Reviews (6)

Better than college textbooks
The author wrote this book assuming that non-financial people need to understand accounting, making this easy to read and understandable. Having gone through a college course on accounting, and being forced to use three other books (which were also worthless), I only wished I read this book first. Although it's designed for not-for-profit organizations, it explains the differences with for-profit organizations, and explains why certain things can be done, or can't be done. For anyone who is starting fresh, starting a new company, or planning on taking accounting in college, I would strongly recommend you invest $30 (my accounting textbook was over $100) and the first chapter alone, summarizes the the first 10 chapters of several college textbooks.

small non-profit organization treasurer
This book is not for bookkeepers.It is more for accountants who want to understand non-profit accounting.If a bookkeeper needs to know the proper day to day and month to month entries for this kind of organization, than this book is not for you.
Soporific and Overly Wordy.
Reads like a law textbook. Author often uses three sentences where one would do. Much ink is wasted telling the reader "we won't go into that here, but Chapter "X" deals exclusively with that." Concepts are understandable for those with an accounting background, but definitely would not recommend to someone without a solid grasp of accounting fundamentals. Author should have hired a writer to help him smooth out his writing style. Not recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting    2. Accounting - General    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. CPA (Certified Public Accountant)    7. Financial Accounting    8. Financial statements    9. Non-Profit Organizations Management    10. Nonprofit Organizations & Charities    11. Nonprofit organizations    12. United States    13. Financial reporting, financial statements    14. Non-profitmaking organizations    15. Study Aids / CPA (Certified Public Accountant)   

Reviews (11)

Vacuous
The text is incomplete and irrelevant. Often, an explanation of a concept is begun but it ends suddenly without the actual connection to its accounting treatment. Take "Precollected Revenues on page 54; pages 58-60: show (visual) the account entry along with the description. Learners need to see these accounting entries. It would help to add a few worked examples and model answers for the case studies set out at the end of chapters if this text is intended to be used as a teaching text or we will no longer use it.

Insightful Case Studies
I can see the point of several previous reviewers that certain additional details flesh out end of chapter case studies.However, I found the writing fresh, insightful, and pointed.Multiple end of chapter resources further illuminated chapter material in detail.In conjunction with a thorough professor, this book is an excellent tool for understanding accounting material.

Beyond unacceptable
Verbose and useless!The book says that the only way to learn accounting is to practice doing problems.It sucks at showing you how to do problems.It sucks worst at teaching you the concepts.No matter how many technical or engineering degrees you may have, this will make you feel stupid. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting    2. Accounting (General)    3. Accounting - General    4. Business & Economics    5. Business / Economics / Finance    6. Business/Economics    7. Case studies    8. Business & Economics / Accounting / General   

Reviews (6)

Excellent intermediate book
The book is a look at credit risk through the glasses of mathematics, and is not a beginner's book. It is a bit dry in the beginning, yet after that I discovered lots of valuable intuitive explanations. While it does require a certain level of probability knowledge, the author walks you through most necessary steps for the presented models. The book covers almost everything needed for an intermediate course on credit modelling. The lack of numerical implementation menthods took the last star.

Amongst the best of a bad lot
The state of theory is in such tremendous flux at present with a majority of research unpublished and a growing consensus that the state of the art is entirely inadequate. No book could possibly please industry researchers at this point, but Philipp contributes some ideas and clarification here and there and some leads which are valuable. He is perhaps a little dismissive and pessimistic when the theory wanders into hard mathematical problems, and to to a large extent his book ends where the fun stuff begins. Nontheless I would recommend, especially to those entering the field.

Academic's Imperfect Idea of the Market
This book on credit derivatives models is written by an academic without a feel for how the market trades in practice.Schonbucher presents the mathematical equations without expanding on the meaning of the models or their application.Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Applied    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Credit    7. Credit derivatives    8. Economics - General    9. Finance    10. Investments & Securities - General    11. Money & Monetary Policy    12. Prices    13. Securities    14. Banking    15. Business & Economics / Finance    16. Investment & securities   

Reviews (5)

GREAT book for learning excel and Finance
I really enjoyed using this book. The author did a great job of explaining the topics...well wortht the time and price.

