Customer Reviews

Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This was the first accounting book I've ever read when I took my very first accounting class at my graduate business school. For those who are new to accounting, this is not at all a good introduction. The authors simply inundate the reader with a plethora of information which is way too wordy and unnecessary at the beginning level. The authors seem more concerned about leaving nothing out in their writing as opposed to teaching the readers about the basics of the balance sheet, income statement, cash flows, inventory valuations, etc. It almost gets to the point in which I suspect the authors are simply showing off what they know as opposed to genuinely understanding that a reader like me has no previous accounting background. The chapter contents are not too logically organized and the explanation of concepts are excessive and unnecessarily complex. The authors seems to forget that when it comes to teaching accounting to someone who has never took accounting before, they should keep the concepts as basic as possible before going onto more in-detail discussions. The authors does the exact opposite and explains the accounting concepts from the intermediate point of view first, leaving the reader to come up with his own interpretation of what the basics should be. This is a complete waste of time for the reader, for all students would prefer that the authors get right to the point, directly and clearly, about how to construct a balance sheet, income statement, etc. The good thing about this book are the highlighted study problems presented in each chapter. The questions are useful and stimulate good application thinking, and the answers provided are an adequate explanation of how the questions should be answered. Unfortunately, the authors don't include enough of these study problems. If they had expanded upon these study problems and made them more comprehensive to the relevant chapter material, this book would have been a much more stronger teaching tool. Instead, we have an unnecessarily complex and not too organized textbook which is not really adequate for the beginning accounting student. Most of my fellow classmates did not enjoy reading this book and felt that it is an unsatisfactory way to be introduced to the world of accounting.

Having never taken an accounting class before, I didn't know what to expect. This was the text assigned for my first accounting class in an MBA program at an elite Northeastern Business School. It is a pretty straight-forward read. Let's face it, accounting is a subject full of jargon that you MUST learn. It is just one of those subjects.

The text had ample exercises and was fairly easy to read. However, you must be able to have an attention span greater than 5 minutes to be able to read this book.

If I could burn this book, I would. It is that bad. For an "Introduction" book used in an intro MBA class where most accounting types have already tested out of the class it is overly complex and confusing to the layman. Wordy beyond belief. The only redeeming feature is its ability to put you to sleep. Keep it on the bed stand.

This book is the worst accounting text book I have ever seen. It is poorly organized and full of distracting explanations which turn easy and clear points into long and complex stories.
Definately supplier-oriented product by MBA professors.

I was so lost with this book and thought it was my lack of background knowledge in the topic that was causing all the confusion. Nope, even my friend who is a CPA was stumped by this book's explanations. If your prof insists on using this book get the Schaum's Guideline of Managerial Accounting study guide/outline. It will save your bacon and your GPA.

Although extremely rigorous in definitions and concepts, definitely not the type of text book I would recommend for a MBA introductory accounting class. Steer clear.
The structure is confusing, and the way it has been presented to me (by one of the authors) made it even more confusing. Only positive note are the problems at the end of each chapter, which are challenging enough and offer a good preparation even for the toughest tests.
Previously, I had another intro accounting class in which Horngren/Harrison Financial Accounting Managerial was used. I have found this latter text book much clearer, to the point, concise.

This book will take you from zero to hero in understanding financial accounting, providing you put in the effort to learn the material presented.

the whole structure of the book is ot comprehensible. it gives out 3 financial statements at the first 3 chapters, without letting the readers to have time digest the concepts. after you are confused enough, the book will then introduce concepts of each items listed in the statements, and have you look back at the first three chapters.

the layout is not good either. for some chapters, you need to turn the pages back and forth, again and again, because the text content and the illustration table are back to back.

the book is just very confusing.

Financial accounting is a difficult subject but this book helps break down the concepts in a way that is easier to understand.

The title pretty much sums it up, I think this book is pretty bad.