ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE for Non-Specialists
This text provides an introduction to accounting and finance. It is aimed primarily at students who are not majoring in accounting or finance but who are, nevertheless, studying introductory level accounting and finance as part of their course in business, economics, hospitality management, tourism, engineering or some other area. Students who are majoring in either accounting or finance should, however, find the book useful as an introduction to the main principles, which can serve as a foundation for further study. The text does not focus on the technical aspects, but rather examines the basic principles and underlying concepts, and the ways in which accounting statements and financial information can be used to improve the quality of decision making. To support this practical approach, there are, throughout the text, numerous illustrative extracts with commentary from company reports, survey data and other sources. The text is written in an ‘open-learning’ style. This means that there are numerous integrated activities, worked examples and questions throughout the text to help you to understand the subject fully. You are expected to interact with the material and to check your progress continuously in a way not typically found in textbooks. Irrespective of whether you are using the book as part of a taught course or for personal study, we have found that this approach is more ‘user-friendly’ and makes it easier for you to learn. We recognise that most of you will not have studied accounting or finance before, and we have therefore tried to write in a concise and accessible style, minimising the use of technical jargon. We have also tried to introduce topics gradually, explaining everything as we go. Where technical terminology is unavoidable we try to provide clear explanations. In addition, you will find all the key terms highlighted in the text, and then listed at the end of each chapter with a page reference to help you rapidly revise the main techniques and concepts. All these key terms are also listed alphabetically with a concise definition in the glossary towards the end of the book, so providing a convenient and single point of reference from which to revise. A further important consideration in helping you to understand and absorb the topics covered is the design of the text itself. The page layout and colour scheme have been carefully considered to allow for the easy navigation and digestion of material. The layout features a large page format, an open design, and clear signposting of the various features and assessment material.
Preface
xiv
How to use this book
We have organised the chapters to reflect what we consider to be a logical sequence and, for this reason, we suggest that you work through the text in the order in which it is presented. We have tried to ensure that earlier chapters do not refer to concepts or terms that are not explained until a later chapter. If you work through the chapters in the ‘wrong’ order, you will probably encounter concepts and terms that were explained previously. Irrespective of whether you are using the book as part of a lecture/tutorial-based course or as the basis for a more independent mode of study, we advocate following broadly the same approach.
Integrated assessment material
Interspersed throughout each chapter are numerous Activities. You are strongly advised to attempt all these questions. They are designed to simulate the sort of quick-fire questions that your lecturer might throw at you during a lecture or tutorial. Activities serve two purposes:
n to give you the opportunity to check that you have understood what has been covered so far; n to encourage you to think about the topic just covered, either to see a link between that topic and others with which you are already familiar, or to link the topic just covered to the next.
The answer to each Activity is provided immediately after the question. This answer should be covered up until you have deduced your solution, which can then be compared with the one given. Towards the middle/end of each chapter, except for Chapter 1, there is a Selfassessment question. This is more comprehensive and demanding than any of the activities, and is designed to give you an opportunity to check and apply your understanding of the core coverage of the chapter. The solution to each of these questions is provided at the end of the book. As with the activities, it is important that you attempt each question thoroughly before referring to the solution. If you have difficulty with a self-assessment question you should go over the chapter again.
