Book Description

Advance praise for Fast Close:

"This is an outstanding book in which Steve reveals his secrets to a fast close. Having personally experienced his (one-day) fast close for years and enjoyed the beneficial impact on my company, I highly recommend this book for all financial officers that desire to have a large, favorable impact on their company."
-Richard V. Souders President and CEO, Premier Data Services

"Fast Close is a superb book for all financial executives. It clearly articulates how a company can achieve rapid closes and obtain benefits that go along with it. This book is a must-read for financial executives."
-Janice M. Roehl-Anderson Principal, Deloitte Consulting, LLP

Written for controllers, CFOs, accounting managers, and business managers, Fast Close incorporates Steven Bragg's own personally tested guidelines to help professionals speed up the closing process, especially in response to Sarbanes-Oxley's more time-sensitive requirements. Bragg outlines numerous key improvements that, when gradually implemented together, are guaranteed to shrink the closing process down to as little as one day.

Chock-full of helpful flowcharts and checklists to help readers prevent delays and bring accounting department closing procedures up to date, Fast Close explores:
* Specific instructions for closing faster
* Common areas of delay and how to overcome them
* Flowcharts that explain how to route closing tasks through the accounting department
* How to handle information roll-ups from subsidiaries
* Closing steps: which ones to accelerate into the pre-closing period and which ones can be delayed
* Required controls to keep financials accurate despite the fast close
* And much more

Create financial statements faster . . . much faster . . . with the expert guidance found in Steven Bragg's Fast Close. ... Read more

Book Description

Applying International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in a business situation can have a significant effect on the financial results and position of a division or an entire business enterprise. International Financial Reporting Standards: A Practical Guide gives private – or public-sector executives, managers, or financial analysts without a strong background in accounting the tools they need to participate in discussions and decisions on the appropriateness or application of IFRS.

Each chapter summarizes an International Financial Reporting Standard, following a consistent structure:

*Problems addressed by the IFRS
*Scope of the Standard
*Key concepts and definitions
*Accounting treatment
*Presentation and disclosure
*Financial analysis and interpretation

Many chapters of the book also contain examples that illustrate the practical application of key concepts in a particular standard. Titled International Accounting Standards: A Practical Guide in its previous two editions, the publication includes all of the standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) through 31 May 2004. ... Read more

Book Description

Financial Management 101 is an in-depth but easy-to-read guide on business planning. It's a kick-start course for new entrepreneurs and a wake-up call for struggling small-business owners.

This book covers business planning from understanding financial statements to budgeting for advertising. Angie Mohr's easy-to-understand approach to small business planning and management ensures that the money coming in is always greater than the money going out! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An absolute "must-read" for any business owner
Financial Management 101: Get A Grip On Your Business Numbers by business columnist Angie Mohr (who is also a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant) is an thoroughly "reader friendly" guidebook designed specifically for small business owners and managers, and which methodically teaches the reader all of the basics about balance sheets, income statements, monthly budget reports, ratio analysis, dealing with inventory problems, dealing with debt, and more. Financial Management 101 is an absolute "must-read" for any business owner new to the complexities of finance and needing to competently analyze financial data, measure business success, and have an accurate and on-going comprehension of their fiscal bottom line.

Great new series for small business owners
An excellent book from the new Numbers 101 series (see Bookkeepers' Boot Camp). The author shows you how to get the most profit from a small business as you possibly can by using simple financial management techniques -- something like what a person who has a degree in finance or business would know and use. But it's all spelled out in easy steps. It's sort of like hiring an MBA consultant for your small business, but for a lot less money! ... Read more

Book Description

Helping candidates pass the CPA exam for more than 25 years!

• Time-proven––the most effective system available to prepare for the CPA exam
• Timely––up-to-the-minute coverage. Contains all current AICPA content requirements in accounting and reporting
• Unique modular format––helps you zero in on areas that need work, organize your study program, and concentrate your efforts
• Comprehensive questions––over 600 multiple-choice questions and their solutions in each of the four volumes. Covers all new question forms and formats, including MC, OOAF, and essay questions. Offers almost three times more examples than any other competitor
• Complete sample exam in accounting and reporting
• Guidelines, pointers, and tips––show you how to build knowledge in a logical and reinforcing way

Wiley CPA Examination Review 2003 arms test-takers with detailed outlines, study guidelines, and skill-building problems to help candidates identify, focus on, and master the specific topics that need the most work.

