Maire Loughran - Financial Accounting For Dummies

Financial Accounting For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020949692

ISBN 978-1-119-75812-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-75813-6 (ePDF); ISBN 978-1-119-75814-3 (epub)

1 Cover

2 Title Page

3 Copyright

4 Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here

5 Part 1: Getting a Financial Accounting Initiation Chapter 1: Seeing the Big Picture of Financial Accounting Knowing the Purposes of Financial Accounting Getting to Know Financial Accounting Users Respecting the Key Characteristics of Financial Accounting Information Accepting Financial Accounting Constraints Considering Your Ethical Responsibilities Introducing the Conceptual Framework of Financial Accounting Chapter 2: Introducing the Big Three Financial Statements Gauging the Health of a Business through Its Financials Reporting Assets and Claims: The Balance Sheet Posting Profit or Loss: The Income Statement Showing the Money: The Statement of Cash Flows Chapter 3: Running the Numbers for Success Identifying Accounting Issues and Solutions Selecting a Business Entity Reporting for Small Businesses Managing Cash Chapter 4: Acronym Alert! Setting the Standards for Financial Accounting Walking through the Origins of Number Crunching Knowing the Role of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Following Regulatory Issues Getting to Know the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

6 Part 2: Reviewing Some Accounting Basics Chapter 5: Booking It: The Process Behind Financial Accounting Shedding Some Light on Bookkeeping Analyzing the Effect of Business Transactions Defining Journals Bringing It All Together in the Ledger Chapter 6: Focusing on Accounting Methods and Concepts Distinguishing between Key Accounting Methods Sorting through Standards for Other Types of Accounting Considering the Conceptual Framework of Financial Accounting

7 Part 3: Spending Quality Time with the Balance Sheet Chapter 7: Assessing the Balance Sheet’s Asset Section Homing in on Historic Cost Learning What Makes an Asset Current Keeping Track of Noncurrent (Long-Term) Assets Studying the Asset Section of the Balance Sheet Chapter 8: Digging for Debt in the Liabilities Section Seeing How Businesses Account for Liabilities Keeping Current Liabilities under Control Planning for Long-Term Obligations Accounting for Bond Issuances Chapter 9: Letting Owners Know Where They Stand: The Equity Section Distinguishing Different Types of Business Entities Defining Paid-in Capital Recording Retained Earnings Spotting Reductions to Stockholders’ Equity Learning about Stock Splits Accounting for Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Seeing a Sample Equity Section of the Balance Sheet

8 Part 4: Investigating Income and Cash Flow Chapter 10: Searching for Profit or Loss on the Income Statement Presenting the Income Statement in One of Two Ways Defining Different Types of Businesses Examining Income Statement Sections Watching Out for Unusual Income Statement Items Arriving at the Final Product Chapter 11: Following the Money by Studying Cash Flow Understanding the Difference between Cash and Profit Realizing the Purpose of the Statement of Cash Flows Walking through the Cash Flow Sections Recognizing Methods for Preparing the Statement of Cash Flows Interpreting the Statement of Cash Flows Looking at Two Sample Statements of Cash Flows Chapter 12: Examining Depreciation Cost Flow Assumptions Discovering How Depreciation Affects All Financial Statements Mastering Costs Distinguishing among Depreciation Methods Preparing a Depreciation Schedule Chapter 13: Learning about Inventory Cost Flow Assumptions Discovering How Inventory Valuation Affects the Financial Statements Do Service Companies Have Inventory? Classifying Inventory Types Getting to Know Inventory Valuation Methods Preparing an Inventory Worksheet

9 Part 5: Analyzing the Financial Statements Chapter 14: Using Ratios and Other Tools Learning about Liquidity Measurements Measuring Profitability Exploring Activity Measures Analyzing Financial Statements Using Common Size Financial Statements Chapter 15: Got Your Dictionary Ready? Reading Explanatory Notes and Disclosures Realizing How Corporations Should Govern Themselves Identifying Corporate Characteristics Reviewing Common Explanatory Notes Putting the Onus on the Preparer Chapter 16: Studying the Report to the Shareholders Why Private and Public Companies Treat Annual Reports Differently Fulfilling Three Purposes Reading the Annual Report to Shareholders Walking through the Form 10-K