Understand Accounting is easy to read as it is written as a novel about Andrew who is about to start his own taxi business. This is a relatively simple business but it is rich in concepts and most of us will have used such services from time to time. Joan, Andrew’s wife, has suggested that he should ask his friend, Richard, to help him prepare a business plan. Richard is a financial advisor who helps small and medium sized firms to understand the numbers in their businesses. You will find that Andrew will take nothing for granted, often holding different opinions and asking lots of questions which allows Richard to explain the basic concepts in an informal and conversational way. Sometimes they meet at Richard’s office and sometimes at their local pub. It’s not long before Andrew understands how financial information is captured and how the three major financial statements (Balance Sheets, Profit & Loss Accounts and Cash Flow Statements) are linked together and how each gives him very different information about his business. Andrew often queries what he is being told and so both sides of a point can be discussed and evaluated. Andrew also gets Richard to explain how inventories and sales taxes are dealt with, even though they are not applicable to a taxi business. It is not long before Andrew is modelling his plans on his laptop and producing five year forecasts! He still can’t quite believe it is so simple and logical! “It certainly is an easy way to produce a business plan.”
Joan is very interested to know how each meeting went so, after each meeting, Andrew summarises what he has learned. Technical terms are highlighted the first time they are used and their definitions are in the glossary too.
As well as being a means of recording a business’s activities, the language of money is also a method of communication. The use of specialist terminology within departments is effective, but it can be a barrier to communication between them, preventing the managers in different departments from developing common aims and plans for their companies. For this to take place they need a common language and one is there, ready and waiting – the language of money. Most business situations can be expressed in terms of revenues, expenses and cash flows, so once this language is understood effective communication can take place.
So why not join Andrew and find out just how easy it really is? Visit www.understandaccounting.com to learn more about this book and about the case studies that are there to support it.
Joan is very interested to know how each meeting went so, after each meeting, Andrew summarises what he has learned. Technical terms are highlighted the first time they are used and their definitions are in the glossary too.
As well as being a means of recording a business’s activities, the language of money is also a method of communication. The use of specialist terminology within departments is effective, but it can be a barrier to communication between them, preventing the managers in different departments from developing common aims and plans for their companies. For this to take place they need a common language and one is there, ready and waiting – the language of money. Most business situations can be expressed in terms of revenues, expenses and cash flows, so once this language is understood effective communication can take place.
So why not join Andrew and find out just how easy it really is? Visit www.understandaccounting.com to learn more about this book and about the case studies that are there to support it.
