Length: 1 day

Description: To run a business, numbers must be taken into account and factored into everyday decision-making, both major and minor. Understanding the numbers associated with day-to-day operations is no longer just the domain of the finance and accounting departments–everyone from lower-level staff to senior managers should learn the fundamentals of the cost of the organization’s product or service, the price strategies involved, and the impact that short- and long-term decisions have on the bottom line. ACCOUNTING ESSENTIALS is an introductory course that teaches the basics of finance, accounting, and economic strategies in an easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand format complete with glossaries, diagrams, and self-tests. A companion title to this book is THE ACCOUNTING CYCLE, another Crisp Series book by Jay Jacquet. This book was written especially for nonfinancial managers or new business owners, and can be used in an academic setting or for self-study. It is an indispensable primer for learning and understanding accounting fundamentals, such as cash and accrual accounting, basic recordkeeping, ledger and journal entries, and financial statement preparation.

Table Of Contents:
Part 1: Getting the ‘Right’ Numbers
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Decision-Making
Standards
Effective and Efficient Decisions
Constraints

Part 2: Review of the Financial Statements
The Balance Sheet and Income Statement
Statement of Cash Flow
What the Financial Statements Do Not Tell You

Part 3: Making Money
Maximizing Profit or Minimizing Cost
Thinking in Units
Defining Cost

Part 4: Identifying Costs and Their Behaviors
Fixed, Variable, and Mixed Costs
Relevant Range
Cost Per Unit
Cost Categories on the Income Statement
Discerning Variable Costs
Discerning Mixed Costs

Part 5: Controlling Costs
Contribution Margin on the Income Statement
Activity-Based Costing
Non-Value-Added Activity

Part 6: Am I Breaking Even?
The Cost-Volume-Profit Graph
The Contribution Margin Approach to Break-Even
Calculating ‘What If’ Profit
Margin of Safety

Part 7: Operating Leverage
Defining Operating Leverage
Operating Leverage and the Bottom Line

Part 8: Influences on Pricing
Pricing in Line with the Competition
Trade-Offs Between Price and Demand
Elasticity of Demand Illustrated
Market and Cost Influences on Pricing
Qualitative Factors in Relation to Price

Part 9: Making the Numbers Work for You
Responsible Decision-Making
Quality Management