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The Accounting Game : Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand
Master the fundamentals of accounting with The Accounting Game: Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand, a bestselling nonfiction book that transforms the complex world of finance into an engaging and interactive learning experience
Whether you're a small business owner, aspiring entrepreneur, or simply seeking to broaden your financial knowledge, this book offers a comprehensive introduction to accounting principles, making it accessible even to those with no prior experience in the field.
Key Features:
- Clear and Engaging Approach: Dive into the world of accounting through a unique gamified format that simplifies complex concepts.
- Business and Financial Basics: Develop a solid foundation in accounting principles, bookkeeping, and financial management.
- Interactive Learning: Embrace the interactive elements throughout the book, such as quizzes, exercises, and case studies.
- Practical Application: Apply the knowledge gained from the book to real-life scenarios, empowering you to make sound financial decisions for your own startup or small business.
- Accessible and Engaging: The Accounting Game is written in a friendly and approachable style, demystifying complex financial concepts and ensuring that readers of all backgrounds can grasp the principles with ease.
- Highly Acclaimed: Recognized as a bestseller, this book has earned praise for its ability to make accounting enjoyable and accessible to readers from all walks of life.
Whether you're seeking to enhance your business acumen, pursue a career in finance, or simply gain a practical understanding of money management, this book is your guide. Dive into the world of accounting and empower yourself with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions that drive success.
Whether you're a small business owner, aspiring entrepreneur, or simply seeking to broaden your financial knowledge, this book offers a comprehensive introduction to accounting principles, making it accessible even to those with no prior experience in the field.
Key Features:
- Clear and Engaging Approach: Dive into the world of accounting through a unique gamified format that simplifies complex concepts.
- Business and Financial Basics: Develop a solid foundation in accounting principles, bookkeeping, and financial management.
- Interactive Learning: Embrace the interactive elements throughout the book, such as quizzes, exercises, and case studies.
- Practical Application: Apply the knowledge gained from the book to real-life scenarios, empowering you to make sound financial decisions for your own startup or small business.
- Accessible and Engaging: The Accounting Game is written in a friendly and approachable style, demystifying complex financial concepts and ensuring that readers of all backgrounds can grasp the principles with ease.
- Highly Acclaimed: Recognized as a bestseller, this book has earned praise for its ability to make accounting enjoyable and accessible to readers from all walks of life.
Whether you're seeking to enhance your business acumen, pursue a career in finance, or simply gain a practical understanding of money management, this book is your guide. Dive into the world of accounting and empower yourself with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions that drive success.
187 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1998
607 people are currently reading
2742 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
February 18, 2018
This book is a great introduction to how accounting works, especially for those of us who are really just not that crazy about numbers, calculations, and the nuts and bolts of money matters - but who may be involved in a business startup.
I finished the book without doing the exercises - which usually means you haven't learned the material thoroughly - and do plan to reread it a second time, doing the exercises this time. The first reading was good for getting to know basic principles, like the difference between the accrual vs. cash method of accounting, and which is appropriate for what kind of business; the difference between an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement; and how straight line vs. double declining depreciation works, and when you use which.
The one thing to be aware of is that at the end, you'll be told that you've just learned about only one of the "three crucial bottom lines needed to measure the health of a business." If you want to know about the other two, plus the "six crucial drivers" of the three bottom lines, and that you should sign up for a workshop by calling an 800 number. You suddenly feel like all this time you were just being set up for an ad at the end. But the book is still a great resource and probably one of the most accessible entrance points to accounting around - so I recommend it highly.
I finished the book without doing the exercises - which usually means you haven't learned the material thoroughly - and do plan to reread it a second time, doing the exercises this time. The first reading was good for getting to know basic principles, like the difference between the accrual vs. cash method of accounting, and which is appropriate for what kind of business; the difference between an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement; and how straight line vs. double declining depreciation works, and when you use which.