Not disappointed at all
Great book, step by step approach, but still requires basic knowledge of Excel's core functions. The CD provided is definitely a plus.

No access to Excel files for eBook version
I spent a lot of money on this eBook only to find out that I would not receive the Excel files that go along with it.I am stuck either going through this book without the files that it uses throughout or shelling out even more money to buy a hardcopy version just for the attached CD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Finance    6. Financial Economics (General)    7. Investments    8. Mathematical Models In Economics    9. Mathematical models    10. Microsoft Excel (Computer file    11. Microsoft Excel (Computer file)    12. Microsoft Visual Basic for app    13. Spreadsheets - General    14. Business & Economics / Finance    15. Excel    16. Financial accounting   

Editorial Review

Baby boomers, forget all you've learned from your parents about managing your money, your career, and your life. In Read more

Reviews (52)

Rethinking finances in light of longer lifespans
Some of the negative reviewers missed the main point that Stephen Pollan makes in "Die Broke": In an era of longer lifespans new financial strategies are required. The era of leaving a large inheritance is over. That money will be used, instead, to fund longer lives.
Interesting point of view
If the author believes one's "last check written should be to the undertaker, and it should bounce!" this is the way to do it. I think it's irresponsible to instruct people to spend what they make, but not overstep into debt. Yes, enjoy your hard earned money, give it away if you like when you are alive, but don't think for a minute you won't run out of resources before your last breath if you follow this book. Things I like about this book: I do like the notion of NOT retiring.I think people are "retiring" at an alarming rate in the prime of their productive lives, and for what? Also the idea of spending cash instead of using credit is excellent advice for the instant-gratification age we are in.

He talks a lot but doesnt say much
I bought this hoping for wise advice on financial matters. I instead found this book to be 200 pages of talk without substance. The points it makes (dont retire, quit work, die broke) are remade over and over in different ways without much of any intelligent argument as to why or how. I felt the book was not worth a read at all and was just a bunch of fluff to make up 200 pages. It was poorly organized as well with different subjects per each chapter. For example chap. 8 is "Accountants" through chapter 46 is a one page chapter on "Savings Accounts." I couldnt believe how many words were used that never said anything. Blah! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Consumer Finance    5. Finance    6. Finance, Personal    7. Personal Finance    8. Personal Finance - Financial Planning    9. Personal Finance - General    10. Business & Economics / Finance   

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. General    6. Taxation    7. Taxation - General    8. Accounting    9. Business & Economics / Accounting / General    10. Taxation law   

Reviews (1)

Decent review book but could be better
This book was all I needed to pass the exam on my first try, even without any auditing coursework or experience. I'm not sure how it compares to Bisk, but the material is dense and it's hard to read more than a few pages at once. Accordingly, each of the "section reviews" is far too long and should be split up. There are 6 sections that take up 380 pages (much of this is for practice questions and answers), along with a 100+ page outline of professional standards (which there's no need to look at).
Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. CPA (Certified Public Accountant)    3. Cpa Reviews And Exam Guides    4. Study Aids    5. Study Guides    6. Test Prep    7. Accounting    8. Study Aids / CPA (Certified Public Accountant)   

Reviews (27)

Good book but missing some of Toby Crabel's meat
James Altucher comes closest to describing some good trading strategies.
Excellent strategies with backtested results
# The book presents twenty strategies that are used by hedge funds to profit from various scenarios. James provides excellent quantitative research, cutting through the BS & stating figures which have been backtested. This book provides insight into the world of hedge funds & at the same time, systems which can be tweaked to benefit each type of trader.
Statistically invalid strategies
Most of these strategies do not forward-test very well; the results are based on small sample sizes. If these strategies were so great, then I would expect that the author would be running a hugely successful hedge fund, which is not the case. If you want to "trade like a hedge fund", then you must have access to the best information flow and awesome number-crunching power at funds such as Renaissance, SAC, and Citadel. Being in the hedge fund business, no truly successful hedge fund trades this, or for that matter even has time to write a book about it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Finance    6. Hedge funds    7. Hedging (Finance)    8. Index mutual funds    9. Institutional Investment    10. Investments & Securities - General    11. Speculation    12. Stocks    13. Business & Economics / Finance    14. Investment & securities   

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Accounting    6. Business & Economics / Accounting / General   

Reviews (6)

great book for those in finance
This book is great if you're in the field of finance.This is not for the average consumer looking for investment advice.I've been in corporate financial planning and analyis for the past five years and always wondered how equity analysts built their models.This books will give you insight into their thinking and also give enough detail to build your own models.I would have rated it five stars if the book included a CD with his examples in Excel.The author does have website where you can download sample models.

for SELL-SIDE analysts only
I bought this book based on the strong reviews as a complement to Damodaran's classic on valuation, but felt disappointed.
One of the Best
There are reams and reams of investment valuation books on the market -- that is obvious.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Corporate Finance    6. Corporations    7. Finance    8. Investments & Securities - General    9. Investments & Securities - Stocks    10. Stocks    11. Valuation    12. Business & Economics / Investments & Securities    13. Stocks & shares   

Subjects:  1. Accounting    2. Accounting - General    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Financial statements    7. Business & Economics / Accounting / General    8. Financial accounting   

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Chemistry - Industrial & Technical    4. Fire Science    5. General    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Hazardous Industrial Materials    8. Hazardous Materials Technology    9. Hazardous substances    10. Industrial Health & Safety    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Technology    13. Chemistry    14. Science / Chemistry / Technical & Industrial   

Reviews (13)

Shopper Satisfaction
Actually, the supplier no longer had the book available.But the supplier contacted me immediately and my account was credited almost as quickly as the money went out.So I am still a happy shopper.

Poorest text ever written
If your school uses this book, not only don't take this class, drop out of the school. If I could rate this with negative numbers I would. This is the worst textbook ever devised by man OR woman. If you are already a CPA looking for a review, it might be worth something, otherwise it teaches nothing. It presents examples without first explaining things then explains things using examples that have no bearing on what is being taught.
I can't wait to re-sell this book
This book is not for beginners!The exercises in the textbook are difficult to follow because they don't provide much examples in the chapters.Also, important topics are briefly discussed.However, I enjoyed reading the case studies. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting    2. Accounting - Financial    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Corporations    7. Financial statements    8. Business & Economics / Accounting / Financial   

Reviews (9)

Vague w/ No Answer Key
I found the definitions to be vague, and even the definitions of terms change as you go through the chapter, which is confusing, when you're trying to retain all this new information.The author should provide a list of examples of terms, so that we understand and grasp what the meanings of terms are, and how they are linked to other definitions.
MISSING ITEMS FROM PACKAGE!!!!!
IF THIS BOOK IS NEW, IT IS SUPPOSED TO INCLUDE A REGISTRATION CODE FOR THE PUBLISHERS ONLINE HOMEWORK (REQUIRED IN ACCT4A). THE PUBLISHERS WEB SITE SAYS THIS INFORMATION!!!!!! I RECIEVED IT WITH NOTHING. THEY SHRINK WRAP IT THEMSELVES (EASY TO DO). PLEASE DO NOT SUPPORT THIS FALSE ADVERTISEMENT.
incoherant and inconcise
Using this book as a required text for a brush up/seminar course for an MBA program, I've found this book did not do enough reviewing for me with regards to creating financial reports-- income statement, statement of cash flows, balance sheet, etc. I had managerial accounting, financial accounting and financial management in undergrad, however, this book still lacks the concrete basics of "what goes where on a financial report and why". Speaking to my undergrad accounting department chair, I found my opinion agreed with her's-- Kimmel is verbose and lacks clarity/simplicity for those without an accounting focus or background. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting    2. Accounting - Financial    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Business & Economics / Accounting / Financial    7. Financial accounting   

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Auditing    3. Auditing - General    4. Business & Economics    5. Business / Economics / Finance    6. Business/Economics    7. Business & Economics / Accounting / General    8. Management accounting   

Reviews (3)

Perfect for studying
This book was a great help in studying for exams.The problems are good (and there are plenty) and the answers are immediately available with detailed explanations.I highly recommend this workbook.

