Maire Loughran, CPA, is a ­certified public accountant and small business owner with more than 25 years of experience in accounting and financial reporting. She is the author of several For Dummies titles including Auditing For Dummies and Intermediate Accounting For ­Dummies.

Introduction 1

Part 1: Getting a Financial Accounting Initiation 5

Chapter 1: Seeing the Big Picture of Financial Accounting 7

Chapter 2: Introducing the Big Three Financial Statements 23

Chapter 3: Running the Numbers for Success 37

Chapter 4: Acronym Alert! Setting the Standards for Financial Accounting 55

Part 2: Reviewing Some Accounting Basics 69

Chapter 5: Booking It: The Process Behind Financial Accounting 71

Chapter 6: Focusing on Accounting Methods and Concepts 93

Part 3: Spending Quality Time with the Balance Sheet 103

Chapter 7: Assessing the Balance Sheet's Asset Section 105

Chapter 8: Digging for Debt in the Liabilities Section 121

Chapter 9: Letting Owners Know Where They Stand: The Equity Section 137

Part 4: Investigating Income and Cash Flow 149

Chapter 10: Searching for Profit or Loss on the Income Statement 151

Chapter 11: Following the Money by Studying Cash Flow 173

Chapter 12: Examining Deprecition Cost Flow Assumptions 189

Chapter 13: Learning about Inventory Cost Flow Assumptions 205

Part 5: Analyzing the Financial Statements 219

Chapter 14: Using Ratios and Other Tools 221

Chapter 15: Got Your Dictionary Ready? Reading Explanatory Notes and Disclosures 237

Chapter 16: Studying the Report to the Shareholders 255

Part 6: Feeling Brave? Tackling More Advanced Financial Accounting Topics 269

Chapter 17: Accounting for Emerging Issues 271

Chapter 18: Accounting for Income Taxes 293

Chapter 19: Accounting for Leases 305

Chapter 20: Reporting Changes in Methods and the Correction of Errors 317

Part 7: The Part of Tens 331

Chapter 21: Ten Industries with Special Accounting Standards 333

Chapter 22: Ten Accounting Career Opportunities. 343

Index 353