The one thing to be aware of is that at the end, you'll be told that you've just learned about only one of the "three crucial bottom lines needed to measure the health of a business." If you want to know about the other two, plus the "six crucial drivers" of the three bottom lines, and that you should sign up for a workshop by calling an 800 number. You suddenly feel like all this time you were just being set up for an ad at the end. But the book is still a great resource and probably one of the most accessible entrance points to accounting around - so I recommend it highly.
September 12, 2014
A good starter book for anybody interested in basic accounting. Teaches how to read the three basic accounting sheets using a Lemonade Stand example.
You literally can't not understand this book. It is so simple I'm sure a ten year old would grasp its contents. At times it can get a bit silly and repetitive with it's question-answer format, but its short, and you WILL grasp these concepts after reading.
I got it on kindle, which probably isn't effective because it has you constantly updating little balance sheets as you go through. Not really necessary, I still understood, but I bet my long term memory would be a lot better if I had the physical book to fill in the accounting forms in. Maybe you can download the forms somewhere?
Long story short, this thing will take you 3 days max to finish. Read it and understand how money works in business.
You literally can't not understand this book. It is so simple I'm sure a ten year old would grasp its contents. At times it can get a bit silly and repetitive with it's question-answer format, but its short, and you WILL grasp these concepts after reading.
I got it on kindle, which probably isn't effective because it has you constantly updating little balance sheets as you go through. Not really necessary, I still understood, but I bet my long term memory would be a lot better if I had the physical book to fill in the accounting forms in. Maybe you can download the forms somewhere?
Long story short, this thing will take you 3 days max to finish. Read it and understand how money works in business.
January 27, 2011
If you are new to accounting you have to read it. Fantasticly clear
May 13, 2021
Learned a lot!
April 15, 2025
Perfect! It’s very very easy to understand the big knowledge about the operation businessc & Accounting. Love it!
August 25, 2012
I hate accounting because I failed this subject when undergraduate. But this book is so vivid that pull me back. I am now reading it the second time.
February 8, 2019
Rather nice begginner-level introduction into balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and a small array of other accounting-related things. Easy to read, lots of examples.
August 16, 2018
Aprendí muchísimo me encantó
Read
October 6, 2025no rating
read this for my accounting class. 18 dollars in 5 weeks? crazy. accounting is icky. helped me learn accounting tho
read this for my accounting class. 18 dollars in 5 weeks? crazy. accounting is icky. helped me learn accounting tho
November 24, 2022
Perfect book for its goal: a quick intro to basics of accounting. I learned a lot. Filling out a bunch of balance sheets, income and cash flow statements was fun!
March 5, 2022
A great introduction to accounting and financial statements, easy going and easy to understand, also the book is interactive and shows you the ropes for calculating basic thing like: balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement, shows you the general idea of how a business operates on the financial side, has a nice story to it, currently I'm reading "Financial Statements: A step by step guide to understanding and creating financial reports by Thomas R. Ittelson", and it made my reading of more complex books on accounting and finances a lot easier, would recommend
January 18, 2019
Have no clue what accounting is? Then this book is for you. The book covers the fundamentals of accounting in an unconventional manner, by using examples that even a 10 year old would get. By the end, you would have a decent understanding of all the basic terms of accounting that you would have heard like balance sheet, income statement, cash Statement and would hopefully not find yourself blank while reading more comprehensive books on accounting.
December 31, 2019
I loved this book. It made accounting so simple to understand. I am horrible with math and this book was really helpful.
September 5, 2025
I must have gotten a good professor for my entry-level accounting course, because The Accounting Game: Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand is probably the most effective not-textbook I’ve ever been assigned to read. Filled to the brim with colorful visuals and practical applications, this book combines the business and educational expertise of Darrell Mullis with the psychiatric authorship of Judith Orloff in what was originally a training presentation for entry-level accountants. I can’t recommend it highly enough if you’re like me and don’t know your FIFO from your LIFO.
