Accounting is the score keeping system in the "game" of business--you can't do well in any "game" if you don't understand how the score is kept. This book is intended to benefit practicing managers, MBA students, and nonaccounting business majors. United States financial reporting standards are compared and contrasted with international financial reporting standards where appropriate. The book emphasizes how management's choice of accounting methods...

Revenue is the "top" line on the income statement and is the fundamental driver of business success. It is essential that managers and executives understand the complexities involved in recognizing revenue under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the US Revenue Recognition principles are , are primarily concerned with two things: (a) the timing aspect (the when issue) and (b) the amount to be recorded (the how much issue). This book...

For many years, individual countries decided their own rules and regulations for company financial accounting and reporting. As the world became more global, problems began to arise. A company could make a profit for the year if the rules in its own country were applied, but this could turn into a loss if another country's rules were used. This did not make sense. Investors were hesitant to buy shares in foreign companies, companies were careful when...

International auditing of publicly owned corporations is governed largely by either U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) auditing standards or International Standards on Auditing (ISA) established by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). In some respects, the U.S. PCAOB and ISA are similar, but in other ways they are not. In this book, we describe key differences between PCAOB auditing standards and ISA. Our goal in...

The book Accounting for People Who Think They Hate Accounting is inspired by my IIM Ahmedabad days when grappling with accountancy suddenly becomes the "numero uno" priority of MBA Semester-1. Financial statements serve as a report card for a business through which managers and entrepreneurs can know their exact financial positions. These financial statements are prepared only through financial accounting. The main purpose of financial accounting...

The audit committee, as an integral component of corporate governance, has gained considerable attention in the aftermath of 2007-2009 global financial crisis. The audit committee's role has evolved from a voluntary liaison between management and external auditors to the standing committee of the board of directors in overseeing all aspects of corporate governance, financial reporting, internal controls, risk assessment, and audit activities. This...

Accounting is an economic information system, and can be thought of as the language of business. Accounting principles are created, developed, or decreed and are supported or justified by intuition, authority, and acceptability. Managers have alternatives in their accounting choices; the decisions are political, and trade-offs will be made. Accounting information provides individuals, both inside and outside a firm, with a starting point to understand...