Financial Accounting: A Business Process Approach, 3rd Edition

Relevance for majors and non-majors–accounting concepts explained in a business context.

Financial Accounting: A Business Process Approach explains accounting concepts in a way all majors can understand by organizing the material around how a business works. This text’s business process approach presents a business topic and then shows the accounting concepts behind it–rather than solely explaining accounting concepts based on the balance sheet order.

The new edition is completely integrated with MyAccountingLab–Pearson's Web-based training and assessment software–so students can have unlimited practice and experience more “I Get it!” moments.

Making Financial Statements Relevant to All Majors. With a focus on what a business does and less of a focus on bookkeeping, the business process approach in this text helps all majors understand financial statements. The fundamental accounting equation and the path from business transactions to financial statements are at the heart of this approach, including the mechanics of debits and credits in an appendix as an option for professors who want to use this tool.

Seeing How Financial Statements Work: Color-Coded Accounting Equation. To become effective users of financial statements, students must understand how financial statements are prepared. This text has received extremely positive feedback from students on the color-coded accounting equation, which enables them to see exactly how business transactions are summarized and presented on each of the four basic financial statements.

Understanding the Latest Potential Shift in Reporting Standards: International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Awareness of IFRS–including what it is, what it means, and when it’s coming–is becoming increasingly important in our global economy. In the third edition, IFRS is introduced and explained in the first chapter. Then, throughout the book, differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS are noted as they apply to the chapter’s topic. A section on IFRS has been added to the capstone chapter (11), along with some examples of financial statements prepared according to IFRS.

Learning in the Right Sequence: Reordered Coverage of Operating and Investing Activities. Operating topics, such as sales and inventory, are covered before the acquisition and use of longterm assets, consistent with a renewed emphasis on operating, investing, and financing activities by the FASB. This new order helps students because it’s consistent with the statement of cash flows and the lifeblood of all business. This reorganization will also help prepare students for convergence with IFRS because it reflects how IFRS statements are organized

Updated! Making Practice Easier: Revised Color-Coded Accounting Equation Worksheet. The color-coded accounting equation worksheet has been modified in this edition to make it easier to use. Rather than having a column for every asset and liability account used in a problem, there are now two asset columns–cash and all other assets–and one column for liabilities. The new format provides space to include the name of the account next to each entry in the general asset and liability columns, making the worksheets larger and easier to read.

New! Putting Knowledge into Practice: End-of-Chapter Material Integrated with MyAccountingLab–www.myaccountinglab.com. Students need practice and repetition in order to successfully learn the fundamentals of financial accounting. The MyAccountingLab course for Financial Accounting: A Business Process Approach includes every A-set short exercises, exercises, and problems from the end of chapter materials as well as Glossary Flashcards, Study Guide, PowerPoints, Excel Files, and Working Papers. This makes it easy to assign homework, and provides students with practice that’s relevant to each chapter.

OTHER POINTS OF DISTINCTION

Emphasizing How Ethics Matters. With the current scandals occurring in today’s economy, ethics is one aspect of accounting that truly does matter. To help students avoid potential pitfalls and complications involved with ethics, this edition opens each chapter with a current, relevant example stressing the importance of ethics in accounting and business.

Updated! Including the Coverage You Want: Revised Time Value of Money Coverage. Due to extensive reviewer feedback, time value of money, and calculating proceeds from a bond issue have been moved to a chapter appendix. Now Chapter 7, long-term liabilities, can be covered without prior knowledge of present value concepts. The appendix, however, can easily be integrated into chapter coverage for those who prefer to include it. 

Connecting Accounting to Business: Continuing Case Example. Seeing one example carried throughout the entire business process is a great way to help students connect accounting to the big picture of business. The previous edition’s example, Tom’s Wear, has been updated to Team Shirts, and the computations for depreciation, prepaid expenses, and cost of goods sold are easier to follow. The slow build of the continuing case and its computations in each chapter help students follow the progression of the calculations they’re learning.

Keeping Up with the Trends: Updated Examples. The third edition includes many opportunities to discuss the economic issues facing firms today. For example, in Chapter 3, the Understanding Business feature discusses the cost savings of “going green.” Throughout the book, examples like this help students see how the changes in the economy are reflected in a firm’s financial statements

Promoting Practice: A Second Set of Short Exercises. Included in each chapter of this edition, every Short Exercise, Exercise, and Problem in the Set “A” material has a “matching” exercise or problem in the corresponding Set “B” material. This provides students with even more practice to enhance their skills.