The Accounting Game uses the long-form metaphor of a kid setting up a lemonade stand and navigating the business world as an entry point to a number of basic accounting concepts. Mullis and Orloff cover everything from the three primary financial statements (the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement) to expenses, bad debts, and depreciation. They explain the basics of a balance sheet (assets, liabilities, and equity) before delving into costs of production, accrual and cash accounting methods, and the difference between cash and profit. In a bold move, the book actually ends with the failure of the lemonade stand (which I had gotten surprisingly invested in) to demonstrate some common failings in start-up businesses. Though the writing can be a bit repetitive and juvenile, it’s that very childlike style that helps cement the basic information and apply real-world strategies in a way that is approachable to people from any level.
Mullis and Orloff tap into the childhood methods of learning new concepts — bright colors, repetition, fun examples, etc. — to teach what is otherwise some pretty boring material. The Accounting Game is an excellent antithesis to traditional textbook learning, which tends to focus on rote memorization and excessive gobbledygook of already-monotonous topics. It’s filled with colorful illustrations and visuals of basic balance sheets and income statements, plus some very helpful practice problems that allow for applying the principles to real-world scenarios. With comedic second-person narration and the effective ongoing example of the lemonade stand (which becomes hilariously convoluted with the additions of loans and service subsystems), The Accounting Game is accessible to readers of any level, and it tackles high-level concepts on a surface-level introductory basis. The idea of the lemonade stand is approachable and fun but also extremely informative, creative, and effective.
I’ve since started working through the denser accounting and finance textbooks for my course, and I’ve found that The Accounting Game gave me such a strong foundation in basic terminology and concepts that I probably would have struggled with otherwise. This is an outstanding resource for anyone at an entry-level business degree, especially if you’re like me and have no idea what you’re doing. It must be effective, because even I aced the post-test at the end of the book.
The Accounting Game uses the long-form metaphor of a kid setting up a lemonade stand and navigating the business world as an entry point to a number of basic accounting concepts. Mullis and Orloff cover everything from the three primary financial statements (the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement) to expenses, bad debts, and depreciation. They explain the basics of a balance sheet (assets, liabilities, and equity) before delving into costs of production, accrual and cash accounting methods, and the difference between cash and profit. In a bold move, the book actually ends with the failure of the lemonade stand (which I had gotten surprisingly invested in) to demonstrate some common failings in start-up businesses. Though the writing can be a bit repetitive and juvenile, it’s that very childlike style that helps cement the basic information and apply real-world strategies in a way that is approachable to people from any level.
“Does all of this seem a little confusing? If it is, then great. Please let yourself live in this apparent paradox and feel its discomfort for awhile. Living in this paradox and resolving its seeming conflicts is a great part of the art and science of business leadership and success.”
Mullis and Orloff tap into the childhood methods of learning new concepts — bright colors, repetition, fun examples, etc. — to teach what is otherwise some pretty boring material. The Accounting Game is an excellent antithesis to traditional textbook learning, which tends to focus on rote memorization and excessive gobbledygook of already-monotonous topics. It’s filled with colorful illustrations and visuals of basic balance sheets and income statements, plus some very helpful practice problems that allow for applying the principles to real-world scenarios. With comedic second-person narration and the effective ongoing example of the lemonade stand (which becomes hilariously convoluted with the additions of loans and service subsystems), The Accounting Game is accessible to readers of any level, and it tackles high-level concepts on a surface-level introductory basis. The idea of the lemonade stand is approachable and fun but also extremely informative, creative, and effective.
I’ve since started working through the denser accounting and finance textbooks for my course, and I’ve found that The Accounting Game gave me such a strong foundation in basic terminology and concepts that I probably would have struggled with otherwise. This is an outstanding resource for anyone at an entry-level business degree, especially if you’re like me and have no idea what you’re doing. It must be effective, because even I aced the post-test at the end of the book.
March 19, 2017
A. MUST. READ. FOR. EVERYONE.
As a clueless teenager and prospective undergrad student invested in my financial education, I picked up this book with low expectations. How I underestimated this book so much. Usually I'd skip past books like these with comic-sans font and "kid-friendly" sesame colors--under the impression that while these books generally had good intentions of explaining complex concepts, they only watered it down to simplex and useless jargon--I saw so many 5 star community reviews (and really I had no right to judge) that I finally said to myself, "Why not give this (free) ebook a go?" And I did.
