Many small business owners who did not take accounting classes in college are stumped by managing their finances. Even if you hire a qualified accountant and bookkeeper, you will still need to know how to read and interpret the reports and statements they provide to you. What is a balance sheet, and what does it show me about my business? What statistics do shareholders need to know? How can I make the most of my cash flow? These are all valid concerns, and you deserve simple, easy to understand answers.

In my book, The Layman’s Guide to Understanding Financial Statements, I will teach you all about what you need to know to read, analyze, create, and understand various financial statements. To be a competent and successful business owner, you will need to know what to do with these forms and how best to utilize them for your business’s financial health.

If you are a business owner or manager, this book will help you handle your duties effectively. This book may also be used by accounting students who wish to sharpen their practical accounting skills. From the start to the end, we use a practical approach to elaborating on every aspect of financial statements. We have used examples, images, and screenshots to help you conceptualize how all the statements are prepared.

To help you understand financial statements and even prepare them, we have simplified this book. You should not expect technical accounting terms or calculations within the book. The book breaks accounting in simple small chunks that are easy to understand for all.

In this book, we have covered four main sections. The introductory section mainly focuses on new terms you will encounter in the book. To help you understand the book well, we look at some accounting terms and explain them in the simplest way possible.

In the second section of the book, we introduce you to financial statements. Before you start preparing any financial statements, you should know what they are. The book gives you a snippet of each of the important financial statements. We look at what each financial statement is used for and how important it is to the business. We also have a look at the general use of each financial statement and help you understand the benefits of each statement to your business.

In the third section of the book, we focus on the preparation and analysis of financial statements. This section forms the core of the book and provides a detailed look at how financial statements are arrived at. For each of the financial statements, we provide the easiest ways of preparation and analysis. We introduce you to financial ratios that are used to analyze financial statements, too.

Lastly, we look at the mistakes that could occur in accounting. As a manager or the owner of a business, you should always be on the lookout to avoid making mistakes. You should also be keen to detect any errors that may occur within financial statements. In the last section of the book, we look at some precautions you could take to seal loopholes. Most accountants and bookkeepers look for loopholes to steal the resources of the business. You must put in place regulations that can control leakage of company resources. We look at how you can spot errors within financial statements and try to resolve them before they develop into a full-blown financial crisis.

Be sure to click "Buy" to add this title to your business analytics reference library so you can be a better, more informed business owner.