Learn More

 

Financial Accounting
About the Book

Target Audience Innovative
Approach
Innovative
Pedagogy
Supplement Package
About the
Authors
Company
Index
Brief Table of Contents  

Innovative Pedagogy

Financial Accounting includes special features specifically designed for the student.

Focus Companies for Each Chapter

Each chapter’s content is explained through the accounting and reporting activities of real companies.

To that end, each chapter incorporates a “focus company” for special emphasis and demonstration.
The enhanced instructional value of focus companies comes from the way they engage
students in real analysis and interpretation. Focus companies were selected based on the industries
that students typically enter upon graduation.

Chapter 1 Berkshire Hathaway
Chapter 7 Gillette
Chapter 2 Walt Disney Company Chapter 8 Procter & Gamble
Chapter 3 FedEx Chapter 9 Verizon Communications
Chapter 4 Starbucks Chapter 10 Pfizer
Chapter 5 3M Chapter 11 Hewlett-Packard
Chapter 6 3M Chapter 13 Midwest Airlines
Chapter 6 Cisco Systems Chapter 14 Kimberly-Clark

Real Company Data Throughout

We have gone to great lengths to incorporate real company data throughout each chapter to reinforce important concepts and engage students. We engage nonaccounting students specializing in finance, marketing, management, real estate, operations, and so forth, with companies and scenarios that are relevant to them.

Decision Making Orientation

One primary goal of a financial accounting course is to teach students the skills needed to apply
their accounting knowledge to solving real business problems and making informed business decisions. With that goal in mind, You Make the Call boxes in each chapter encourage students to
apply the material presented to solving actual business scenarios.

”You make the call” (is) good for making the students think about consequences of decision making. “
—Vic Stanton, University of California—Berkeley

Mid-Chapter and Chapter-End Reviews

Financial accounting can be challenging—especially for students lacking business experience or
previous exposure to business courses. To reinforce concepts presented in each chapter and to ensure student comprehension, we include mid-chapter and chapter-end reviews that require students to recall and apply the financial accounting techniques and concepts described in each chapter.

“The mid-chapter review exercises and problems are excellent.”
—Hank Adler, Chapman University

Research Insights for Business Students

Academic research plays an important role in the way business is conducted, accounting is performed, and students are taught. It is important for students to recognize how modern research and modern business practice interact. Therefore, we periodically incorporate relevant research to help students understand the important relation between research and modern business.

Excellent, Class-Tested Assignment Materials

Excellent assignment material is a must-have component of any successful textbook (and class).
We went to great lengths to create the best assignments possible. In keeping with the rest of the
book, we used real company data extensively. We also ensured that assignments reflect our belief
that students should be trained in analyzing accounting information to make business decisions as well as interpreting and preparing financial reports. The assignments encourage students to analyze
accounting information, interpret it, and apply the knowledge gained to a business decision.
There are six categories of assignments: Multiple Choice Questions, Discussion Questions, Mini Exercises, Exercises, Problems, and Cases & Projects.

“The diversity and availability of problems and exercises at the end of the
chapter continues to be one strong point of this textbook.”

—Sean Chen, Loyola Marymount

KEY FEATURES

Analysis and decision making: This book considers accounting from an analysis and
decision usefulness perspective because today’s students must understand, analyze, and
interpret financial reports to make business decisions.

  • Accounting mechanics: Transactions are explained with a combination of journal entries,
    T-accounts, and the authors’ unique Financial Statement Effects Template.
  • Financial Statement Effects Template: Introduced in Chapter 2 and used throughout the
    book, this template shows the impact of transactions on the balance sheet, income
    statement, and statement of cash flows.
  • Early introduction to cash flows: The statement of cash flows is described precisely and
    simply in Chapter 4. This chapter was written to give instructors maximum flexibility and,
    as a result, can be covered at any point after Chapter 3.
  • Profitability analysis: Contemporary coverage of profitability analysis sets this book apart
    from the pack. It goes beyond traditional ratio analysis to show how return on equity
    (ROE) and its components reveal company profitability drivers.
  • Real data, including assignments: To prepare students for the real world, the book draws
    on real company data throughout, including the assignments. Excerpts from annual reports
    and footnotes are used generously, as are company comparisons both within and across
    industries.
  • Focus companies: Each chapter is launched with the accounting practices of a real
    company. That focus company is then continually referenced for chapter illustrations.
    Examples include Berkshire Hathaway, Cisco Systems, Walt Disney, Starbucks,
    Verizon, 3M, Hewlett-Packard, FedEx, Midwest Airlines, Kimberly-Clark, Gillette,
    Procter & Gamble,
    and Pfizer.