Principles of Accounting Volume 1 Financial Accounting

Reviewed by Dave Jordan, Instructor, Northeastern Illinois University on 4/29/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Principles of Accounting Volume 1 is comprehensive and covers all elements of a typical introductory accounting course. The text goes deep into certain areas and only touches the surface on others. The text sometimes takes a multi-pass approach to explain a topic. In Chapter 2 - the text provides an introduction to the financial statements and then builds on it in Chapter 3. I have seen this in other textbooks. My desired approach is show an income statement with operating income / other / tax / EPS; show a statement of owners equity with dividends. Chapter 3 is great. I love that expenses are explained using the house of GAAP. Nice touch. I would have introduced a compare and contrast of expenses to assets in Chapter 3. In recording JEs in Chapter 3; I would have preferred less transactions and the T-Account to be illustrated earlier. JE, A=L+E; T-account, then end with TB and F/S.

So as it relates to comprehensiveness - It's there; sometimes over-explained with words (like trying to show both perpetual and periodic inventory methods simultaneously (why??)) / underexplained (like in Chapter 2) / but mostly topics are explained, and are sufficiently covered

Some chapters are not organized naturally (e.g. AIS.) The student is learning about inventory and then immediately accounting information systems in the next chapter. I like the content in the chapter but either early on as a basis for understanding tools that accountants use or at the end. In teaching from this book - I would be forced to skip chapters and introduce chapters out of order. There are too many chapters (provides options for instruction who emphasize certain chapters over others) but a concern is the way the text is constructed.

In Summary - the book is comprehensive. I rate it a 4 out of 5 as in very good.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Principles of Accounting Volume 1 is highly accurate. I do think there are some issues with immaterial items like re-naming titles of sections (e.g. 1.3 Describes Typical Accounting Activities and the Role Accountants Play in Identifying, Recording, and Reporting Financial Activities to "Types of Organizations: as it appears to me as this section is mis-titled), but more importantly when the text defines elements of revenues and expenses it defines these elements over multiple chapters; and the earlier chapters (Chapter 2) is actually materially incomplete. The text provides an introductory definition and then provides a better definition in later chapters. Just define it correctly, once? When the text simplifies a definition - the text approaches misleading the student into an understanding of an element that is incorrect. Another example of this is the first pass (introduction) of the statement of cash flows. It is not wrong but it does not show a statement of cash flows, it's elements, or its purpose. I would show a more complete statement and let the instructor simplify the illustration.

The text is accurate and comprehensive. I gave it a 4/5 as in very accurate. Many items, I can teach directly from the text by only using the text. Accurate and clearly presented.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Principles of Accounting Volume 1 is mostly an outline of accounting rules that have been around for a long time; won't change; and will be relevant for the foreseeable future. There are some changes (e.g. analytics) that changing the way accountants work. The text does have material in Chapter 7 (e.g. 7.1 storing data) that may need to be addressed as technology changes and/or might make it obsolete, but I don't see a way around this. AIS is an important topic and is a basic tool. It needs to be explain now even though the tools are evolving quickly to be cloud based and app based.

Overall the relevance of this text is up to date that will not quickly become obsolete (depending in part on technology changes in the near future).

Clarity rating: 3

Principles of Accounting Volume 1 could be presented much more concisely, more simply; and with better clarity. Certain chapters could be explained with less words, although I love the picture selections (e.g. Capone); certain chapters could be partially eliminated (i.e. Chapter 2 and explanation of periodic and perpetual inventory methods at the same time; certain chapters break continuity (e.g.AIS); and certain chapters could be completely eliminated (e.g. Chapter 14 accounting for corporations, which is outlined in each chapter before). These suggestions would improve clarity from the student learning perspective and process.

The text could provide a general introduction to accounting (tasks, profession, and regulation) in a more clear approach.

I gave the text 3/5 as being both accessible prose and inaccessible (confusing) prose, adequate content and inadequate content. It is a sold text book that would require significant modification and adaptation to work for me.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework. The approach used by the authors through each chapter is consistent.

