The Handy Accounting Answer Book

July 1, 2019

This accessible guide to personal and business accounting feels like an introductory textbook but is organized well as a reference guide for anyone baffled by the subject. Gray (accounting, Adrian Coll., MI) guides readers through simple and complex topics in a logical order. She starts with bookkeeping basics, then dives into specific issues, cost accounting, budgeting, and managerial accounting. Helpful examples and illustrations, many using real companies, offer context and illustrate intricate concepts in plain language. From a simple, one-sentence explanation of each concept, Gray delves further into accounting for specific scenarios. The book covers basic and managerial accounting and budgeting; additional chapters tackle small business basics, fraud prevention, and the current and future landscape of the profession. Appendixes provide a deeper look at journaling, statements, and annual reports. VERDICT Anyone interested in learning more about personal or corporate accounting will find useful information here.--Jennifer Clifton, Indiana State Lib., Indianapolis

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2019
This concise overview of financial and managerial accounting presents topics in Q&A format beginning with general background about the history of accounting and professional guidelines. Several chapters are dedicated to financial and managerial (cost) accounting, and the book concludes with information about starting a small business along with projections about the future of the accounting profession. Four appendixes present additional examples of journal entries and standard financial statements. Overall, the book is well written and easy to understand. Challenging concepts such as revenue recognition, depreciation, and cost-volume-profit analysis are explained in broad but understandable terms, though a reader seeking comprehensive treatment of these concepts would need to consult additional resources. The book also does not address tax accounting in any meaningful way. Comparable in both content and price to Accounting for Dummies (2016), this book would be useful to a reader with little to no accounting knowledge, making it a good choice for circulating collections in public libraries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)