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• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Introduction
• About This Book
• Foolish Assumptions
• Icons Used in This Book
• Beyond the Book
• Where to Go from Here
• Part 1: Opening the Books on Accounting
• Chapter 1: Accounting in Today’s New Economy
• Checking Your Preconceptions about Accounting
• Providing Vital Financial Information
• Accounting’s Two Primary Roles
• Taking a Peek behind the Scenes
• Focusing on Transactions
• Taking the Financial Pulse of a Business
• Accounting as a Form of Art
• Chapter 2: Introducing Financial Statements
• Setting the Stage for Financial Statements
• The Income Statement
• The Balance Sheet
• The Statement of Cash Flows
• A Note about the Statement of Changes in Shareowners’ Equity
• Gleaning Important Information from Financial Statements
• Complying with Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards
• Chapter 3: Safeguarding Company Assets
• Separating the Duties of Bookkeepers and Accountants
• Pedaling through the Bookkeeping Cycle
• Managing Accounting Systems
• Enforcing Strong Internal Controls
• Double-Entry Accounting
• Juggling the Books to Conceal Embezzlement and Fraud
• Chapter 4: Accounting in the Digital Age
• Noting a Few Foundational Accounting Concepts Related to Technology
• Using Accounting Software in the Cloud and on the Ground
• Controlling and Protecting Money Flows in the Electronic Age
• Managing the Accounting Function in the On-Demand World
• Chapter 5: Recognizing the Legal and Accounting Entity
• Being Aware of the Legal Roots of Business Entities
• Going It Alone: Sole Proprietorships
• Differentiating Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies
• Incorporating a Business
• Part 2: Exploring Financial Statements
• Chapter 6: Reporting Profit or Loss in the Income Statement
• Presenting Typical Income Statements
• Taking Care of Housekeeping Details
• Being an Active Reader
• Deconstructing Profit
• Pinpointing the Assets and Liabilities Used to Record Revenue and Expenses
• Reporting Unusual Gains and Losses
• Watching for Misconceptions and Misleading Reports
• Chapter 7: Reporting Financial Condition in the Balance Sheet
• Expanding the Accounting Equation
• Presenting a Proper Balance Sheet
• Judging Liquidity and Solvency
• Understanding That Transactions Drive the Balance Sheet
• Sizing Up Assets and Liabilities
• Financing a Business: Sources of Cash and Capital
• Recognizing the Hodgepodge of Values Reported in a Balance Sheet
• Chapter 8: Reporting Cash Sources and Uses in the Statement of Cash Flows
• Meeting the Statement of Cash Flows
• Explaining the Variance between Cash Flow and Net Income
• Sailing through the Rest of the Statement of Cash Flows
• Pinning Down “Free Cash Flow”
• Limitations of the Statement of Cash Flows
• Chapter 9: Financial Accounting Issues
• Reporting Changes in Owners’ Equity
• Recognizing Reasons for Accounting Differences
• Looking at a More Conservative Version of the Company’s Income Statement
• Explaining Differences
• Calculating Cost of Goods Sold Expense and Inventory Cost
• Recording Depreciation Expense
• Scanning the Revenue and Expense Radar Screen
• Using the Statement of Cash Flows as an Audit/Sanity Test
• Part 3: Understanding Financial Reports, Financial Statements, and Financial Information
• Chapter 10: Producing Financial Reports
• Quickly Reviewing the Theory of Financial Reporting
• Recognizing Top Management’s Role
• Keeping Current with Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards
• Making Sure Disclosure Is Adequate
• Putting a Spin on the Numbers (Short of Cooking the Books)
• Comparing Public and Private Companies
• Dealing with Information Overload
• Chapter 11: Deciphering a Financial Report
• Knowing the Rules of the Game
• Making Investment Choices
• Contrasting Reading Financial Reports of Private Versus Public Businesses
• Explaining the Role of MDORs and MD&As
• Frolicking through the Footnotes
• Checking Out the Auditor’s Report
• Chapter 12: Analyzing Financial Information with Ratios
• Understanding the Importance of Using Ratios to Digest Financial Statements
• Improving Your Knowledge of Financial Language and Lingo
• Starting with Sample Company Financial Statements
• Benchmark Financial Ratios: Financial Strength and Solvency
• Benchmark Financial Ratios: Financial Performance
• Making Time for Additional Ratios (If Needed)
• Chapter 13: Generating Internal Financial Information for Management Use
• Building on the Foundation of the External Financial Statements
• Distinguishing Internal and External Financial Statements
• Gathering Financial Condition Information
• Culling Profit Information
• Avoiding Rookie Mistakes
• Chapter 14: Applying Wall Street’s Tricks and Treats to Engineer Financial Results
• Knowing What Financial Engineering Is Not
• Defining What Financial Engineering Is
• Identifying Commonly Used “Tricks of the Trade”
• Manufacturing Imaginary Profits (and, Yes, Losses)
• Looking Out for Particular Trends and Terminology
• Part 4: Leveraging Accounting in Managing a Business
• Chapter 15: Analyzing Profit
• Helping Managers: The Fourth Pillar of Accounting
• Internal Profit Reporting
• Looking at Strategic Profit Analysis
• Taking a Closer Look at the Lines in the Profit Template
• Using the Profit Template for Decision-Making Analysis
• Tucking Away Some Valuable Lessons
• Chapter 16: Accounting for Costs
• Looking Down the Road to the Destination of Costs
• Are Costs Really That Important?
• Becoming More Familiar with Costs
• Assembling the Product Cost of Manufacturers
• Puffing Profit by Excessive Production
• Chapter 17: Preparing Best-in-Class Forecasts, Projections, and Budgets
• Focusing on Key Forecasting Concepts
• Putting Forecasting in Its Place
• Exploring Forecasting
• Increasing the Power of Your Forecasts
• Seeing a Financial Forecast in Action
• Rehashing the Value of Forecasts
• Chapter 18: Capitalizing a Business: How, When, Why, and What
• Identifying the Elements of a Business Plan
• Valuing Businesses: A Crash Course in the Basics
• Surveying Commonly Used Business Valuation Techniques
• Summarizing the Two Basic Types of Available Capital
• Taking a Deeper Dive into Raising Debt Capital
• Digging Further into the World of Equity Capital
• Raising Capital: Tips, Tidbits, and Traps
• Part 5: The Part of Tens
• Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Managers
• Reach Breakeven and Then Rake in Profit
• Set Sales Prices Right
• Don’t Confuse Profit and Cash Flow
• Call the Shots on Accounting Policies
• Prepare Accurate Forecasts and Projections
• Demand the Accounting Information You Want
• Tap into Your CPA’s Expertise
• Critically Review Your Controls over Employee Dishonesty and Fraud
• Lend a Hand in Preparing Your Financial Reports
• Speak about Your Financial Statements as a Pro
• Chapter 20: Ten Tips for Reading a Financial Report
• Get in the Right Frame of Mind
• Decide What to Read
• Improve Your Accounting Savvy
• Judge Profit Performance
• Test Earnings Per Share (EPS) against Change in Bottom Line
• Tackle Unusual Gains and Losses
• Check Cash Flow from Profit
• Look for Signs of Financial Distress
• Recognize the Possibility of Restatement and Fraud
• Remember the Limits of Financial Reports
• Index
• About the Authors
• Connect with Dummies
• End User License Agreement