Accounting Principles: A Business Perspective

Reviewed by Kim Johnson, Professor, Hutchinson Community College on 1/25/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a book that explains a variety of financial accounting concepts, then dabbles in managerial accounting concepts toward the end of the book. It appears to be a good reference guide for someone to learn about how accounting is used in the business world. For a beginner’s guide, the depth of knowledge is outstanding in this text. For example, quality management is a topic that can be found repeatedly in this text. Explanations for how the content can be used to improve business processes are beneficial to learning. The text also explains how all stakeholders in the business can benefit from accounting knowledge.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book appears to be accurate. I don’t see any areas of concern when it comes to accuracy.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The year 2010 is used in most of the exhibits. Sometimes a book loses credibility if it appears to be out of date, so the book could be updated to use 20XX to have the appearance of being up to date. The “Business Insight” areas of the text could lose relevance as companies leave the marketplace, but most appear to be currently relevant.

Clarity rating: 4

All exhibits are in black and white. I am not sure if this can be changed, but different colors of font or highlights might be appropriate when a new account or process is being displayed in the exhibit. The exhibits, however, seem to be very good and informational.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent from chapter to chapter, with objectives coming first, then moving into the content. Key terms, questions, exercises, problems, case questions and group problems come at the end of the chapter. I especially like the group problems. I have my students work in small groups almost every day, so these short, content-specific group ideas will be useful for face-to-face classes or online group discussions.

Modularity rating: 5

The content is organized and easy-to-read. Information is given in small chunks of information, with exhibits and real world examples mixed into the reading material. Each section has its own set of questions to check for knowledge.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of the text is similar to most accounting textbooks I have used in the past, except for there is an omission of partnerships as a separate topic. The reason for this omission is explained in the first chapter. The authors omitted partnerships after surveying users and nonusers of their text because many small business owners do not operate as partnerships, but rather LLCs. So this text focuses on sole proprietorships and LLCs and only briefly discusses partnerships. Otherwise, the main concepts and flow of the book are very similar to most accounting textbooks, beginning with sole proprietorships and discussing inventory, payroll, etc. The book then moves to corporations, and ends with a few managerial accounting topics.

Interface rating: 4

It is only available in pdf format. A teacher could still link to the pdf within an online course, but a website for the book would likely help students access the book. The chapter titles in the table of contents are hyperlinks. When clicked, they take the viewer straight to the content.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any grammatical issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Accounting is typically not a topic that needs cultural references. The book should not be offensive to any culture.

Reviewed by Bangjun Wu, Accounting Instructor, Peralta Community College District on 1/1/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book covers materials taught in Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting introductory courses. The table of contents contains links and can be clicked to reach specific sections. Key terms and excercises are provided at the end of each chapter. Concepts are explained clearly. There are also "ethical perspectives" and "uses of technology" sections throughout the chapters.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I sampled chapters to review. The book appear to be accurate and unbiased in the sections I reviewed.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The concepts and examples in this book are still very relevant and applicable as of 2019, although this book appear to be written in 2009. If possible please update "Salary potential of accountants" in Chapter 1. Also recommend evaluate new accounting pronouncements in the last decade to see if any updates needed in Chapter 5, "The Major Principles" section.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is written in accessible language and provides adequate context for accounting jargon/technical terminologies used.

Consistency rating: 5

Chapters follow consistent layouts, which makes it easier for students to follow.

Modularity rating: 5

The book is divided into smaller reading sections within chapters indicated with bold blue-colored headings. These smaller sections are also indexed in the table of contents.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is overall well organized in the flow of concepts. I do, however, feel that chapter 5 "Accounting Theory" as a single chapter may not be the most effective for students' learning purpose. Accurate and important as this chapter is, it is close to 40 pages of hard concepts. If the audience of this book is students who are just starting to learn accounting, this chapter may feel hard and dry. As an instrutor, I would highlight the revenue recoginition principle and matching principle in the section where I explain accounting transactions (chapter 2). As a textbook, i think it's more effective to list these concepts in high level within the first 3 chapters- not as a separate chapter, reference these concepts throughout the chapters wherever applicable, and maybe keep all the accounting theory section as an appendix.

