Very Short Introductions: Accounting

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Christopher Nobes is Professor of Accounting at Royal Holloway College, University of London. He is also Professor of Accounting at the University of Sydney and Adjunct Professor of Accounting at the Norwegian Business School. He has written several popular works in the area of Accounting including Pocket Accounting: The Essentials of Accounting from A to Z (4th ed Economist Books, 2001) and the Dictionary of Accounting (Penguin, 2002).

Accounting: A Very Short Introduction introduces terms like debits, pre-tax income and goodwill. Christopher Nobes covers all of the basic concepts of accounting and examines the main areas of accounting work, such as bookkeeping, financial reporting, auditing, and management accounting. If you read the business pages of a newspaper or if you listen to the financial news on the television or radio, you will often hear terms such as liability, balance sheet or earnings. These terms turn up in non-financial contexts as well: he was more of a liability than an asset. If you invest in shares, have a building society account, or sit on a committee of the property company which owns your apartment block, you will receive financial statements every year. If you are a manager in a company, a hospital or a school, you will see accounting information often. This Very Short Introduction provides a guide to understanding and using accounting information. Christopher Nobes explains the main areas of accounting work, from bookkeeping and financial reporting to auditing and management accounting. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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