Modularity rating: 3

The text is divisible into smaller reading sections but not easily. Some content as presented is confusion so my approach would be to reframe it and not use it. Some content is too wordy but that is easily remedied by paraphrasing and summarizing (making it fine for modularity)

Overall the text is fine (3/5) but not great.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The chapters could be more progressive building off of each other better. As a storyboard - the profession / the users / the systems (AIS) / The tasks (journal entries from start to finish (adjusting and closing) /Trial Balance / Financial Statements.

The text, however, took a curvy approach to the explanation of the topic, but not unlike other textbooks. Overall it wasn't great but it was typical and above average. I could use this textbook with modifications and content selectiveness (some content needs expounding / some needs modification / some needs elimination) and chapters don't work as presented for me.

Interface rating: 5

The text navigation was straight forward. The chapters might be distracting or require modification but the interface was straight-forward. The pictures (images and graphs) were great! Really brings the student into the objective of the chapter/unit.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I am not the best judge - but to me the book was overly wordy in some sections - did not have any grammatical issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is professional and inclusive.

Comments

Overall the text is usable, informative, and complete. I would rate it a 3.8/5 rounding to a 4 as better than average but the text could use some work for my preferences. Accounting is difficult enough on its own - and no book is a complete instruction manual; so my preference would be to create an environment that outlines in a clear simple approach the profession / tasks (recording and reporting) / and the governance (regulations) of the profession.

Reviewed by Jennifer Sherman, Associate Professor, Bunker Hill Community College on 3/15/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book covers all the basics and starts with the foundations, what is accounting, the steps of accounting and thru the various parts of the balance sheet. Each chapter includes a section with the appropriate ratio, an important part of linking financial accounting to managerial accounting to finance

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not find any glaring errors

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The accounting field changes almost annually so it's difficult to say all content is 'up to date'. It is current up to it's publishing date (2019) so it will need to be updated soon

Clarity rating: 4

It flows as much as possible given that many of the terms are so particular to the industry

Consistency rating: 5

Very consistent!

Modularity rating: 4

As it's laid out, it can be subdivided. I do think the first 2 chapters could be combined but overall it looks easy to divide up

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

It flows well - or at least how I organize my classes.

Interface rating: 1

There seems to be no interface with Moodle or any online homework/testing that competitors (e.g. McGraw Hill) has. Also seems limited in student resources (e.g. videos) and the instructor resources are pathetic compared to other cometitors

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn't see any grammar issues but I'm also not an English teacher!

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Given the topic, there is little cultural impact/sensitivity. Given that this is for US based accounting for business, including international perspectives in any kind of great detail would just add to confusion and dilute the learning. Mention it yes, go into detail , no.

Comments

While I think this book is quite adequate, the lack of instructor and student resources makes it less desirable. The lack of an online homework/testing component would also prevent me from using the book.

Reviewed by Michael Griffin, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on 11/8/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book covers all the same topics that I would cover in an Accounting I course.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As an OpenStax book, it has gone through QA procedures and reviews and it also appears to me to be accurate and error-free.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

It has a 2019 copyright and is up-to-date with current financial accounting fundamentals. I do think that in its next update, some consideration should be given to the evolution of the CPA exam and the emphasis on data analytics. Also, some problem-solving with MS Excel would be a nice addition to the text.

Clarity rating: 5

The writing is clear and concise. Accounting does have a lot of specialize language/vocabulary and the book does a nice job with that.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

The sections of the text make it possible to assign various modules and to stop and lecture and problem solve based on those sections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are organized along the same lines as best-selling financial accounting textbooks.

Interface rating: 5

This interface is effective, navigation of the ebook is easy and intuitive, and all tables and figures seem to load correctly and make sense.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I see now grammatical errors in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

OpenStax does a good job of working an editorial process that eliminates any culturally insensitive content.

