Accounting For Canadians For Dummies

Cécile Laurin, CPA, CA, is a retired professor of accounting at Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ottawa. She has been chief financial officer for three engineering firms and a law firm. Tage C. Tracy operates a financial consulting firm focused on offering CFO/executive-level support and planning services to private companies. He is the author of Business Financial Information Secrets and has coauthored several For Dummies books.

• Introduction 1Part 1: Opening the Books on Accounting 5Chapter 1: Accounting in Today’s Economy 7Chapter 2: Introducing Financial Statements 25Chapter 3: Bookkeeping and Accounting Systems 49Chapter 4: Accounting in the Digital Age 71Chapter 5: Deciding the Legal Structure for a Business 85Part 2: Exploring Financial Statements 101Chapter 6: Reporting Profit or Loss in the Income Statement 103Chapter 7: Reporting Financial Condition on the Balance Sheet 125Chapter 8: Reporting Cash Flows 149Chapter 9: Choosing Accounting Methods 167Part 3: Understanding Financial Reports, Financial Statements, and Financial Information 189Chapter 10: Producing Financial Reports 191Chapter 11: Deciphering a Financial Report 213Chapter 12: Analyzing Financial Information with Ratios 227Chapter 13: Generating Internal Financial Information for Management Use 249Chapter 14: Applying Tricks and Treats to Engineer Financial Results 271Part 4: Leveraging Accounting in Managing a Business 281Chapter 15: Analyzing Profit 283Chapter 16: Accounting for Costs 305Chapter 17: Preparing Forecasts, Projections, and Budgets 329Part 5: The Part of Tens 349Chapter 18: Ten Tips for Managers 351Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Reading a Financial Report 361Index 371