If you read the 'business pages' of a newspaper or if you listen to the
financial news on television or radio, you will often hear terms such as
'liability', 'balance sheet' or 'earnings'. These terms turn up in
non-financial contexts as well: 'he was more of a liability than an
asset'. If you invest in shares, manage your family's personal finances,
or sit on a committee of the property company which owns your apartment,
you will receive financial statements. If you are a manager in a
company, a hospital or a school, you will see accounting information
often.
This Very Short Introduction provides a guide to understanding and
using accounting information. Christopher Nobes explains the main areas
of accounting work, from bookkeeping and financial reporting to auditing
and management accounting. Terms like 'debits', 'pre-tax income' and
'goodwill' are simplified and explained, making accounting a more
approachable, understandable topic.
About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original
introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology,
Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the
Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series
provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and
complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or
field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the
subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how
it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every
major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and
abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems
important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general
reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable
guide that will likely prove indispensable.