Comments

One concern that I have with any accounting textbook is whether there will be a homework system that the students can benefit from and that makes grading homework an easy process. With the books that I use in my courses (McGraw-Hill, Wiley, and Pearson), I rely heavily on the LMS platforms that the publisher provides. I could be wrong, but I did not see evidence of that in this text. Of course, I could create such a homework system with our university's blackboard system but it would be a great deal of work, especially if a robust and comprehensive (content) system was created. Again, if I missed that type of technology and content, I apologize. I do know that Blackboard cartridges are available but those do not usually offer the same kind of homework that I am looking for whereby students complete worksheets, journal entries, ledgers, financial statements, and even MS Excel-like work and it is all graded by the system. Students in a financial course need lots of hands-on work - learning by doing and grading all that manually, is an impossible task because of other demands on faculty time.

Reviewed by Sayan Sarkar, Assistant Professor, University of Mary Washington on 7/8/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

With respect to comprehensiveness- the text book is very comprehensive. It also includes a section on Time value of Money which is a very important section in financial accounting.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text-book is accurate and I did not find any error. As per my understanding, I did not find any bias.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The test is consistent. Updating the book should not be a difficult. Just by revising the examples, the book can be easily updated. I do see the book to be relevant for a long time.

Clarity rating: 4

For the most most part the book is clear. Though combining a few chapters can really help. This is a one semester class and covering 16 chapters can be a lot. Combing chapter 1 and 2 and combining chapter 12 and 13 can reduce the number of chapters from 16 to 14. Also financial statement analysis is an integral part of financial accounting, I suggest introducing ratios to respective chapter where they are more relevant. For examples introduce inventory management ratios in the chapters that deals with inventory.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is consistent with respect to terminology.

Modularity rating: 5

Overall the chapters can be easily divided into smaller parts.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

For the most part the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion. Though I suggest, moving Chapter 10 Inventory after Chapter 6 Merchandising Transactions makes more sense. Chapter 6 and Chapter 10 are both related to inventory management and moving chapter 10 to chapter 7 makes the flow much better.

Interface rating: 3

This is a place where the book can use some some help. For examples creating some more images/charts to explain the accounting equation and transactional analysis can really help with the understanding,

Grammatical Errors rating: 1

I did not find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 1

As this is mostly a quantitative subject, issue of culture is not really relevant. But the examples that are used seemed very inclusive and there is no cultural in-sensitiveness.

Reviewed by Cheryl Kline, Online Faculty/Instructor, Trine University on 6/23/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook covers all areas that I would expect to see in an Accounting 1 course. There are many examples presented that make the material easier
for accounting and non-accounting students to understand. The book contains an index. There are also PowerPoint slides that include selected graphics from the text, key concepts and definitions, examples, and discussion questions. The index is an in-depth glossary of terms used throughout the book,, and also states which chapter and subsection the term is used.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book is accurate, error-free and unbiased. The book complies with the current accounting rules and regulations. OpenStax updates these textbooks on a regular basis, so there is no worry about using an outdated textbook for your classes. The principles of GAAP which pertain to accounting consistency, transparency and ethics are followed. There were no errors found during my review. I did not note or sense any bias throughout the book.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The students love not having to purchase a book. Instructors can rely on up-to-date accounting information, but unlike purchased publisher textbooks, these are not replaced every other year. Any significant accounting changes will be updated and the examples will not be outdated.

Clarity rating: 5

This book is specifically designed for both accounting and non-accounting majors, explaining the core concepts of accounting in familiar ways to students. Each chapter opens with a relatable real-life scenario for today’s college student to build a strong foundation that is applicable across many aspects of business.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistency in the terminology and framework was prevalent throughout the textbook. The accounting framework is used consistently to measure, recognize, present, and disclose the information appearing in financial statements.

Modularity rating: 5

The modularity is consistent throughout the book. Each chapter is divided into subsections that may be individually assigned if that is more appropriate for a class than assigning the entire chapter. For example, a chapter on Fraud, Internal Controls, and Cash has seven subsections; one on Petty Cash and another one on Bank Reconciliations. If you want to concentrate on one or more of these topics rather than the entire chapter, it is very easy to do. This also makes the reading more comprehensive and easier for the students who cannot finish the reading assignment at one time.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in a logical and clear fashion. The chapters build on one another and flow from one to the other effortlessly.

