P & L template
Reporting operating expenses on the object of expenditure basis
Reporting operating expenses on their cost behavior basis
Separating variable and fixed expenses
Variable expenses
Fixed expenses
Stopping at operating earnings
Focusing on margin
the catalyst of profit
Answering two critical profit questions
How did you make profit?
How did you increase profit?
Looking more closely at the profit center P & L report
Sales volume
Sales revenue
Cost of goods sold
Variable operating expenses
Fixed operating expenses
Using the P & L template for decision-making analysis
Tucking away some valuable lessons
Recognize the leverage effect caused by fixed operating expenses
Don't underestimate the impact of small changes in sales price
Know your options for improving profit
Closing with a boozy example
10. Financial planning, budgeting, and control
Exploring the reasons for budgeting
Modeling reasons for budgeting
Planning reasons for budgeting
Management control reasons for budgeting
Additional benefits of budgeting, and a note of caution
Realizing that not everyone budgets
Avoiding budgeting
Relying on internal accounting reports
Making reports useful for management control
Making reports useful for decision-making
Making reports clear and straightforward
Watching budgeting in action
Developing your profit strategy and budgeted profit report
Budgeting cash flow for the coming year
Considering capital expenditures and other cash needs
11. Cost concepts and conundrums
Looking down the road to the destination of costs
Are costs really that important?
Becoming more familiar with costs
Direct versus indirect costs
Fixed versus variable costs
Relevant versus irrelevant costs
Actual, budgeted, and standard costs
Product versus period costs
Assembling the product cost of manufacturers
Minding manufacturing costs
Classifying costs properly
Calculating product cost
Examining fixed manufacturing costs and production capacity
The burden rate
Idle capacity
The effects of increasing inventory
Puffing profit by excessive production
Shifting fixed manufacturing costs to the future
Cranking up production output
Being careful when production output is out of kilter with sales volume.
pt. IV. Preparing and using financial reports
12. Getting a financial report ready for release
Recognizing management's role
Keeping in mind the purpose of financial reporting
Staying on top of accounting and financial reporting standards
Making sure disclosure is adequate
Footnotes : nettlesome but needed
Other disclosures in financial reports
Putting a spin on the numbers (but not cooking the books)
Window dressing for fluffing up the cash balance
Sanding the rough edges off profit
The pressure on public companies
Compensatory effects
Two profit histories
Management discretion in the timing of revenue and expenses
Going public of keeping things private
Reports from publicly owned companies
Reports from private businesses
Dealing with information overload
Browsing based on your interest
Recognizing condensed versions
Using other sources of business information
Statement of changes in owners' equity
13. How lenders and investors read a financial report
Knowing the rules of the game
Becoming a more savvy investor
Comparing private and public business financial reports
Analyzing financial statements with ratios
Gross margin ratio
Profit ratio
Earnings per share (EPS), basic and diluted
Price/earnings (P/E) ratio
Dividend yield
Book value and book value per share
Return on equity (ROE) ratio
Current ratio
Acid-test ratio
Return on assets (ROA) ratio and financial leverage again
Frolicking through the footnotes
Checking for ominous skies in the auditor's report
14. How business managers use a financial report
Building on the foundation of the external financial statements
Seeking out problems and opportunities
Avoiding information overload
Gathering financial condition information
Cash
Accounts receivable
Inventory
Prepaid expenses
Fixed assets and accumulated depreciation
Accounts payable
Accrued expenses payable
Income tax payable
Interest-bearing debt
Owners' equity
Culling profit information
Margin : the catalyst of profit
Sales revenue and expenses
Digging into cash flow information
Distinguishing investing and financing cash flows from operating cash flows
Managing operating cash flow
15. Audits and accounting fraud
Exploring the need for audits
What's in an auditor's report
The clean (unqualified) opinion
Other kinds of audit opinions
Who's who in the world of audits
Standing firm when companies massage the numbers, or not
Discovering fraud, or not
Who audits the auditors?
pt. V. The part of tens
16. Ten accounting tips for managers
Reach break-even, and then rake in profit
Set sales prices right
Distinguish profit from cash flow
Call the shots on accounting policies
Budget wisely
Get the accounting information you need
Tap into your CPA's expertise
Critically review your fraud controls
Lend a hand in preparing your financial reports
Sound like a pro in talking about your financial statements
17. Ten tips for reading a financial report
Get in the right frame of mind
Decide what to read
Improve your accounting savvy
Judge profit performance
Track profit into earnings per share
Confront extraordinary gains and losses
Compare cash flow and profit
Look for signs of financial distress
Recognize the risks of restatement and fraud
Remember the limits of financial reports
Glossary : slashing through the accounting jargon jungle
Index.
Excerpt
Loading Excerpt...
Author Notes
Loading Author Notes...
Subjects
LC Subjects
More Details
Published
Hoboken, NJ : Wiley Pub., Inc., [2008].
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xx, 382 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Language
English
ISBN
9780470246009, 0470246006
Notes
General Note
Includes index.
Description
Want to make sense of accounting basics? This plain-English guide helps you speak your accountant's language with ease, minimizing confusion as you maximize profits.
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Tracy, J. A. (2008). Accounting for dummies (Fourth edition.). Wiley Pub., Inc..
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Tracy, John A. 2008. Accounting for Dummies. Wiley Pub., Inc.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Tracy, John A. Accounting for Dummies Wiley Pub., Inc, 2008.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Tracy, John A. Accounting for Dummies Fourth edition., Wiley Pub., Inc., 2008.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
Staff View
Loading Staff View.