Customer Reviews
An excellent introduction to the key concepts of financial accounting - By: James Cocker, 29 Sep 2006 
The Essentials of Accounting is a good introduction to the basic concepts of financial accounting, presented in an unusual & absorbing format which makes it easy for readers with no existing knowledge of the subject to grasp the fundamentals.
The book consists of approximately 200 pages of prose, outlining various topics, with blanks throughout, which the reader is supposed to complete as they read the text. The correct answers are given at the end of each page. Most of the blanks are for words, but some are for basic calculations. The prose is simple & repetitive, making the book accessible for the most novice of readers. The premise of the book's format is that active reading (i.e., filling-in the blanks), & repetition (i.e., covering the same material at several points in the book) aids retention of the content. Whilst this is certainly true, it does sometimes make the process of reading & completing the blanks sometimes a little laborious. At the end of each chapter there is a brief test, which follows a similar format to the main text. The topics covered include balance sheets, income & cash flow statements, measurement of revenues & expenses & basic analysis of financial statements.
As the title suggests, the Essentials of Accounting is a good primer on the basics of the subject, but no more than this. I read the book as a complete beginner, & found it invaluable in making more advanced texts accessible to me. It is also worth noting that the book is intended for people who review & use financial statements, & not for those who prepare them (although the text does cover the basis processes used in preparing statements).
Overalll, this is the best introductory text I have found, & I heartily recommend it. Incidentallly, the Essentials of Accounting has been on the reading lists at several top-tier business schools, including Harvard Business School, for several years.
A highly interactive book to learn the basics of accounting. - By: , 25 Feb 2002 
This is one of the most interactive book that I have ever read in my life. The book takes you by hand through a series of exercises that will teach you the methods of accounting in such an easy way that it is difficult to believe.
i need e mail address - By: , 05 Jul 1999 ia am a prof. of asccounting
highly recomended - By: , 28 Dec 1998 I used this book in a analyst training program in Walll Street. It is an excellent summary of Accounting 001. Clear, short & precise for people who want to grasp relatively quickly the topic.
Excellent book for beginner - By: , 04 Jul 1998 This book is perfect for a person who has a general understanding of bookkeeping but wants to know more about accounting. It makes a good review for a person who uses financial statements but does not prepare them. It is a workbook, so the reader answers questions on each page. This encourages retention of information.
