Accounting 101: From Calculating Revenues and Profits to Determining Assets and Liabilities, an Essential Guide to Accounting Basics

Adams 101

by Michele Cagan CPA

A quick and easy guide to help you learn the basics of accounting.

The ability to negotiate a deal. Confidence to oversee staff. Complete and accurate monitoring of expenses.

In today’s business climate, these are must-have skills. But all too often, comprehensive business books turn the important details of best practices into tedious reading that would put even a CEO to sleep.

This bestselling series is packed with hundreds of entertaining tidbits and concepts that can’t be found anywhere else. From hiring and firing to strategizing and calculating revenues, these guides can help you learn core business and career concepts—no MBA required! So whether you’re a new business owner, a manager, or entry-level employee, this series has the answers you need to conduct business more efficiently.

Genres: Business, Accounting, Finance, Nonfiction, Economics, Reference, History

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2017

Reviews

[Rai Keyri]

More just explanation on accounting and doesn't really teach you even the basics on accounting.

[Cesar N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book after considering a transition in careers to accounting. The main reason was to see if some of the topics considered "101 level" were of interest to me. The author does a great job of going over very basic topics in an easy-to-understand manner.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accounting 101 is a book about the basics of accounting. Michele Cagan, CPA takes us through the wondrous world of Accounting by talking about how it all works. So for instance, if you need to find an accountant, the book tells you to search for one that is accredited. This may seem obvious, but it also tells you about danger signs to look out for. Like if you have someone doing your taxes, it talks about the red flags to beware of.

Since the book is a basic primer, it doesn’t really go too deeply into the nuances present in accountancy. Is that even a word? It seems to be one. Anyway, the book is mainly aimed at people that are starting up a new business. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything for you in the book if you don’t have a business, it just means that it mostly discusses how important it is to have a financial adviser on your team. It tells us about the different types of accountants and what they do. Since it is pretty recent, it also talks about that Ben Affleck movie, The Accountant, and jokes about how it isn’t necessary to have hand-to-hand combat skills.

The book stresses that bookkeeping is probably the most important thing to keep up with, even if it is terribly boring. If you don’t have any idea of how much money you have, how are you supposed to make financial decisions? It does acknowledge the existence of software capable of doing bookkeeping, but it also emphasizes that accounting is not only keeping the books; accountants make sense of the barrage of numbers to provide a readable and understandable report of the state of your finances.

For being short, this book is packed with information. From talking about what constitutes a transaction to discussing what an asset is, this book will explain a lot of things. It even talks about the double entry accounting system and when to record transactions with it.

I could go on and on about this book since it so densely packed, but I will leave off by saying that getting this book isn’t a replacement for a CPA or other Accounting Professional. That would be like representing yourself in a court when you aren’t Matt Damon’s character in Good Will Hunting. Anyway, it does encourage you to seek out professional help if you need it since all CPAs and other professional accountants have to pass certifications and keep up with the latest trends in order to keep their licenses. Even the future of Accounting is rosy since the pay is good and with the changing global economy, Accountants will be more sought-after than ever.

[Marco Neves · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long advertisement on why you need an accountant. You finish this book with a few basic accounting concepts, get to know that there are a lot of people who use accounting information and little more.

A good book to read of you don't know whether you need an accountant or not, but doesn't get you much closer to understand your books or be able to understand those financial reports of your company or the companies you may be thinking about investing in.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to accounting covering accountant types, key concepts (Big Four, SOX, SEC), and business startup tips. However, it focuses too much on starting a business over CPAs and basic accounting principles. Some topics, like debits/credits, assets/liabilities, liquidity, and new software, are repeated excessively.

[Evvan Erb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great primer on accounting. Could benefit from more visuals to help explain concepts like debits and credits.

[Martez Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I needed to refresh my brain on all things accounting. Even though I am a CPA, there were things I never thought about. Things like how to read financial statements as an investor. As an investor, I should be focused on companies with not only profits, but great cash flow to cover short term liabilities.

[Lili Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how the book was compact, but it did need detailed examples, as some reviewers mentioned. For instance, instead of saying “with revenues listed right on top; costs (if you sell products) coming next; and expenses located at the end,” a visual would’ve helped, etc.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy weekend read. Brief overview of the field and a great starting point but would not recommend for anything other than a good read, I would not consider this a textbook or proper learning material if you plan on becoming a professional. Great read for small business owners

[Asem Khattab · Rating 2 out of 5]

how can an accounting book be without lots of practical examples?!

[Aom t · Rating 5 out of 5]

อ่านง่าย สนุก เหมาะกับมือใหม่ไม่มีความรู้พื้นฐาน ไขข้อข้องใจได้

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

good overview

[Stephen Shonts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers all the basics

Does a pretty good job of covering the basics and was delivered in a concise and practical manner. I didn't find the last chapter very useful.

[Anas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Accounting 101" is a good book that serves its purpose as an overview of accounting and its importance. Its style is engaging, easy to understand, and not boring. I wished it included more practical examples, but overall, it is suitable and achieves its goal as an introduction to the field.

[CJ Purdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good 101! I'm a junior in college and I read this to get a good refresher before taking intermediate accounting. I did enjoy this book but it wasn't the best learning tool. It tells you the what and why but not really the how to use a balance sheet for example and there aren't any graphics in the book to reference. It's aimed more toward people who want to know what accounting is as a business owner then the accountant to a business owner.