Interface rating: 5

I didn't notice interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book appear to be grammatically correct.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive

Comments

Congratualtions on a book well-written! I appreciate the efforts the authors put into the creation of this book. I especially applaude the ethical discussions and "uses of technology" in the chapters.

Reviewed by Dr. Susan Weiss, Assistant Professor, Rhode Island College on 12/1/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook covers two semesters of accounting principles courses--both financial and managerial. Includes all the major requirements for covering asset, liability and equity accounts; in addition, covers CVP analysis, job costing, differential analysis, even simplified variance analysis and capital budgeting. Truly, for the access, it is solid coverage in a basic foundation for business students.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

In general, the book provides coverage in appropriate depth to support the needs of a first year accounting curriculum. In reviewing some of the aspects within the internal control chapter, for instance, there is appropriate emphasis on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as well as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The problems which support learning objectives are of adequate difficulty to challenge principles level students.
On page 93, noted "Trail balance" was indicated instead of "Trial balance."

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Overall, the basic theory of financial accounting changes incrementally over time, responding to new GAAP requirements as indicated. Noted were a few indications of SFASs originally numbered; a suggestion would be to include the equivalent Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) section as it has been in use for approximately a decade now. The Use of Technology sections are excellent examples of applicability which would pique interest in students of management information systems, data analysis, and finance as well as accounting. An update to replace The Limited as a subject company in the financial accounting area would be an enhancement.

Clarity rating: 5

The grammatical accuracy lends itself to the clarity presented. There is appropriate jargon employed when necessary. There is less depth in delving into reasons for overhead variances as an example. Certainly, the emphasis at the principles level is primarily on basic application and calculation. However, the basis is appropriate for building further complexity at the Intermediate and higher levels.

Consistency rating: 5

The text appropriately invokes the terminology required and maintains consistency throughout the text. This is especially critical when providing information regarding managerial accounting, which is a cumulative learning process. Although there is some terminology that is used that is not exact, it is much less the case than other textbooks I have used and reviewed.

Modularity rating: 5

There is potential for exclusion of chapters to conform to schedule requirements for a course, even if a different text is used for managerial or principles. Also, if there is a desire or need to exclude certain chapters the textbook provides that flexibility.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics within the book are sequentially arranged much like prominent texts within the discipline. The sequential presentation makes sense from a theoretical perspective, both in the financial and managerial sections.

Interface rating: 5

There are no noted interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Overall I found the book to be excellently written. Many textbooks today are written in quite colloquial language. Accounting is a discipline which requires compliance with regulations and principles as established by many agencies, governments, and conventionality. We must maintain and instill compliance among the student learners of today. To do so requires a specific level of vocabulary. This text exemplifies the appropriate level of grammar in which a professional would be expected to communicate.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Noted no issues with respect to culturally or socially sensitive topics.

Comments

There are a number of times in which accounting profession career opportunities, salaries, etc. are mentioned incrementally throughout the text. It is rather interesting to remind students of these facts during the course of their studies. The text also highlights the importance of certification, as well as the requirements. This is also refreshing as students may consider their future career path as they progress through the course and become acquainted with topics that interest them.
An improvement that would perhaps encourage adoption is the accompaniment of a MOOC-based homework manager for a small fee.

Reviewed by Colleen Everts, Associate Professor, Franklin College on 1/22/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text covers all appropriate content areas I would expect to find in a Principles textbook. The chapters mirror closely the current textbook I am using. I appreciate that the index is linked so you can click on the chapter you want and it will take you right there. The addition of a responsibility accounting chapter is my favorite topical area that is not always covered in traditional texts but is gaining traction.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not read all chapters thoroughly, however, what I did read was accurate and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is up-to-date and is arranged in a way in which updates would be easy to make. The emphasis on going outside the book and "surf the net" is practical and needed in today's world. The authors also include "ethical perspectives" throughout each chapter highlighting the importance of integrity and honesty and asks the reader to think about what they would do.

