Books about Accounting

The author does a good job of making a stale subject like Accounting interesting. The running example of the Spouse Houses is hilarious, while at the same time, introducing the user to different accounting details and rationales for handling the books a certain way. There are a lot of financial charts in the book, but the author keeps them simple and easy to understand. Unless you pay attention to the exercises at the end of each chapter, you wouldn't realize that it is a student textbook, not a general non-fiction book.

Tags: accounting finance

A dry, short book that explains which elements of financial statements does Warren Buffet pay attention to when he estimates the value of a company. In a typical company's annual statements, there are many different figures. It is a mistake to focus on each of those figures because they can obscure the real truth of what is going on. This book provides insight into which numbers are more meaningful than others.

The book does more or less what it claims to do. The authors use a point-by-point analysis of each financial figure, but I expected a more comprehensive analysis. There is no summary that allows the reader to understand the relative importance of the various criteria, or the special circumstances under which they change. You can find bits and pieces scattered throughout the book, but it is not consolidated properly.

Tags: finance accounting