Accounting for Dummies [Paperback]

John A. Tracy CPA (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764553143 | ISBN-13: 978-0764553141 | Publication Date: January 15, 2001 | Edition: 2

Not everyone is cut out to be a professional accountant. But thanks to Accounting For Dummies, 2nd Edition you can get a handle on the financial aspects of your business, investments, or taxes. Accounting professor and author John A. Tracy sheds light on the mysteries of

• Generating income statements and balance sheets
• Establishing budgets, controlling profit and cash flow, stemming losses, and managing inventory
• Evaluating profit margins – and identifying ways to increase them
• Making financial decisions that keep investors, creditors, and managers satisfied
• Reading financial reports
• Surviving an audit and using the results to improve your accounting system
• Putting the latest computer technology to work to help you manage the bottom line

If you've steered clear of accounting because you thought it incomprehensible by mere mortals, prepare to be enlightened. Accounting For Dummies, 2nd Edition empowers you with knowledge you can't afford to be without.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…insightful and well-reasoned…” (Money Matters, October 2004)

From the Back Cover

Praise for 1st Edition of Accounting For Dummies^® "Essential reading for all of us who want to manage our business finances effectively." —Mary Metcalfe, Partner, Envirocomm Communications "[Tracy] has an uncanny knack for explaining complicated accounting and financial material." —G. Dale Meyer, Professor, College of Business, University of Colorado "A wealth of practical information on understanding how to manage budgets." — Jack Rudolph, Retired President, Colorado Community First National Bank

Find out how to improve your profits and control costs

Get a better grip on stock options and earnings per share Whether you're a small business owner, a manager with budget responsibilities, or just want to understand your 401(k) statements, this friendly guide helps you get a handle on all those columns of numbers — and shows how you can use accounting and financial reports to control business costs, minimize taxes, and maximize profits.

Discover how to: Make sense of bookkeeping basics Read a financial statement Manage budgets for a better bottom line Analyze business strengths and weaknesses Evaluate accounting methods and business structures

Get smart! www.dummies.com Register to win cool prizes Browse exclusive articles and excerpts Get a free Dummies Daily e-mail newsletter Chat with authors and preview other books Talk to us, ask questions, get answers

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 387 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 2 edition (January 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764553143
• ISBN-13: 978-0764553141
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #673,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John A. Tracy is an award-winning Professor of Accounting, Emeritus, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His other books include The Fast Forward MBA in Finance, Second Edition, Accounting For Dummies, Fourth Edition, and Accounting Workbook For Dummies, all published by Wiley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

236 of 244 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not abt Accounting, September 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Accounting for Dummies (Paperback)

While the book does have an excellent layout and has been thoroughly and professionally edited, like almost all of the "for Dummies" books, it lacks content where it needs it most. There is surprisingly little about accounting. There are no examples of how to create any of the three basic accounting reports, the balance sheet, income statement, and the cash flow statement. Double-entry accounting, the foundation of modern accounting, is only given three short pages with, again, no examples. It is not written for those who want to know how to do accounting or how to assist their accountant with their own company's books, but for those who want to have a functional understanding of a small set of reports. This makes it wholly inadequate for someone who wants to learn about accounting. On the other hand, this could make it a good resource for the middle-level manager who needs to know a little about how to read a small group of reports.

140 of 144 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for you if your looking for a bookkeeping treatise., October 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Accounting for Dummies (Paperback)

This book is great (I mean great) if you need to understand what is profit, whats in a balance sheet, how to understand it, whats in an income statement. What are assets, etc, etc. This book will open your eyes. Like others have said its not about double entry bookkeeping, or how to prepare your balance sheet. Find that elsewhere. This book addresses what the numbers mean and how to follow them to come to conclusions and how to use that information.

Let me put it this way. If you have a small business, or are put into a position where you need to manage money for a business, or need to buy a business. This book will help you if your not accountant savy.

Its a great book, and is very well written. Another five star success for the dummies series.

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Adequate as a non-accountants' everyday reference, February 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Accounting for Dummies (Paperback)

The content is simple with material presented in the usual 'dummie' tradition. It works great as a quick way to understand hard concepts, without going into too much distracting detail. A good reference for people who interface with accountants or accounting departments, but accounting students will find that the material is not detailed enough for cases covered in a typical accounting course. Is it the 'feel good accounting book of the year?' I dunno...but like any other dummies book, buy it for the funny cartoons.