Right from the start, the authors drove their pitch home. They educate you through the story of a boy (you, the protagonist) who is opening [your] very first lemonade stand business over the summer. Here and there, they weave in scenarios in this 'story' where you're forced to encounter new concepts---concepts about accounting. Within hours, I had a solid grasp on concepts like balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, FIFO and LIFO records, and accrual vs cash accounting. You'll be amazed at the volume of words and ideas you've absorbed at the end of this book. Seriously, if you're a sucker who has the attention span of a pinto bean, you CAN---no--WILL read this book in 3 days, tops!
I would recommend reading this book in paperback rather than online though. It makes the experience that much more fun, and easy considering you don't have to do any math in your head. And proudly wave this book with your 'Accounting Game Diploma' in the air when you have!
As a clueless teenager and prospective undergrad student invested in my financial education, I picked up this book with low expectations. How I underestimated this book so much. Usually I'd skip past books like these with comic-sans font and "kid-friendly" sesame colors--under the impression that while these books generally had good intentions of explaining complex concepts, they only watered it down to simplex and useless jargon--I saw so many 5 star community reviews (and really I had no right to judge) that I finally said to myself, "Why not give this (free) ebook a go?" And I did.
Right from the start, the authors drove their pitch home. They educate you through the story of a boy (you, the protagonist) who is opening [your] very first lemonade stand business over the summer. Here and there, they weave in scenarios in this 'story' where you're forced to encounter new concepts---concepts about accounting. Within hours, I had a solid grasp on concepts like balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, FIFO and LIFO records, and accrual vs cash accounting. You'll be amazed at the volume of words and ideas you've absorbed at the end of this book. Seriously, if you're a sucker who has the attention span of a pinto bean, you CAN---no--WILL read this book in 3 days, tops!
I would recommend reading this book in paperback rather than online though. It makes the experience that much more fun, and easy considering you don't have to do any math in your head. And proudly wave this book with your 'Accounting Game Diploma' in the air when you have!
April 25, 2022
What was I thinking trying to learn about numbers? Well, not very much. I didn't have many hopes. But this book blew me away. I thought I would write a big bad review at the end of reading if it had been confusing (stereotype dictates) but instead, I found myself mesmerized by the game of numbers. If you were a bad student at math or eco or any number-related subject in your school or college, you need to get your hands on this book because it turns your perception around from negative to positive (pun intended) about what those big equation riddles are all about. Now, coming to finance, you have a lot of, a lot of 'golden rules' which are absolutely universal and if you're anything like me, you struggle with that notion because you just don't do well with rules. But when you start something new, rules are rules. I really enjoyed understanding the basic concepts through this book because the examples, narration style, humor, and of course the writing are so fresh. This book accomplished its objective of sparking curiosity. It was bang on!
October 22, 2018
I think this book was a great introduction for non-financial people like me, the fact that it used an example of a thing so simple like the lemonade stand to project accounting on it, is so demystifying and it takes all the fear of trying or learning something new from the equation, in fact i grew more curious about accounting and i am capable to go for trying to understand complex topics or taking it a level deeper, exactly because i have read this book, i like how it projects actions as transactions and then trying to analyse these decisions if there was going to be a better decision that would have skyrocketed the business even more! it's so simple and intriguing and the language was really easy and the narration was fun, i guess i'm giving it a highly rate of 4 stars because i really learned a lot from this book and how i connected with it, i understood the concepts and i feel like i have made a pretty solid foundation start digging deeper later! so yeah Highly Recommended!
February 4, 2017
Ehhh. This book is extremely elementary and may be a good starting point for those with zero accounting background. It only provides high level overviews of the three financial statements. For someone who wants a more comprehensive overview of accounting, I would recommend a much more detailed and advanced alternative. Mike Piper's Accounting Made Simple, although also with its own flaws, is a better read for those with a little accounting background.