Clarity rating: 3

The text itself is clear, however some pages are completely text and do not include pictures, graphics, breaks, color etc... While the content is clear to me I fear that my students would struggle jumping into this book. The introduction and first chapter cover too much material and include too much accounting jargon so my students would feel overwhelmed. I like the review section at the end of the chapter that reiterates, again, the main points of the chapter in a slightly different way adding another layer of clarity for the reader.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent from chapter to chapter and follows GAAP while referencing IFRS. Each chapter has the same structure making it easy for students to get in the flow.

Modularity rating: 4

The text is easily divisible, however the chapter contents are not clearly broken into learning objectives as stated at the beginning of each chapter. To be clear the content is broken up that way, just not labelled. It would be fairly easy to divide the content, it would just take a little more work to find the right page.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This text is organized in a logical manner consistent with other accounting textbooks. The text includes links in the index to the content making it easier to maneuver.

Interface rating: 5

I did not find any issues with the display of the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any major grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find the text be culturally insensitive. The examples use a variety of company names and pronouns.

Comments

I am thankful to have the option to use a free textbook in my classes. Tuition rates and student-debt continue to rise so any chance I have to cut the cost for my students removes a barrier to their success. I am hesitant to use this specific text in my class because the overall appeal is uninviting as well the overwhelming amount of information included in the first few chapters. I plan to look at other options or incorporate pieces of free texts into my class even just as supplemental material.

Reviewed by Mike Matousek, Instructor, Portland Community College - Portland OR on 8/2/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book was comprehensive and covered a wide breadth of topics. There was an extensive table of contents but no index or glossary provided. The comprehensiveness of the book actually was a bit of a negative from my perspective because the on-ramp for students new to the subject was too steep, and I think my students would really struggle with being able to understand the material as deeply as it was presented almost from the very beginning of this text.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not notice any errors or biases in the content of the text. Examples and case studies seemed appropriate and correctly laid out and explained.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

It seemed like the content was appropriately up to date and examples were relevant. The only thing that I noticed, and it may be a bit nit-picky, is that some really out of date years were used in the text as part of problems and examples. The oldest that I saw referred to 2009, which I guess isn't too bad but I'm used to seeing 201X as the year in the texts I regularly use.

Clarity rating: 3

Clarity of the text was OK. I thought the problems and examples were very well done but I did have a problem with the pacing of the material especially in the first few chapters. If these were early level accounting students I think they would have been lost in the first 3 chapters due to the complexity of the concepts introduced early in the text.

Consistency rating: 5

This appeared to be done well and I did not notice any inconsistencies.

Modularity rating: 5

The text read a lot like the texts I am currently using from major publishers. I thought the modularity of the text was probably its best feature as I found it easy to read, broken up well into sections with ample examples and sidebars. Very well done in my opinion.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

This was not terrible, but as I've already noted I thought the flow was off in the early chapters. It seemed too complex in the latter part of chapter 1 and through all of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3. After that point it seemed to settle into a better pattern in terms of the flow, but by then I think many of my students would have been totally lost.

Interface rating: 5

It looked like a very professionally laid out text and I did not notice anything in it that distracted or confused me in any way.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any grammatical errors but admittedly I was skimming the material and not closely searching for them.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is not culturally insensitive. I did not notice a specific attempt to include a variety of backgrounds, although that can be somewhat difficult to include in accounting problems/scenarios without it seeming very forced. I thought the text was fine in this area.

Comments

I really enjoyed reading through this text. It was my first look at any open source material and I was surprised and impressed by the level of professionalism. I would not choose to use this book for my particular classes because of the complexity of the early "ramp-up" chapters, but I thought the problems, examples and overall layout of the material was excellent. It was far better than I expected and I look forward to reviewing and potentially using open source material in my classes in the future.