Other titles in the WILEY CPA EXAMINATION REVIEW 2003 FOUR-VOLUME SET:

• Accounting and Reporting: Taxation, Managerial, Governmental, and Not-for-Profit Organizations
• Auditing
• Business Law and Professional Responsibilities

See inside for the entire array of Wiley CPA Examination Review Products!

"Wiley CPA Review Products, when combined with an intensive study regime, provided me with the tools for success on the May 2001 Exam. The comprehensive books and software helped guide and assess my preparation. Thanks, Wiley. With your CPA Review Products, I was able to score 99, 97, 99, 99 on my first try!"
—Stephen Weiland
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Elijah Watt Sells Award Silver Medal Winner ... Read more

Book Description

Sponsored by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, formerly known as the Support Center for Nonprofit Management/ Nonprofit Development Center

Nothing can be more important to an organization's health and success than the quality of its financial reporting. This comprehensive guide is for all nonprofits that are required to comply with financial reporting standards set by the IRS and thirty-five state charity regulators (Form 990), FASB and AICPA (GAAP), grantmakers, and the like. It shows how to unify financial reporting requirements without compromising the organization's accuracy and accountability.

... Read more

Book Description

Incorporate the Benefits of Activity-Based Costing into the Efficiencies of Your SAP R/3 System

Given SAP’s dominance in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market, many companies and their managers encounter SAP AG applications in some form or another.Many of these organizations have recognized the value of utilizing Activity-Based Costing/Management concepts to perform more accurate cost assignments or drive performance initiatives. Managers are then faced with trying to determine how Activity-Based Costing can be incorporated into the SAP environment. The 123s of ABC in SAPis the first book of its kind designed to help business managers understand the capabilities of the SAP R/3 business application to support Activity-Based Costing, Management, and Budgeting.

Divided into three parts–the conceptual foundation, the capabilities of SAP ABC, and integration with other tools–the book provides readers with the following:

• An explanation of how Activity-Based Costing can be used with SAP
• Helpful hints for implementing ABC into SAP
• Insights into the most common difficulties and potential solutions when implementing ABC into SAP
• Summary tables that highlight key decisions to be made, implementation hints, and organizational challenges
• Detailed descriptions of SAP software applications to support the Activity-Based Costing approach as well as the integration of SAP R/3 with Oros software
• Examples of the tandem usage of Resource Consumption Accounting with Activity-Based Costing

Reviews (1)

An essential book for ABC and SAP practitioners
This is the first book that really explains the theory and practice behind using Activity Based Costing within SAP. This book does not suffer fools - it requires active reading and reflection. Nonetheless, the reader will be rewarded with excellent graphics and useful number examples. Particularly important is the segue to the real heart of advanced costing in SAP (of which ABC is a part), RCA or Resource Consumption Accounting. Excellent information of the mechanics the SAP templates (the truly groundbreaking functionality within SAP-ABC). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent Review of Busniess and Financial Statements
Need a good overview of key Business and Financial statements? Look no further. This book is clear, concise, and precise. Great for people just getting their feet wet in the finance world or for those who need a refresher. ... Read more

Book Description

This collection of financial accounting cases is designed to help learners become financial statement users. Each case utilizes financial statement information (balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flow and/or footnotes) and a number of topical questions. KEY TOPICS Readers use the financial statement information to infer and interpret the economic events underlying the numbers. Related articles taken from business publications accompany some cases, and information from the articles is incorporated into the case question material.For working professionals studying for the CFA exams. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It's a great book with very useful examples!
If you are looking for a book that will help you to understand complex Financial Accounting using cases taken form the real life, this is your book! ... Read more