Pros:
+ Short read
+ Hits all the bare basics but nothing more
Cons:
- Repetitive, concepts and sentences are repeated over and over (gets annoying chapter after chapter)
- Too elementary and basic
- Not something you can pick up after reading and easily reference
Conclusion:
I came in with the wrong expectations of the book - thought that this would be a good refresher of accounting but ended up being disappointed by how elementary and basic the book was. This may be a great source for someone with absolutely no accounting background. It does not, in my opinion, provide anything useful for those with somewhat of an accounting background who are looking for a comprehensive refresher on accounting.
Pros:
+ Short read
+ Hits all the bare basics but nothing more
Cons:
- Repetitive, concepts and sentences are repeated over and over (gets annoying chapter after chapter)
- Too elementary and basic
- Not something you can pick up after reading and easily reference
Conclusion:
I came in with the wrong expectations of the book - thought that this would be a good refresher of accounting but ended up being disappointed by how elementary and basic the book was. This may be a great source for someone with absolutely no accounting background. It does not, in my opinion, provide anything useful for those with somewhat of an accounting background who are looking for a comprehensive refresher on accounting.
June 10, 2023
Good comprehensive overview of accounting. I know significantly more about the subject now than I did before reading this.
The authors do approach this like they’re talking to a bunch of ten year olds, and the writing is like someone is talking to an actual child sometimes, which was a little tedious. But then again, I knew nothing about accounting, and probably did need it to be explained to me like I’m a child, so I can’t complain too much.
Accounting will never be something I’m passionate about, but I’m thankful that this book at least helped me understand the basic terms without just throwing the book across the room in defeat.
The authors do approach this like they’re talking to a bunch of ten year olds, and the writing is like someone is talking to an actual child sometimes, which was a little tedious. But then again, I knew nothing about accounting, and probably did need it to be explained to me like I’m a child, so I can’t complain too much.
Accounting will never be something I’m passionate about, but I’m thankful that this book at least helped me understand the basic terms without just throwing the book across the room in defeat.
June 22, 2021
Too verbose, High noise low value
Too basic of a book, I understand they wanted to dumb things down but the narration in the book was uselessly too verbose and appears that the target audience is indeed "little kids".
It is filled with senetences like "what do we need to have to operate a business? Cash"
and
dedicates pages to capture handful of calculations.
They can rewrite the book with less verbosity and highlighting key concepts for the audience who knows basic algebra. The book will be way thinner, and high quality.
Too basic of a book, I understand they wanted to dumb things down but the narration in the book was uselessly too verbose and appears that the target audience is indeed "little kids".
It is filled with senetences like "what do we need to have to operate a business? Cash"
and
dedicates pages to capture handful of calculations.
They can rewrite the book with less verbosity and highlighting key concepts for the audience who knows basic algebra. The book will be way thinner, and high quality.
August 4, 2021
This is such a fun book! It's told like a story and there are blanks for you to fill in, so it's like accounting, math, and story all in one. I read this book with my mom over the summer, and I learned a lot from it. This is a very great book for beginners like me (who is also a teen) and it explains things very clearly with many examples and questions to think about. Although there are some things in the book that the author forgot about, which got me a little confused, and the story has some plot holes, but overall it makes me see things so much clearer.
October 23, 2024
4.5
This is a really fun and easy way to learn the basics of accounting. I have no interest in starting a business, but this book has helped me understand and keep up with news in business a bit better. Having a very simple example to follow along with and practice creative accounting to has been illuminating. I do wish that I'd had a fillable form to follow along with (wouldn't be a problem for physical copies), and though the question answer format is helpful in learning the material it can also be a bit repetitive and annoying.
This is a really fun and easy way to learn the basics of accounting. I have no interest in starting a business, but this book has helped me understand and keep up with news in business a bit better. Having a very simple example to follow along with and practice creative accounting to has been illuminating. I do wish that I'd had a fillable form to follow along with (wouldn't be a problem for physical copies), and though the question answer format is helpful in learning the material it can also be a bit repetitive and annoying.
