Читать книгу Accounting For Dummies - John A. Tracy - Страница 11

IN THIS CHAPTER

Appreciating how accounting is relevant to you

Grasping how all economic activity requires accounting

Understanding the accounting function’s primary roles

Watching an accounting department in action

Shaking hands with business financial statements

Realizing accounting is both an art form and science

There was a captive audience present when I (coauthor John) taught Accounting 101 because, then as well as now, all business school students have to take this course. In contrast, very few arts and science students elect the course, which is unfortunate. Accounting 101 teaches about business, including the nature of profit (which most people don’t fully understand) and the fundamentals of capitalism.

The course is a very good training ground for becoming financially literate. Accounting is the language of business, finance, investing, and taxes. To be financially literate, you need to know basic accounting. These days, there’s a big push to improve financial literacy, and a basic accounting course offers a useful framework for understanding and thinking about financial issues. Financial literacy is important to help ensure financial security for you and your family as you go through life and eventually enter into retirement.

In one sense, this book is the accounting course you never took. For business grads, the book presents an opportune review of topics you’ve gotten rusty on. We dare say that even accounting majors can glean many insights from this book. You don’t need a college education to gain from this book, however. Like all the For Dummies books, this book delivers useful information in a plain-talking manner, with a light touch to keep it interesting.

As you go through life, you come face to face with a flood of accounting-generated information — more than you would ever imagine. Regrettably, much of this information isn’t intuitive, and it doesn’t come with a user’s manual. In short, most of the accounting information you encounter isn’t readily clear.

One main reason for learning some accounting is to understand its vocabulary and valuation methods so you can make more intelligent use of the information. Accountants are financial scorekeepers. In playing or watching any game, you need to know how the score is kept. The purpose of this book is to make you a knowledgeable spectator of and sometimes a participant in the accounting game.

Let us point out another reason you should know accounting basics — the defensive reason. Many people in the cold, cruel financial world are on the prowl to take advantage of your lack of savvy about accounting. These unscrupulous characters treat you as a lamb waiting to be fleeced. An important defense against such tactics is to know some accounting, which helps you ask the right questions and understand the crucial points on which con artists want to keep you in the dark.