Book Description

The Ninth Edition of Financial Accounting offers the first year accounting student an introduction to the preparation and use of financial accounting information. Accounting research and analysis has been significantly increased to provide a greater user-orientation, while coverage of procedures has been reduced. In addition, the Ninth Edition has two new co-authors, a new contemporary design, new pedagogical features including Internet activities, and a full support package. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

No theory what so ever
The authors seem unaware of the fact that theory guides our understanding.There are no "objective" facts, yet the authors present all their findings as such with almost no reasoning attached.This is both arrogant and ignorant.The authors display no grasp of theoretical advances in Accounting and I recommend getting a book that has a better exposition of principles as more than practice

wrong item
I was going to get a book with a ISN number of 0072316373...But today, I got one with 0070412901...
So I need you send my money beac to my account, and give me a well reason why you let the seller mail me a totally different book again, It is the second time I get an item with wrong number

Gets to the point
When I first took Financial Accounting, I was using Prentice Hall's Accounting textbook by Hongren.My prof was real anal-retentive and required us to read every chapter.To ensure this, he would quiz us on the contents of each chapter before we covered it in class.I spent so much time trying to wade through the excessive verbage in that book that I ended up not having any time left to do actual problems or sharpen up my practical skills.As a result, I ended up with a D in the class although I understood most of the concepts very well.When I took the course again over the summer, I had a different professor and he used this book.What a breath of fresh air! Meigs and company explain the accounting concepts just as thoroughly as Hongren but with about half the verbage.I breezed through my summer course and got the highest grade in the class.This book is an excellent teaching tool for beginners and would also make a great reference guide for more advanced students.

CLEAR, EASY, STRAIGHTFORWARD
This college accounting book is SO UNDERSTANDABLE--it uses PLAIN ENGLISH, doesn't give you a lot of hard to understand theoretical concepts like other accounting books. it gives you what you need to know in order to study accounting and in a format that you can understand. you can read thru 1 chapter easily since it only gives you what you NEED to know. it first gives objective questions in the front of the chapter and then summarizes the definitions for important words, phrases, and terminology at the end of each chapter. it's very practical in introducing you to real life accounting.

SORRY--THIS REVIEW REFERS TO THE TEXT BOOK, NOT THE STUDY GUIDE.

Excellent book for students as well as professionals.
I am a student of professional Accountancy. I found this book very clear, it conveys the material to the reader very well. It has every thing availble for the student to understand the topics with illustrations. Idon't find simmilar book like this one. By reading this book, I am able toget exemption in this subject by securing grade 'A+'. Thanks to theAuthors. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

From the Foreword
The "Financial Planning Handbook for Physicians and Advisors" is essentially a "how-to book" on finance, financial planning and related topics for healthcare providers. Fortunately for patients, medicine requires a high degree of professional training, both in terms of science and technology. Unfortunately for providers, it affords little time for learning about financial or investment planning.

More to the point, this is an unusual textbook on financial planning for two reasons. First, it is a detailed guide for physician's seeking the complex road to success and profit in the confusing healthcare industrial complex. Rarely does one see such clarity of presentation, without the usual jargon that often discourages those trying to learn such a foreign and forbidding subject, as finance. Second, the subject matter is focused for medical providers who work in one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. The contributors hope that by integrating the disciplines of financial planning, they will help foster affordable and profitable healthcare for our nation, which is so entrepreneurial, yet aging.

In my thirty-five years on Wall Street, I have observed that physicians are particularly disadvantaged when it comes to anything regarding finance. Most medical professionals have enough on their mind practicing their specialty and keeping up with healthcare technology and practice trends, that planning for their financial future is often forgotten. Financial planning and good investment practices require a solid background of how corporations work in the "real world", and an awareness of how they function within the economy. These economic essentials are vital to understanding practice, as principles like budgeting, risk management, cash flow analysis, fiscal benchmarking and rudimentary accounting are presented in this book. Furthermore, the necessity of keeping up with state and federal insurance legislation, tax laws, retirement, and estate planning is obvious, and included.

"Financial Planning Handbook for Physicians and Advisors" focuses on financial planning and how the healthcare professional can increase personal knowledge and skills in this area. The coverage is both broad and yet detailed, ranging from basic macroeconomic factors that affect our national economy, such as the Gross Domestic Product (a single figure that summarize the business activity of the US), to the more mundane activities of maintaining cash flow, college funding, tax reduction strategies, home mortgages and even correcting credit card reporting errors. More sophisticated topics include: debt and equity investment vehicles, derivatives, mutual fund and hedge fund investing, portfolio management and risk analysis, and the new laws on tax, retirement, and estate planning. The book rightly concludes with practice succession planning for doctors and a chapter on the psychological meaning of money itself.

It seems to me that all those in healthcare are well-served by reading this book with it's format and step-by-step setup process for financial success, in terms of starting and ultimately surviving in a complicated business full of pitfalls and misinformation. Most useful will be the extremely detailed table of contents that allows the user to quickly pinpoint an area of interest, and get started answering a problem.

Simply put, my recommendation is to read the: "Financial Planning Handbook for Physicians and Advisors", and "reap".

Frank A. Cappiello
President, McCullough, Andrews & Cappiello, Inc.
10751 Falls Road Suite 250
Lutherville, MD 21093
Distinguished Visiting Professor of Finance
Loyola College, Maryland ... Read more

Book Description

Current, comprehensive guidelines to ethical regulations for accounting professionals

A handful of high-profile accounting misdeeds at Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, and the like have left the entire accounting profession scrambling to assert its validity and negotiate a flurry of new regulations. Ethics for CPAs provides a valuable road map to this new landscape, instructing accounting professionals on how to abide by the new pronouncements and, if necessary, how to professionally respond to an investigation.

Employing an information-mapping format, Ethics for CPAs separates information into small units based on purpose or function for the reader, rather than by topic, creating an accessible desk reference. This authoritative guide covers the most recent and extensively revised ethics requirements of the:

• AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct
• SEC
• Department of Labor
• GAO’s Yellow Book
• State societies and state boards

With a companion Web site posting interpretations of new pronouncements within thirty days of issuance, Ethics for CPAs proves the most up-to-date and comprehensive resource on the market. ... Read more

Book Description

An ideal key to mastering bookkeeping and accounting essentials, this book also offers practical guidance. It teaches the real-world applications of the concepts discussed via a broad range of 724 answered questions and problems with detailed solutions. Students will also find abundant examples of different types of ledgers and worksheets and how they're used. The exams included, typical of those given at the high school and 2- and 4-year college levels, provide an excellent opportunity to check understanding and boost test performance.

Reviews (1)

What a Lifesaver
Just what I was looking for. College accounting was long ago and unused for many years. This book is a great one for dusting off the brain cells. It is well written, easy to understand, and even has T account diagrams. It's like college in the comfort of my own home. The exercises are to the point and provide ample worksheet space. Much better and certainly more affordable than many textbooks. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Use for MBA
This book was a requirement for the Financial Accounting class in my MBA course. I was put off by the price but found it is worth every penny. The overall layout is very logical, each chapter has numerous 'real world' examples and ends with more sample problems than you could ever hope to solve. 'Check Figure' partial solutions are provided in one of several useful appendices.

I started out knowing absolutely nothing about accounting, now I have a firm foundation thanks more to this excellent book than my professor ...

I will never sell this book

Excellent introduction to accounting concepts
I used the book for a review course covering Prin. I & II. It includes excellent graphics and illustrations. Basic accounting topics are discussed and illustrated clearly. Mid and end chapter problems were great reviews. I highly recommend this book as an introduction to basic accounting concepts.

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
I WOULD LIKE TO BY THIS BOOK PROVIDED THAT IT INCLUDES A SELF BASED LEARNING CD . IF NOT KINDLY PROVIDE ME WITH A SIMILAR BOOK WHICH INCLUDES A CD. TKS AHMED ... Read more