September 22, 2018
I needed a quick, concise review of accounting basics. This appears to be juvenile, but is real enough, using the real language of accounting, and it helped!
I prefer to practice, calculate, pencil, erase, correct...and this approach helped do just that.
I missed the "T Account" approach, but this was just fine.
The book could benefit from allowing more room in the little Assets/Liabilities/Equity box. This would be helpful to ensure you are making the correct entries.
Overall, a good job.
I prefer to practice, calculate, pencil, erase, correct...and this approach helped do just that.
I missed the "T Account" approach, but this was just fine.
The book could benefit from allowing more room in the little Assets/Liabilities/Equity box. This would be helpful to ensure you are making the correct entries.
Overall, a good job.
February 2, 2020
This a fun, no frills approach to learn the basics of accounting. Very helpful as a part of an introductory course. It needs to be supplemented with a more robust work for an academic course, but it gives the simplest explanations of complex concepts and allows the reader to work though the ideas using a tool (a lemonade stand) everyone intuitively grasps.
Read as an intro to MGMT 403: Financial Accounting with Professor Henry Friedman at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Read as an intro to MGMT 403: Financial Accounting with Professor Henry Friedman at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
December 8, 2021
Amazing!
I took a whole course and could not tell you the difference between a balance sheet, income statement, or statement of cash flow. After reading this book I completely understand now. I also learned so much more since it was broken down so understandable. There's just so much necessary information in this book. I am so much more confident with my knowledge now that this book re-taught me things more concretely.
I took a whole course and could not tell you the difference between a balance sheet, income statement, or statement of cash flow. After reading this book I completely understand now. I also learned so much more since it was broken down so understandable. There's just so much necessary information in this book. I am so much more confident with my knowledge now that this book re-taught me things more concretely.
October 6, 2024
Phải chi trước khi học nguyên lý kế toán toi đã biết đến sự tồn tại của cuốn sách này sớm hơn =)) nhưng mà học xong rồi mới đọc cuốn này cũng có tác dụng riêng của nó, như một cách ôn bài thực tiễn và tác giả diễn đạt siêu chi tiết từng dòng suy nghĩ cần có khi chỉnh sửa các báo cáo tài chính. Hay hơn nữa là bởi vì diễn đạt bằng story telling nên tác giả còn đề cập đến những mindset của một người làm chủ/ kinh doanh cần phải có nữa. Ai coi được review này mà học kinh tế thì nên cân nhắc nhé
March 4, 2018
Great book for budding small business entrepreneurs. Easy to follow and clear delivery of basic accounting concepts. It didn't really help me with my financial accounting class (which was my reason for reading the book) but it did help me gain clearer understanding of what the main reporting sheets were and how to properly utilize them.
August 29, 2018
A wonderful introduction that gives plenty of information and drives home a lot of the concepts of accounting. It's made fun and easy by including characters and stories that can be related.
If anything, I wish there was more technical information and exercises to drive home some of the aspects of this book. If nothing else, it was an invaluable introduction.
If anything, I wish there was more technical information and exercises to drive home some of the aspects of this book. If nothing else, it was an invaluable introduction.
March 29, 2019
It's a fun start to much needed education of business world and give you a birdseye view of accounting in the old fashion way you were tough in school. Terms of business are woven into fiction, immaculate and Vivid, which is bound to stick to your memory so much so that by the end of the book you can close your eyes and create a balance sheet in your mind without cramming.
June 5, 2019
A very lovely read!
It is a nice book to start with if you want to learn the basics of accounting and book keeping with a wonderful illustration of lemonade stand which keeps us hitched to the book till the end. However, for an advanced course, it is not sufficient as it touches only upon the basics of accounting.
It is a nice book to start with if you want to learn the basics of accounting and book keeping with a wonderful illustration of lemonade stand which keeps us hitched to the book till the end. However, for an advanced course, it is not sufficient as it touches only upon the basics of accounting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews