The Power of Accounting: What the Numbers Mean and How to Use Them provides a highly readable text for non-financial managers. It explores accounting's uses and limitations in the management process. The text is intended for users of accounting information as opposed to preparers. It focuses on aiding the reader in understanding what accounting numbers mean, what they do not mean, when and how they can be used for decision making and planning and when they cannot. The book discusses the importance of accounting information in the economy and the fact that accounting numbers are often the result of estimates and arbitrary allocations. It also includes a cautionary word about the imprecise use of terminology often found in accounting and financial literature.

Continuous auditing is a novel emerging technology in academia and practice. The concept of continuous auditing was conceived over two decades ago in academia and we are now at a junction where the auditing profession recognizes the implement-ability and value of a continuous audit. The book's purpose is twofold. First, the book aims to provide academics and practitioners with a compilation of select continuous auditing design science research that can be used as a springboard to future research and development. Second, the book aims to provide readers with an understand of the underlying theoretical concepts of a continuous audit, ideas on how continuous audit can be applied in practice, and what has and has not worked in research.

This book examines the notion of solvency at law and in accounting; and reveals inconsistent ways of determining solvency therein. Solvency is a critical commercial financial attribute. Quantifying solvency has been of concern to many across time, particularly with regard to business continuity. This study demonstrates that conventional financial statements are deficient in establishing the financial state of an entity, and equally lacking in quantifying its state of solvency.

The book contributes to the literature by drawing on real-world observations of how the meshing of commercial and legal foundations creates the environment in which accounting must serve. The aim of this work is to provide insights into what changes to existing financial reporting systems might assist business in mitigating unexpected business failures and the criticism of accounting in the aftermath.

Drawing mainly on major Australian cases, links highlight associations between the language of accounting and the data in financial statements; and situations that may be generalised - that have international significance. Hence, this work is relevant to the interests of a wide range of readers. It is also important from a public policy perspective as regulators grapple with a commercial environment heavily influenced by sometimes perceived scandalous corporate activity. Solvency is a topical and ongoing issue for business and financial accounting.

How can we ensure our strategy will succeed, especially in changing and uncertain times? The answer, as explained in Strategy Mapping for Learning Organizations, is to become a more responsive organization - one that captures its strategy in strategy maps, learns from that strategy and can adapt to deliver results. For anyone involved in managing strategy and performance, applying the powerful strategy mapping techniques will move your balanced scorecard from an operational tool to one of strategy and change. It will help you capture, communicate and manage your strategy more effectively. However, strategy can no longer be simply a top down, annual process. It needs to be more iterative, emergent and involving. Many agile organizations have adopted rolling plans and budgets. To bring greater agility into the wider strategy and performance management processes requires the tools and techniques described in Strategy Mapping for Learning Organizations. Phil Jones provides a detailed guide to developing, rolling out and managing with modern strategy maps and scorecards, building in agility and learning. His book incorporates the latest strategic thinking and models. It places the balanced scorecard in a wider governance context that includes the management of risk and environmental and social responsibility. Fully illustrated with examples from many different organizations, this book will help you deliver your strategy better.

Praise for Activity-Based Cost Management

"Business leaders are always being presented with proposals to ‘improve’ corporate performance. Cokins turns ABC/M into an objective tool for forecasting the actual costs in an improved environment. Every executive should follow Gary's methods to predict benefits before risking company and career on a multimillion-dollar program."––Hugh D. Pinkus, Executive Consultant, Industrial Sector, Business Innovation Services, IBM Global Services

"Gary Cokins advances Activity-Based Cost Management the next step. In addition to providing the roadmap for ABC/M implementation success, Gary reveals the real strategic applications of ABC/M."––Joe Kosinski, Director, Corporate Manufacturing Accounting, Abbott Laboratories

"ABC/M is lucky to have Gary Cokins as its advocate. Gary has the gift to take the concept that many view as complex and reduce it to its simplest terms, and he has done so again here. After reading this book, you will have an understanding of the power of ABC/M as a tool to understand costs and make better business decisions."––John F. Morrow, CPA, AICPA Vice President, The New Finance

"Gary Cokins has helped light the way for cost and profitability analysis practitioners for many years. His wit and vivid metaphors engage a broad audience of managers and executives, helping generate not only new levels of understanding but also genuine enthusiasm for applying ‘accounting’ tools to improve bottom-line performance."––Tim Jordheim, Manager, ABC/M Center of Expertise, Cargill, Inc.

"Making sense of complex end-to-end business processes can hinder timely and substantive improvements. This thorough and engaging book shows how processes can be reduced to activity-level building blocks where resource consumption relationships can be identified and evaluated. Insights gained from these evaluations can then be used to motivate and prioritize changes that bring actual process-related costs into balance with other organizational goals such as productivity, cycle time, quality, and customer satisfaction."––Hal Thilmony, Senior Manager, Financial Business Process Improvement, Cisco Systems

The primary aim of this basic book is to familiarize students in (international) English-language programmes with the basics in the fields of finance, finance management and accounting. No prior knowledge of business economics is required.

This book is user-friendly, accessible, and yet comprehensive in its approach. It takes an in-depth, integrated look at the principles of management accounting, financial accounting and finance. Examples and case studies from newspapers and professional journals encourage the practical application of the material. Study questions reinforce and test the student's understanding of the key concepts. A glossary of key terms is included at the end of each chapter. The book also contains multiple choice questions and other assignments designed to stimulate thinking about the topics that are discussed.

Further self-test materials are available at www.basicsfinancialmanagement.noordhoff.nl including interactive multiple choice questions, exercises, cases and teachers manual.

The handy problem-solver with helpful information for today's busy bookkeepers

"Bookkeeping Essentials: How to Succeed as a Bookkeeper" is the handy problem-solver that gives today's busy bookkeepers and accountants the helpful information they need in a quick-reference format. Whether in public practice or private industry, professionals will always have this reliable reference tool at their fingertips.Packed with practical techniques and rules of thumb for analyzing, evaluating, and solving the day-to-day problems every accountant facesHelps bookkeepers and accountants quickly pinpoint what to look for, what to watch out for, what to do, and how to do itOffers hundreds of explanations supported by a multitude of examples, tables, charts, and ratios

Filled with dozens of accounting best practices, "Bookkeeping Essentials" is a powerful companion for the ever-changing world of today's accountant and bookkeeper.

Is your enterprise's strategy for cybersecurity just crossing its fingers and hoping nothing bad ever happens? If so...you're not alone. Getting cybersecurity right is all too often an afterthought for Fortune 500 firms, bolted on and hopefully creating a secure environment. We all know this approach doesn't work, but what should a smart enterprise do to stay safe? Today, cybersecurity is no longer just a tech issue. In reality, it never was. It's a management issue, a leadership issue, a strategy issue: It's a "must have right"...a survival issue. Business leaders and IT managers alike need a new paradigm to work together and succeed. After years of distinguished work as a corporate executive, board member, author, consultant, and expert witness in the field of risk management and cybersecurity, David X Martin is THE pioneering thought leader in the new field of CyRMSM. Martin has created an entirely new paradigm that approaches security as a business problem and aligns it with business needs. He is the go-to guy on this vitally important issue. In this new book, Martin shares his experience and expertise to help you navigate today's dangerous cybersecurity terrain, and take proactive steps to prepare your company-and yourself -to survive, thrive, and keep your data (and your reputation) secure.

Corporate scandals due to bad accounting happen far too frequently for a system of corporate governance to be deemed effective. This book tells why the safeguards designed to prevent bad accounting so often fail. By studying why the auditors and members of a board of directors regularly fail to deliver the truth about a company's financial state of affairs, this provocative book explores a serious problem in the system of reporting financial information.
This book is unique in that it draws together various strands of the literature on corporate governance, accounting, law, cognitive research, psychology, behavioural economics and conventional economics to shed light on questions regarding the feasibility of independence and impartiality of boards of directors and external auditors as monitors and gatekeepers in corporate governance. The book is essential reading for professional accountants and auditors, directors, regulators, law makers, corporate lawyers, and investment bankers. It will appeal to all those interested in behavioural economics and corporate governance.

This book focuses on the valuation needed to apply IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), and provides coverage of financial instruments - indeed this is the starting point of the exposition. The book adopts a logical sequence where models of financial instruments are explained first and models of other assets (such as property, an enterprise, or multiple intangibles) are presented as extensions. The book uses mathematical notation in presenting many of the models, but the focus is on application rather than proof. The mathematics is presented at a level that assumes sufficient background in high school algebra and coordinate geometry, prior knowledge of elementary probability, and a knowledge of basic statistics. Readers should also be aware of what linear regression does and should be able to run a regression and interpret the output. Calculus is not assumed. The models discussed almost always require a computer to apply. However, the emphasis is on understanding the models rather than learning computer skills, especially in the case of financial instruments.

THIS REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION OF THE CLASSIC "WHY SMART PEOPLE MAKE BIG MONEY MISTAKES AND HOW TO CORRECT THEM" GIVES YOU THE LATEST RESEARCH IN THE EXCITING FIELD OF BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS.

In their fascinating investigation of the ways we handle money, Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich reveal the psychological forces -- the patterns of thinking and decision making -- behind seemingly irrational behavior. They explain why so many otherwise savvy people make foolish financial choices: why investors are too quick to sell winning stocks and too slow to sell losing shares, why home sellers leave money on the table and home buyers don't get the biggest bang for their buck, why borrowers pay too much credit card interest and savers can't sock away as much as they'd like, and why so many of us can't control our spending. Focusing on the decisions we make every day, Belsky and Gilovich provide invaluable guidance for avoiding the financial faux pas that can cost thousands of dollars each year.

Filled with fresh insight; practical advice; and lively, illustrative anecdotes, this book gives you the tools you need to harness the powerful science of behavioral economics in any financial environment.

Artificial Intelligence in Accounting: Practical Applications was written with a simple goal: to provide accountants with a foundational understanding of AI and its many business and accounting applications. It is meant to serve as a guide for identifying opportunities to implement AI initiatives to increase productivity and profitability. This book will help you answer questions about what AI is and how it is used in the accounting profession today. Offering practical guidance that you can leverage for your organization, this book provides an overview of essential AI concepts and technologies that accountants should know, such as machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. It also describes accounting-specific applications of robotic process automation and text mining. Illustrated with case studies and interviews with representatives from global professional services firms, this concise volume makes a significant contribution to examining the intersection of AI and the accounting profession. This innovative book also explores the challenges and ethical considerations of AI. It will be of great interest to accounting practitioners, researchers, educators, and students.

This book explores the fundamental elements and risks that impact the compliance officer's work. Following a comprehensive understanding of the role of a compliance officer, by engaging with themes of compliance officers' liability, expectations, risks and effectiveness, it provides practical answers by leading academics and practitioners in the field. This work also draws on how other areas, such as GDPR, financial regulation and whistleblowing, challenges on compliance officers and provides a way forward to convert these challenges into opportunities. The discussion of compliance challenges and practices in Australia, Europe and the United States provides critical insights into the development of compliance in today's financial environment. Financial Compliance: Issues, Concerns and Future Directions provides an invaluable working resource for academics, practitioners and a general audience interested in understanding and developing an effective compliance culture.

Accounting in Networks is the first book that in a comprehensive way covers the emerging issue of accounting and control in horizontal relations across legally independent organizations. During the last 20 years, organisations have shown an increased interest in collaborations that cross company boundaries. New organisational forms, such as alliances, partnerships, joint ventures, outsourcing and networks have received increased attention. This development has pushed management accounting researchers into examining the lateral effects of accounting. This book examines these lateral effects on accounting, and creates a comprehensive summary of what has been achieved so far and what interesting developments will occur in the coming ten years.

The book covers a variety of inter-organizational settings - dyads, networks, joint ventures, public sector - and the roles of accounting therein. It also deals with specific inter-organizational accounting techniques - customer accounting, target costing and open book accounting - which companies use to manage in a world of inter-organizational relationships and networks. The book also covers different theoretical perspectives - transactional cost economics, the industrial-network approach, actor-network theory, institutional theory - on accounting in networks. Each chapter focus on a specific angle of accounting in networks, assess theoretical and empirical evidence, summarize the current position/debate and discuss promising avenues for future research.

Ryan D'Agostino, former senior editor at Money, wanted to know how the wealthiest in America got that way. So he asked. Knocking on 500 doors in some of the most affluent zip codes in America, D'Agostino met with men and women who welcomed him in and shared their most difficult financial decisions, toughest setbacks, greatest strategies, most triumphant moments, and deepest insights. In RICH LIKE THEM, he weaves together what he learned and offers maxims for achieving wealth, such as "Never Let Pride Get in the Way of Profit," and "When you fail miserably, be thankful." Filled with inspiring stories and straight-up advice, RICH LIKE THEMis a lively and practical get-rich guide that any reader can follow.

Despite a plethora of techniques to analyse the financial performance of a business, there has been no single methodology that has been overwhelmingly preferred by users. This could be an indication that either the methods themselves are deficient or they are limited by other factors that are not easily overcome. Unlike the current offerings in the field, which focus on issues relating to business performance management or non-financial aspects (such as market efficiency, satisfaction and workforce productivity), this book offers a solution to a major gap in the literature and understanding for those seeking to measure, analyse and benchmark the financial performance of any organisation (for-profit, not-for-profit and government agencies). It clearly identifies why current techniques fail; proposes and evidences a solution that overcomes these issues by including two algorithms that can be combined, to solve this problem; and demonstrates the practical application of the technique to the benefit of users in order to pinpoint real performance levels and insights. One of the largest issues this book will help to overcome is the inability to compare the accounts of businesses/organisations from different countries that report in different currencies. This technique eliminates the need for currency translations and the issues that arise with that process. This book is an invaluable and practical guide to assist accounting and finance practitioners in measuring and comparing financial performance across firms with different business models, different accounting policies and different scales of operations.

This is the first detailed view of the managerial accountant's role and responsibilities in organization setting. Its aim is to foster role development: the opportunity to work at an advanced level of practice. Accounting studies develop technical skills associated with topics, and, responding to defined scenarios but provide very little guidance on what to recognizing and approaching the broad problems or challenges under conditions of uncertainty. It is a double first because it provides the managerial accountant's compass as a general purpose analytical framework for managerial accounting independent of any selected theory and method. The metaphor of a compass creates a mental schema for its four points named (1) goals and principles, (2) boundaries and constraints, (3) methods and models, and, (4) collegial relationships. Dynastic Chinese and some other Central Asian cultures, view the center as a fifth principal direction, giving a total of five points. The center represents a high standard ethical conduct and self-care, or moral compass. Managerial Accountant's Compass offers an integrated and systematic guide to approaching situations that are constantly changing. It gives a protective starting pattern which produces new meanings and awareness of the ambiguity and uncertainty for each situation. Ultimately the managerial accountant's compass can help you make more effective sense of yourself, your expertise and your practice in the organization where you work, which should open career opportunities.

This book addresses the essentials of an automotive audit which is required by all automotive suppliers world-wide. They are based on customer specific requirements, ISO standards, and Industry specifications. This book covers both the mandated documents and records that are necessary for compliance, with an extensive discussion on Layered Process Audits and distance auditing. The book addresses the six standards for certification in one volume. It explains "why" and "how" an effective audit should be carried out. It identifies the key indicators for a culture change with an audit, explains the "process audit" at length, discusses the rationale for Layered Process audits and summarizes all the mandatory documents and records for all standards and requirements. The book covers the issue of risk in auditing and emphasizes the role of a "checklist" in the preparation process. This book is for those that conduct audits, those that are interested in auditing, and those being audited. It specifically addresses automotive OEMs and their supplier base but is also of interest to anyone wanting information on auditing.

The " Interactive Accounting " Workbook has been rigorously developed to support the revolutionary new " Interactive Accounting " software.

Butterworth-Heinemann's CIM Coursebooks have been designed to match the syllabus and learning outcomes of our new qualifications and should be useful aids in helping students understand the complexities of marketing. The discussion and practical application of theories and concepts, with relevant examples and case studies, should help readers make immediate use of their knowledge and skills gained from the qualifications.' Professor Keith Fletcher, Director of Education, The Chartered Institute of Marketing 'Here in Dubai, we have used the Butterworth-Heinemann Coursebooks in their various forms since the very beginning and have found them most useful as a source of recommended reading material as well as examination preparation.' Alun Epps, CIM Centre Co-ordinator, Dubai University College, United Arab Emirates Butterworth-Heinemann's official CIM Coursebooks are the definitive companions to the CIM professional marketing qualifications. The only study materials to be endorsed by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), all content is carefully structured to match the syllabus and is written in collaboration with the CIM faculty. Each chapter is packed full of case studies, study tips and activities to test your learning and understanding as you go along. *The coursebooks are the only study guide reviewed and approved by CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing). *Each book is crammed with a range of learning objectives, cases, questions, activities, definitions, study tips and summaries to support and test your understanding of the theory. *Past examination papers and examiners' reports are available online to enable you to practise what has been learned and help prepare for the exam and pass first time. *Extensive online materials support students and tutors at every stage. Based on an understanding of student and tutor needs gained in extensive research, online materials have been designed specifically for CIM students and created exclusively for Butterworth-Heinemann. Check out exam dates on the Online Calendar, see syllabus links for each course, and access extra mini case studies to cement your understanding. Explore marketingonline.co.uk and access online versions of the coursebooks and further reading from Elsevier and Butterworth-Heinemann. INTERACTIVE, FLEXIBLE, ACCESSIBLE ANY TIME, ANY PLACE www.marketingonline.co.uk

Most frauds perpetrated by senior managers take longer to uncover than those by other occupational groups and they steal more. This is a serious problem world-wide. Currently the Red Flag approach is used by auditors to prevent and uncover fraud and in some countries it is statutory. However, the existing approach does not catch managerial fraudsters quickly or very often. In Managerial Fraud, Dr Terry Sheridan reports the findings of her study of fraudulent executives. Her work illuminates the particular methods fraudsters employ to appear more authentic than the average person and reveals two types of executive fraudster with very different behaviours. All this helps to explain why the current Red Flag approach fails to identify potential fraudsters and instead tends to focus on Red Flag executives who are negative characters, but non-fraudulent and accounts for the problem auditors face, who see Red Flag indicators and are obliged to conduct further audits, yet find nothing of substance. During the author's research, the innocent colleagues who worked closely with fraudulent managers have for the first time been interviewed about their experiences and had their impressions analysed, leading to the development of an innovative typology of fraudulent executives based on Impression Management Theory. Better understanding of what Dr Sheridan has uncovered might result in organisations being able to reduce their exposure to fraud perpetrated by their own senior management.

Change is a crucial and inescapable process for many organisations. It remains a constant challenge for managers and many change management initiatives fail. Burns and Stalker's seminal text on managing change, The Management of Innovation, has often been used as a basis for research in mainstream management journals and has been represented as an important theory in popular and long-established management textbooks. The issues raised in that book are still being grappled with by academics and practitioners today. Miriam Green provides a critical analysis of the mainstream construction of knowledge on change management through an examination of representations of that text. The main thesis of her book is that this literature, though valuable, does not provide a full picture. Its objectivist approach ignores the role of other factors raised in the original study. These factors include the effects of power, politics, resistance and employee influence on the outcomes of managerial change strategies and on other organisational processes, with important consequences for the understanding of change initiatives by both academics and practitioners. This is part of an ongoing debate in management studies and more widely in the social sciences about theoretical approaches and research methods. The originality of this book lies in its in-depth comparison of an entire monograph on organisations facing technological and commercial change, with an equally in-depth analysis of the ways this work has been represented and used as a basis for teaching and research. It highlights the limitations of the exclusive use of one approach to explain the complications arising from organisational change. It challenges the scientific justification offered for that approach and supports arguments for more inclusive and sustainable scholarship, of greater relevance to academics, managers and other organisational stakeholders.

Shows how accounting information and control mechanisms are used in decision-making, planning and control at an inter-organizational level and how accounting tools and techniques may support the development and management of external relationships with strategic partners.
In "global companies" the use of management control mechanisms has increasingly become decentralised from the management accounting department, this book covers these issues. In all functional areas (marketing, operations, human resources, etc.), those who are expected to be able to analyse and interpret accounting information collected from external partners, have to exercise cost control to ensure that profit targets are achieved and understand.
to understand the nature of collaborative partnerships and illustrate the variables that explain the choice of different control modes in the various contexts of cooperation;
to describe the characteristics of management accounting mechanisms for cross-boundary settings, such as collaborative programmes and budgets, inter-firm performance measurement systems and inter-organisational cost management techniques;
to describe empirical evidence on control choices, management accounting practices and on management accountants roles in collaborative relationships;
to present a framework of control patterns and specific Accounting Information Network (AIN) configurations that provide some novel theoretical insights on inter-organisational accounting and control and some guidance to practitioners operating in inter-firm collaborative settings."

Corporate scandals due to bad accounting happen far too frequently for a system of corporate governance to be deemed effective. This book tells why the safeguards designed to prevent bad accounting so often fail. By studying why the auditors and members of a board of directors regularly fail to deliver the truth about a company's financial state of affairs, this provocative book explores a serious problem in the system of reporting financial information. This book is unique in that it draws together various strands of the literature on corporate governance, accounting, law, cognitive research, psychology, behavioural economics and conventional economics to shed light on questions regarding the feasibility of independence and impartiality of boards of directors and external auditors as monitors and gatekeepers in corporate governance. The book is essential reading for professional accountants and auditors, directors, regulators, law makers, corporate lawyers, and investment bankers. It will appeal to all those interested in behavioural economics and corporate governance.

"The latest edition goes beyond ho-hum analysis techniques and provides concrete problem solving. The text is sprinkled with real-world problems (and the analytical tools to solve them) that will be familiar to accounting professionals everywhere. A must-have for anyone looking to improve their company's decision making . . . and their own role in it."
--George R. MacEachern President, Grosvenor Financial Services

"Steve Bragg has presented yet another comprehensive reference tool for the finance professional. "Financial Analysis: A Controller's Guide" is the perfect reference guide for today's controller, presenting not only traditional financial analysis information, but also various types of analyses that will benefit any type of organization. This book is a must-have for any financial professional desiring to make a relevant contribution to his/her organization."
--Jodi Nefzger, CPP Director of Finance, Masonic Home of Missouri

Today's proactive controllers can soar past their mundane responsibilities and become active participants in their corporation's success with the visionary tools found in Steven Bragg's "Financial Analysis: A Controller's Guide, Second Edition,"

Now updated to include analyses of intangible asset measurement and performance improvement as well as evaluation methods to determine which products and services should be eliminated, "Financial Analysis: A Controller's Guide, Second Edition" helps financial managers upgrade their skills so they can answer their organization's call for company operations reviews, investment evaluations, problem reporting, and special investigation requests. Controllers prepared to address this growing need formore innovative financial analysis will open doors to a variety of promotions and high-level interactions with other departments.

Become a highly valued member of your company's infrastructure with the indispensable tools found in "Financial Analysis: A Controller's Guide, Second Edition,"