Book Description

This self-study manual is part of the Certified Professional Secretary (CPS®) Examination Review Series which provides valuable assistance to anyone preparing for the CPS Examination. The Series focuses on key topics test-takers must know in order to pass the exam. It is the only examination preparation series produced in conjunction with the International Association of Administration Professionals (IAAP™).Content is based on the current CPS Examination Review Guide published by the IAAP™. Each chapter contains: An overview; text, in outline form, with examples highlighted in italics; illustrations; review questions in formats similar to those found on the CPS Examination; solutions to review questions--with some explanation of correct answers, where needed, and references to the portion of the outline that explains the answer more fully; term review; glossary at the end of the manual, with references to the chapter where the terms may be found in context. An accompanying Self-study Guide enhances material in the manual.For Administrative professionals preparing for the CPS Examination. ... Read more

Book Description

TBD ... Read more

Reviews (13)

No secrets
I borrowed this book from a friend because I couldn't believe the inflamatory title.Well no surprise, nothing new.If you're investing in this day and age and you don't want to pay attention to the activity in your brokerage account or you don't feel like you have the intelligence to understand the market, pay a management fee, get a discretionary account, and have the broker direct the investing.As a regular investor, I'm responsible for the decisions I make and the stocks I purchase. I think it is insulting and highly unethical to sue just because you lost money in the market. Don't bother with the book.

Insight & Assistance for the Beleaguered & Bewildered
Most investors in the stock market lack the sophistication to really understand what their broker is doing�or not doing�with their hard-earned money. If brokers are not well- trained in how to serve their clients and/or they�re more focused on lining their pockets rather than their clients� pockets, investors can lose their shirts�and then some. When their world crashes around them, these troubled people go to professionals like Daniel Solin.

During this painful time, investors learn what they should have known long before. Sometimes they can recoup some of their losses, sometimes not. Understanding the playing field before suiting up means a considerably better chance at winning the game (or at least playing well). Solin teaches readers�in page after high content page�what brokers do to damage their clients. Unconditional trust in your broker may not be the wisest move. The potential for fraud is rampant. You�ll learn about churning, frontrunning, unauthorized trading, and a host of other malpractices that create risks beyond the market itself for the unwitting investor.

Solinis a trial attorney with over three decades of experience. He has recovered millions of dollars for investors who have been mistreated by brokers�even those employed by well-known and respected brokerage firms. He doesn�t always win, so readers should not get the idea that Solin is some sort of guardian angel. The good, the bad, and the ugly are presented in stories and case studies, with the outcomes explained. Reading this book will help you protect yourself. An educated buyer is a wiser and safer buyer.

The book is almost a page-turner, but not quite. It wasn�t written to be a fun read. You�ll probably want to do some highlighting, some page-turning, and some note-taking. As a result of using this book as an educational tool, you�ll be better equipped to ask questions, to insist on certain information, to protect yourself just a bit better than the average guy or gal with money in the market.

A glossary, index, and solid explanations of risks and arbitration make this book a valuable resource.

Retail Investors...IF you think you have a claim...
...you should read this book. If not, Dan Solin's book, DOES YOUR BROKER OWE YOU MONEY? is an excellent primer for those wanting to understand the 'inside skinny' of the brokerage business, responsibilities of brokers, alternatives to aggreived investors and possibilities for recovery if damaged.

I've been in the litigation consulting game (as a consulting and testifying expert) for close to a decade now, primarily in securities, and can say that Solin's book is the first book I've run across bringing all the pieces together in a cogent manner. While other books are out there and new ones arriving daily, Solin's book stands out as the cream of this crop. {Solin, a plaintiff's attorney, has been in the game for 30+ years. There will be and are many who will think this is his personal soapbox to drum up more business. I fervently disagree. Solin presents a solid, fact-based picture of many of the misdeeds inflicted by unscrupulous brokers. There is very little fluff here.}

Solin walks the reader through most aspects of a relationship with a broker as well as identifying the "warning signs" within the relationship for any investor to observe. In the first chapter, "Your Broker Just Might Owe You Money," Solin describes the 'chatter' many brokers use to market themselves and pick off unsuspecting investors. He then goes on to describe areas of broker fraud and NYSE/NASD/SEC violations, which he details in later chapters.

If there is one chapter I would strongly suggest most retail investors read and reread, it is Chapter 4, "Unsuitability: What's a Good Investment Strategy for You?" By and large, most lawsuits I've consulted/testified in have allegations of unsuitable investments. Simplisticly, unsuitability can be defined as a broker's disregard for an investor's risk tolerance and investment objectives. This disregard is primarily manifested in recommendations from a broker to buy a stock considered outside the risk paramters and investment objectives. For instance, many retired individuals have an IRA or 401(K) account with a broker. In most cases, these accounts are very conservative and thus, have a risk profile of 'conservative' and investment objectives to match (i.e. 'safety of principal' and 'income' are the primary investment objectives). An unsuitability claim would arise if a broker induced/encouraged/suggested a stock considered outside these parameters, say, ones fitting the 'growth' profile or 'aggressive growth' profile. In any event, this practice, particularly during the "Bubble" was prevalent as many investors wanted to participate in the market boom and were easy prey to rougish brokers.

In later chapters, Solin describes the lawsuit process, which is actually an arbitration process. Significantly all investors, when signing their new account papers with a brokerage house, agree to binding arbitration to settle disputes as opposed to having their dispute heard state or federal court. The arbitration process is simpler, quicker (in most cases), and less formal...but don't be mistaken, it is still a lawsuit and the stress and high intensity is still omnipresent. Solin does an excellent job of describing the process beginning with contacting an attorney and ending with the arbitration panel's decision. Within these chapters, Solin describes those investors wishing to "go it alone," filing a suit without an attorney. Solin gives this a fair level of play, which I admire in an attorney however, he strongly suggests (and I stronlgy concur) that anyone seeking compensation under a securities lawsuit hire the best attorney one can find.

Finally, Solin provides an excellent glossary and bibliography, one that should be used for future reference.

After reading this book, I easily rate this book 5 stars for it's clear and concise explanation, one appealing to the leity and professionals alike. Several reviews of this book describe Solin as a "talking head" or the champion of those not wishing to take responsibility for their own actions. While there is credence in the fact that many investors, while losing their proverbial shirts, are solely responsible for their losses, there are many, many investors who have been duped and even defrauded by their brokers and brokerage houses (remember the 4/28/03 SEC settlement with the 10 large brokerage houses?). Contrary to these reviewers, I believe Solin gives fair play to those responsible for their own losses and those not responsible. In any event, in my practice, I have no interest in frivolous cases and reject cases lacking merit. Inasmuch as I didn't find Solin's book unconscionable, I don't believe it to be fodder for the attorney lobby.

A very good read.

Does Your Broker Owe You Money Hits Home
Dan Solin has provided a very nice primer with detail to the person who is wondering if they lost money due to the market or due to their broker.When the market meltdown began in March 2000, the bad habits and unrestrained greed of unprofessional brokers became as transparent as handi-wrap. The customers who were lured into unsuitable investments due to the way in which commissions were paid is exposed for what it is in this book.
Whether trying to recover losses for mutual funds or simple stock transactions, Dan Solin hits the mark and provides plenty of illumination on an otherwise private and hard to understand business. This is a must read for anyone who is beginning to invest or trying to determine how to recover monies lost in the meltdown.

A Vital Resource For Any Brokerage Client
The financial services industry, especially its retail brokerage arm, operates at a level of training, competency, and ethical imperative that would be unacceptable in any other profession.It is a sad fact that most retail brokers are completely ignorant of the basics of financial economics; it is as if the average doctor had never taken courses in basic anatomy, pathology, and pharmacology. At any one time, millions of clients are receiving advice that is profoundly misinformed, as well as a gross conflict of interest, and suffer accordingly.

Dan Solin has produced a valuable resource for anyone who have been damaged in this manner.It focuses largely on the arbitration process; it is the best description of its mechanics that I have seen. This book is a must for any retail brokerage customer. ... Read more

Book Description

Lurking somewhere amidst all the figures in a financial report is vitally important information about where a company has been and where it is headed. But without a guide to isolate and interpret those numbers, the dizzying array of columns and rows doesn't add up to a hill of beans. That's why thousands of professionals and savvy individuals have referred to this bestselling resource that shows anyone how to make sense of all those numbers.