Interface rating: 4

The book's is basically free of interface issues. The book has a detailed chapter of contents and an index with an alphabetized glossary. The images and charts are simple and easy to read and understand. There didn't seem to be any display features that would distract the normal reader. There was an issue with the embedded charts and graphs. These are not acceptable for the reading impaired, and it was necessary to retype them when using them for assignments. It would also be great to have page numbers included for students using the online version of the book. Page numbers are sometimes used in OER classes to direct students to the correct assignment.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There were no grammatical errors found in my review.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There were no culturally insensitive or offensive words, phrases, or references observed. It would be advisable to include examples for races, ethnicities', and inclusive backgrounds.

Comments

I would recommend this book for use in accounting classrooms. There is also a second book, Principles of Accounting 2, which concentrates on management accounting.

Reviewed by Dianne Poulos, Adjunct Professor, Bunker Hill Community College on 6/30/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook provides a thorough overview of the accounting system. It delves quite a bit into the "why" of accounting which is sometimes glossed over in favor of mechanics in other texts.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

No errors were encountered in my review.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The life examples are drawn from companies which are relevant and understandable to students today.

Clarity rating: 4

Looking at this from the context of a non-native English speaker, some of the language or vocabulary would be difficult to comprehend. Words such as ancillary even though explained later, might turn off a reader who already struggles with the language.

Consistency rating: 5

There is much consistency between the chapters in terms of how they are structured. Terminology is consistent as well.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter is broken into smaller, easily digested sections. Although chapters 1-5 must be presented in sequential order since we are discussing a sequence of events in an accounting cycle, the others can easily be moved around in terms of order presented.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The illustrations are particularly helpful. Also, really liked how debits and credits are brought into the discussion of the accounting equation early. Other texts have the instructor teaching to the equation and then introducing the concept of debits and credits. This creates a lot of confusion in some of the students.

Interface rating: 5

Interface was great.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors detected.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not detect any. However, as a straight, white woman, I might not be as sensitive to the issues.

Comments

This is a good, solid textbook. There are many exercises and problems for students to use in the application of the material. The "Think it Through" sections in the chapter will provide some good fodder for discussion. I'm always looking for a way to not be lecturing but discussing. These open framework hypotheticals do the trick. Real life examples are presented in a way that most students have encountered in their life. This has been the way I've been teaching and this book will be a good resource to further enhance my lectures.

Reviewed by William Holmes, Instructor, LSUE on 4/15/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers all the important aspects that should be covered in the introduction to financial accounting. The text covers an overview of accounting information systems which I have not seen in textbooks I've used. It looks like the content is solid and comprehensive.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The information contained in the book is accurate and inline with what would be expected from an introduction to financial accounting textbook.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The topics covered in the book are relevant. I've used two textbooks for my course in the last five years and the information is comparable.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is clearly written.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The book is split into appropriate parts. This book did introduce financial statements and how to prepare them early than other books I've reviewed; however, I see how this can assist the student in understanding how financial statements are useful in business and how they can be used before getting into the weeds of details on analyzing accounts. As noted, I like the fact they are introducing accounting information systems which is an important topic.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Please refer to the previous comment, the book is well organized and consistent with other books that I have reviewed on the subject matter.

Interface rating: 5

The book interfaced well. There did not appear to be any problem with navigation or other displays such as charts and graphs.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were noted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is straight forward and focused on the subject of financial accounting. It was no insensitive in any way.

Comments

After reviewing the book, and the accompanying resources I will consider adopting it for use in my classes. If not as a primary resource, I will recommend the source as an additional reading option for my students.

Reviewed by Darin Bell, Business Instructor, Treasure Valley Community College on 1/4/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook has all of the content that I cover with the publisher textbook that I have used for the past 6 years.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have not used this test yet for an actual course but in my initial review I did not find any errors in the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This text includes some very relevant information about careers in accounting. I did not see a tie-in with data analysis which would have been nice but there are other ways to integrate this in to a course.

Clarity rating: 5

This textbook uses of T-accounts and diagrams to make the concepts become clearer for students. For a fee there are also videos through the OpenStax app.

