Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts [Hardcover]

Thomas Edmonds (Author), Frances McNair (Author), Philip Olds (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0073527122 | ISBN-13: 978-0073527123 | Edition: 7

Students are often overwhelmed by the amount of information presented in the introductory financial accounting course. By focusing on fundamental concepts in a logical sequence, students are able to fully comprehend the material rather than memorize seemingly unrelated terms and topics. The goal of Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts is to enable students to understand how any given business event affects the financial statements. The “financial statements model” is a highly praised feature because it allows students to visualize the simultaneous impact of business events on all of the key financial statements (the income statement, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas P. Edmonds, Ph.D.: Dr. Edmonds is Professor of Accountancy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, (UAB). He has been actively involved in teaching accounting principles throughout his academic career. He has received several prestigious teaching awards, including the UAB President’s Excellence in Teaching Award and the distinguished Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for excellence in classroom teaching. His academic experience includes being published in the Journal of Accounting Education, the Accounting Review, and the Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance among others. Dr. Edmonds received his Ph.D. in Accounting from Georgia State University.

Frances M. McNair, Ph.D., CPA: Dr. McNair holds the KPMG Peat Marwick Professorship of Accounting at Mississippi State University, (MSU) and received her Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Mississippi. Her research has been published in the Journal of Accountancy, Management Accounting, and the Business and Professional Ethics Journal.

Philip R. Olds, Ph.D., CPA: Dr. Olds is Professor of Accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University, and received his Ph.D. from Georgia State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 773 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Irwin; 7 edition (January 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073527122
• ISBN-13: 978-0073527123
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book with the right instructor, August 1, 2002

By 

Jasmine T. Baer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts; 3rd (Hardcover)

I've read the reviews stating that this is a confusing book. I disagree completely. Although the author does not immediately delve into traditional T-accounts, the introduction of the "horizontal model" serves as a good foundation for building the awareness of the accounting equation that should be second nature BEFORE tackling T-accounts. The text's preface states: "A horizontal financial statements model replaces the accounting equation as the predominant teaching platform. The model enables students to VISUALIZE THE SIMULTANEOUS EFFECTS OF A SINGLE BUSINESS EVENT on the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows." I felt as though this methodology was very effective for my learning style. Recording transactions in T-accounts came almost as second nature after mastering the horizontal model.

The "Working Papers" (a separate workbook) makes doing the assigned problems easy by providing a ready-made template for each problem. If you've had to draw your own T-accounts or your own journal in a notebook before, you will definitely appreciate this.

This text serves as a good introduction to the skills necessary to master financial accounting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I don't know where all the high praise reviews come from...., October 5, 2011

By 

Carson E. Eversole - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts (Kindle Edition)

Mostly, my review will be covering the "kindle" format of the book.

Let me start with the simple words, "I hate it." At first it seemed so convenient to be able to just carry anywhere without a second thought. If I had a second, I could just pull my phone or kindle out and study! How could I go wrong with such a purchase?! Well, I obviously did not think of how small the many charts and balance sheets would be. Nor did I realize that the pages would be completely inconsistent. One day the information I found the day before on page 1454 will be on page 1467. I don't know why the information is read differently...it just is.

The next problem with the kindle format is that despite the "go to" function, it is impossible to compare different numbers. Especially when you are comparing the A and B problem sets.

As for the book itself? I am not the best student when it comes to mathematical equations and charts. I feel that if I had the physical text book I would do much better. However, I also feel that the content of the book moves far too quickly to allow new students to comprehend what they are learning. Also, some of the B problems are as different from their A problem counterparts as Night and Day differ. This book is a terrible choice for an "Introductory" class to Accounting. My accounting class-the lowest possible class-uses this book to introduce the concepts...and where I understood at first...I'm now completely lost as though I studied a language before visiting a country only to end up in a country where they speak a completely different language. It's not only the book's fault...but the Teacher plays a huge part in it as well. So don't take my one star review to concentrate solely on the content of the book...because it is mostly meant for the kindle version of it.

DO NOT BUY THE KINDLE VERSION. It's not worth the headaches and frustration.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very confusing for anyone with no background in accounting..., January 23, 2011

By 

Student "jimbobette" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts (Hardcover)

I had to buy this book for my accounting class, which I'm taking only to fulfill my GenEd requirements. Instead of delivering information in some sort of logical order, the text is all over the map. It is very difficult to understand the concepts as presented. I would have much preferred that they begin with some general accounting information, such as definitions of the terms used. This book might be helpful to future CPAs but to those of us just trying to learn some basic concepts, this book is just about worthless. I've come across plenty of poorly designed textbooks and this one is at the top of my list. What a waste of money!