If you're someone who works with financial reports or needs to understand them—but have neither the time nor the need for an in-depth knowledge of accounting—this book will help you cut through the maze of accounting information to find out what those numbers really mean. It steers you quickly and painlessly through the basic accounting concepts and line-by-line explanations of the basic financial statement. Complete with a visual guide that leads you through the intricacies of financial reporting, How to Read a Financial Report shows you how the three essential parts of every financial report—the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement—fit together and what it all means to you and your company.

Updated throughout, this new edition addresses the many changes in the financial world in the past few years, including new pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, new income tax laws, and emerging financial reporting problems. Also, all exhibits have been made easier to follow.

Features updates on:

• Tax reform
• Recent FASB rulings
• Depreciation methods
• Spotting fraudulent reporting

"If you would like to have a minimal understanding of the numbers that make up a balance sheet, income, and cash flow statement . . . then How to Read a Financial Report might be just what you are looking for. Mr. Tracy's book explains in plain English the meaning of the major terms used in financial statements."—The Wall Street Journal

"What distinguishes Tracy's efforts from other manuals is an innovative structure that visually ties together elements of the balance sheet and income statement by tracing where and how a line item in one affects an entry in another."—Inc. magazine

"An excellent job of showing how to separate the wheat from the chaff without choking in the process."—Miami Herald

"A wonderful book—organized logically and written clearly. For a Fool to be an effective investor, she has to know her way around a financial statement. This book will help you develop that skill. It's the clearest presentation of many accounting concepts that this Fool has seen. "—Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Indispensable
John Tracy outdoes even Benjamin Graham's "The Interpretation of Financial Statements" with this work, which makes basic financial analysis accessible to anyone who wants to take the time to learn about it. Beginners should not expect to pick up everything this deceptively brief book has to offer on first reading. But the text's thoughtful layout fosters quicker learning than would otherwise be possible. This is an indispensable guide for anyone who wishes to buy securities but lacks formal training in financial analysis.

Well Written Overview of Financial Statements and Accounting
This book is great for anyone ranging from beginner to intermediate knowledge of financial reports. I have taken accounting and finance classes in college. This book tells the same things that 600 page textbooks and hours and hours of lecture can tell you, but it does so in an easy to understand and concise manner.

Most important it explains the relationships clearly between the income statement, balance sheet, and cashflow statement. This book would be great for anyone starting an education in finance or for any investor trying to broaden their knowledge base. If you invest in stocks, you should learn how to read financial statements. This book will give you some much needed knowledge that you can use as you scour for companies to invest in.

This author takes pride in his writing. John A. Tracy is a professor of accounting, but his knack for concise explanations and the clear use of the English language is evident throughout.

excelllent intro
This book is excellent in the following ways :

-succeeds in explaining in a concise (+- 100 pages) and clear way the basic principles of financial statements.
-the special format of the book is excellent in that it shows most examples and related text without having to turn the pages.
-there is enough white space, allowing you to make annotations.

Strongly adviced for anybody owning a company or for management / accounting students.

disappointed
John Tracy does explain the 3 important "sheets" of a complete financial report. But he failed to help me understand what can be ascertained from more abstract concepts like cash flow or depreciation. His (lack of decent) explanation of why depreciation expense shows up in cost flow calculation appears to account twice for the same $ (once in profit and once in cash flow). His explanation of trying to use EPS & P/E ratio to determine the value of a privately held company share went no futher than this: "you could try to sell my your privately held share at any price you want, but I wouldn't have to accept it". That's not an explanation, just a statement of the obvious. The book needs more prose and examples of how the concept of a healthy (or unhealthy) company can be determined from a financial report. In fairness to Tracy, perhaps the latter half of the book addresses my needs, but I quit at page 76 (1/2 way through the book) after an inadequate explanation of depriciation expense as positive cash flow. I'll give another, more rigourous text a chance at that.

Won't Help You Understand ENRON.
Concepts such as pro forma statements and restatement of earnings just aren't addessed in this 1999 book. Time for another update! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Best Dang Spreadsheet Book I've Ever Seen
This book is filled with practical directions on using Microsoft Excel.... A particularly useful chapter in the book is one on good spreadsheet file design (identification area, input area, output area). ... Read more