Intermediate Accounting
I was struggling (what I call struggling) in the class until I bought this book along with Volume II. I found that it helped me immensely. Though my instructor is good, she goes through things a lot faster than I was able to take notes for. This book was definately beneficial for keeping my GPA!!!

Great Accounting companion
This book is a great companion to the Textbook Intermediate Accounting by Donald E. Kieso, and Jerry Weygandt.Helpful to the serious accounting student in identifying their mistakes and correcting them.Aids the student inthe correct formatting for this course.This should be used only after the problems have been worked out as a check. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Business & Economics / Accounting / General    6. Finance & Accounting   

Reviews (1)

Gives you the basic start you need.
So you're going to start a business, and if you have any money left over at the end of the year you're going to save part of it and spend part of it. OK, but your business partner isn't going to like that very much. 'What, you say you don't have a business partner?' Yes, you do, and he usually goes by the initials IRS.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Bookkeeping    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Business & Economics / Bookkeeping    6. Management accounting   

Reviews (10)

A truly paradigm-shifting work
Ron Baker is doing for the professional services firms what Columbus and Pythagoras did for the "Earth is Flat" proponents!"Paradigm-shifting" has become so over-used in our culture, but it is not mere hyperbole when describing this book.The work is quite thorough, implementing excerpts, quotes, and philosophies from dozens of well-respected scholars, economists, and management consultants.The work reminds me a lot of Tom Peters' seminal book, "In Search of Excellence" in the way in which the author sprinkles in so many great examples from other successful organizations and industries.In addition, he has many real-world examples (from firms around the world) of professional services firms that have successfully tranformed their practices.I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any professional who is trying to transform a professional services organization or who is wondering if there might be a more effective and profitable way to run a professional services firm.

The Essential Reference for Law Firm Leadership
I first read this book about 2 years ago.I keep it within arm's reach of my desk and refer to it often, still.
Extremely helpful, well documented.
This is a very well-documented guide for any service firm. It's also very well written, very insightful and very well researched. It's real deep, complete and full of advice and wisdom from several great minds. I run a corporate reputation consulting firm in El Salvador and this is the most advice-rich book I've encountered in the last five years. I also recommend "the trusted advisor" by David Maister and specially "Managing the Profesional Service Firm" also by Maister. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - Managerial    2. Business    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business Organization    6. Business/Economics    7. Careers - General    8. Customer Service    9. Customer relations    10. General    11. Handbooks, manuals, etc    12. Human capital    13. Management - General    14. Professional Occupations    15. Professional employees    16. Accounting    17. Business & Economics / Accounting / Management    18. Business & Management   

Reviews (24)

Great for building your plan
I bought this book, and then purchased the Electronic Worksheets from the publisher!They are great together, and both really helped get the plan started and crunch those vital startup numbers.The book is very well written and easy to follow!

A must if you are writing a business plan
THIS is the STANDARD.. must read before writing any serious business plan!!!

Excellent resource
While taking a Businees Plan course in my MBA course I bought this book as a guide.Needless to say, I got an A on the B Plan.This is a valuable resource and better than the other books in this catagory. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business planning    5. Business/Economics    6. Development - Business Development    7. Entrepreneurship    8. Forecasting    9. Management    10. New business enterprises    11. Planning    12. Strategic Planning   

Subjects:  1. Accounting - Managerial    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Corporate Finance    6. Cost Accounting    7. Management Accounting    8. Managerial accounting    9. Budgeting & financial management    10. Business & Economics / Accounting / Management