13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent Textbook...complicated homework, September 22, 2010
This review is from: Managerial Accounting (Hardcover)
After using this for my class I have to say that the explanations in the chapters does not prepare you very well from the homework questions at the end. These questions can literally take a hour each and the chapter just does not have enough examples to help you with them. I ended up buying the solutions manual off Amazon and it helped a TON. It also shows you how to calculate the problem so it really helps you learn not just give you the answer. If anyone is stuck with this book I would recommend getting the manual for extra help.
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the #1 Management Accounting Textbook and Worth the Investment Many Times Over, August 30, 2009
This review is from: Managerial Accounting (Hardcover)
In the industry we call this the "Lighthouse Series." It is the preeminent textbook in Management Accounting. My firm uses this book as a resource and it is available to us at work. I'm a practicing CPA, licensed in Washington, DC with a master's degree in accounting.
Initially I hesitated to review the 13th edition of the Lighthouse Series because it is hard to find something critical to say. But the authors dedicated this book "To our families and to our many colleagues who use this book." Management Accounting is meant to be the number one textbook in its field, which it is, and the number one management accounting resource to practicing accountants, which is also the case.
This book is dominant because of the enormous investment in making it simply the most student-friendly and resourceful text in the field. This is one of the few texts where no money was spared to make it what it is today, and the list of professors that contributed by being reviewers and consultants to this text is longer than any such list I have ever seen. You can hardly find any written work that has benefited from and survived such scrutiny.
The three authors are famous within the profession as they have published many scholarly articles in the professional journals. But what impresses me more is that they have all won major awards for teaching, even awards that were decided by students. I am even more impressed with star teacher accountants than prolific publisher accountants because their contribution will ultimately be greater.
There are many topics covered in this text and the following is just a sample: job order costing; process costing; activity-based costing; cost-volume-profit; inventory; balanced scorecard; overhead application and analysis; budgeting; financial statement analysis; decentralization and segment reporting; valuation methods; management investment projects; decision-making of all types including make-or-buy and allocation type decisions and much more.
The textbook is part of a set that is produced and reviewed by all the same people. The 896 page hardcover with good paper stock and sturdy binding is a fraction of the material. You also get the best supplements of any book within the subject of accounting, and fortunately you can use one password to access all of the book's online resources. These supplements include but are not limited to Homework Manager (a lot of problems of which only a fraction would be assigned by a professor with instant feedback); Online Curriculum Center (contains many Internet-based activities such as quizzes, tours and even information about careers and jobs); Topic Tackler Plus (interactive multimedia lessons); Workbook Study Guide; Templates; Practice Sets; Notes and Study Aids. Again, no expense has been spared and the list of professors that added value to these resources is extensive almost beyond belief.
Finally I am surprised at the relatively low cost on Amazon considering the quality of the textbook, the online resources behind the text and the money spent to produce this 13th edition of the Lighthouse Series. I know that for students, it is not a cheap book, but it is not as expensive as many textbooks with far less expertise and resources required for production.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Suzi's Review, August 4, 2009
This review is from: Managerial Accounting (Hardcover)
This book although heavy and very expensive does the job! Some chapters are a bit long and make you sleepy, but the information is very good. The book guides you step by step and that is very handy when you haven't been in intro accounting for a while. I find it very helpful.
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