Consistency rating: 5

This text is written in a single voice and allows for consistency through out the entire textbook. The types of graphics and the language that provides structure is also the same throughout the entire book.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter has subunits and it would be possible to remove or skip some of the units and there learning objectives because they are all numbered and ordered.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

This text lays out the basic accounting foundation in the first five chapters. The publisher book I have used does it in 4 chapters. Having more chapters is a plus especially if your student struggle with the basic concepts. I wish that the chapters on merchandising and inventory were back-to-back. I will flip these when I use the book in my class to provide more continuity for these concepts. All of the other chapters are in a logical order.

Interface rating: 5

There are many format options that are common to OpenStax textbooks that make this book a very accessible and usable book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

In my limited review I did not find any grammatical errors. I have not used this text yet in a course. Upon using it in a course I suspect any errors will surface.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find any culturally insensitive or offensive content in this textbook.

Comments

I am excited to use this textbook in my courses this next year. I plan on creating my own videos and exam problems to expand the course. I will also create a Canvas course that I am will to share.

Reviewed by Andrew Hartzler, Professor of Accounting, Goshen College on 7/15/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is perhaps the most comprehensive text I have seen for financial accounting. For those who are familiar with Financial Accounting, the index and glossary are sufficiently detailed. The fact that the text is so comprehensive is both a positive and a negative. It is positive in the sense that it has essentially every topic that you may want to cover in an introductory course. For newer instructors however it may be a bit daunting to distill the content down to what is most essential to cover in an introductory course. The text has some content that is more relevant to courses such as Accounting Information Systems, Financial Management, and Intermediate Accounting. An experienced instructor can recognize this and use the necessary elements for a principles course whereas for a new instructor the content is too extensive to cover in a single semester long course and would potentially overwhelm them. If an instructor's principles course contained only students who quickly and easily understood accounting concepts, then it would be possible to touch on such a wide variety of concepts in an introductory course. However, most principles courses contain business majors and other non-accounting majors who would struggle with the pace required to cover so much material.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I noticed a few typo-graphical errors but overall the text is well-written and accurate. I noticed no specific bias in the writing or examples.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Basic accounting concepts have not changed for a long time. For that reason, open source texts such as this one should be more widely used. The small incremental changes made in the basic structure of accounting do not warrant the frequent new editions that publishers try to push through. The only elements that would need to be updated may be the dates after a period of time so that they are more current and perhaps a few of the examples. The basic accounting elements however will not become obsolete and will remain relevant for the foreseeable future.

Clarity rating: 4

This text is very well-written. It contains excellent explanations of concepts such as the differences/similarities between revenue and gains. The primary issue I see with the text (as with other financial accounting texts) is how quickly it assumes students understand concepts of revenues/expenses, the function of accounts, and cash vs. accrual accounting. For those very familiar with accounting, the ordering of the concepts in financial accounting textbooks seems to make sense. However, if one takes a step back and thinks about what students might be struggling with, one can quickly see how fast these texts expect students to make leaps in their understanding. An example of this (which is common to most financial accounting texts) is the introduction of financial statements in chapter two before students fully grasp what the elements reflected on the financial statements represent. It is critical to spend enough time with students making sure that they understand how the basic accounting system works (revenues, expenses, accounts, cash and accrual basis) before they can make full use of the subsequent accounting concepts that are presented.

Consistency rating: 5

The structure of the book is consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is sufficiently modular in format to be easily reorganized and realigned.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics follow a clear, logical order. The only exceptions are chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 1 presents a broad overview of accounting which is common in financial accounting texts. What is included is fairly logical, but I find that topics such as retail businesses vs. service businesses and the difference between lenders/creditors/stockholders are more meaningfully included later in the text when the instructor is dealing directly with the accounting elements that illustrate the differences between these topics. As I mentioned previously, chapter 2 makes the assumption that students already grasp at this early stage what revenues and expenses are and the differences between cash and accrual accounting.

Interface rating: 5

The interface is clean and easy to follow.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I noticed a few typo-graphical errors but overall the text is well-written grammatically.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not notice any cultural insensitivity. I noted a variety of inclusive examples.