| More Than a Numbers Game: A Brief History of Accounting Contributor(s): King, Thomas A. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0470008733 ISBN-13: 9780470008737 Publisher: Wiley OUR PRICE: $32.36 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: September 2006 Annotation: Praise for MORE THAN A NUMBERS GAME "More Than a Numbers Game is a revelatory history of how accounting conventions have shaped business reality, for good and ill." "Mr. King's book should be of interest to both those who have lived through the accounting debates and debacles of the past half century and those just beginning their business careers. By focusing on a dozen or so major developments, particularly those with negative consequences, the book helps explain why good financial information is so critical to capital markets. Equal doses of insight and humor make this an easy-to-read, but hard-to-forget summary of an important business topic." "More Than a Numbers Game is a must-read for accounting students looking for a supplement to traditional textbooks. It offers a business perspective to accounting, providing readers with a holistic overview of taxes, cost accounting, regulation, as well as more traditional financial reporting topics." "Tom King provides even the non-accountant a fascinating look at how accounting rules and practices have evolved into the way corporations are valued today. He is particularly effective in analyzing the 'earnings game' and the growing role of intangible assets in the valuation process." "Tom King takes a very important topic in today's world, accounting, and puts itinto a perspective that sheds an entirely new light on the importance of accounting and the intrinsic shortcomings of the profession. Whether you use GAAP accounting, do quarterly earnings, or are a private company, there is more than meets the eye to the accounting profession. King's book is an invaluable piece of work to demystify what tends to be a mystery." |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Business & Economics | Accounting - General - Business & Economics | Finance - General |
| Dewey: 657.097 |
| LCCN: 2005037200 |
| Series: Wiley Finance |
| Physical Information: 0.91" H x 6.4" W x 9.12" (0.97 lbs) 256 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The world certainly suffers no shortage of accounting texts. The many out there help readers prepare, audit, interpret and explain corporate financial statements. What has been missing is a book offering context and discussion for divisive issues such as taxes, debt, options, and earnings volatility. King addresses the why of accounting instead of the how, providing practitioners and students with a highly readable history of U.S. corporate accounting. More Than a Numbers Game: A Brief History of Accounting was inspired by Arthur Levitt's landmark 1998 speech delivered at New York University. The Securities and Exchange Commission chairman described the too-little challenged custom of earnings management and presaged the breakdown in the US corporate accounting three years later. Somehow, over a one-hundred year period, accounting morphed from a tool used by American railroad managers to communicate with absent British investors into an enabler of corporate fraud. How this happened makes for a good business story. This book is not another description of accounting scandals. Instead it offers a history of ideas. Each chapter covers a controversial topic that emerged over the past century. Historical background and discussion of people involved give relevance to concepts discussed. The author shows how economics, finance, law and business customs contributed to accounting's development. Ideas presented come from a career spent working with accounting information. |
