Financial Accounting [antikvár]

Preface Financial Accounting is designed to be used in the first-year accounting course that covers either one or two quarters or one semester. It presumes that the student has had no previous exposure to accounting. Because of this book's organizational flexibility, it can be used in either undergraduate or graduate introductory courses. This book is based upon two premises. First, knowledge of accounting is important for all members of today's complex economy, whether they are in industry, government, or professional accountancy. As such, this book is written to meet the needs of the general student as well as those who are prospective accounting majors. Second, accounting is an interesting subject, and we believe that the time spent in learning its concepts and practices can be enjoyable. As a result, this book is presented in a highly readable and conversational style that will appeal to those students who often enter introductory accounting with a measure of trepidation. In designing and writing this textbook, we were well aware that it must meet the needs of a wide range of students with varying interests and goals. Potential accounting majors must have a solid foundation in accounting concepts and practices that will enable them to complete successfully their major requirements. Other business majors, as well as nonbusiness majors, must be introduced to accounting concepts and practices in such a way that they can apply this knowledge to their various careers. To meet the needs of this diverse group, we have chosen the goal that all students should be able to read, understand, and reasonably interpret financial statements contained in annual reports of major companies after completing their study of this text. The authors believe that accounting is an interesting as well as an essential topic. To complete successfully their first accounting courses, students spend many hours reading the text and preparing class materials. We have gone to considerable lengths to make this process interesting and enjoyable. There are extensive quotes from business journals such as Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, as well as many excerpts from actual financial statements and annual reports, to add realism and spark student interest. The financial statements of Safeway Stores, Incorporated, are used as an integrating force throughout the text. In addition, we demonstrate whenever possible the usefulness of specific accounting techniques to further motivate study. This book has several features that aid student learning and understanding. Such features include (1) balance between theory and practice; (2) emphasis on the use of