The Elements of Accounting: An Introduction

This book is a clear and concise introduction to the content and structure of accounting statements and the double entry system which underlies them. It is intended as a first introduction to the subject and assumes no previous knowledge or experience of accounting. Worked numerical examples are an integral part of the exposition, and exercises (with solutions) are provided. There are also chapters on the interpretation of accounts, on accounting for price changes, and on broader aspects of accounting. The emphasis throughout is on understanding fundamental principles rather than on detailed practical procedures. The book is primarily addressed to university students who are meeting the subject for the first time, and is a first introduction for students preparing for professional examinations, giving them a grounding in the fundamental nature of accounting which is lost in other more compendious introductory texts.

Geoffrey Whittington is Price Waterhouse Professor of Financial Accounting at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He was previously Professor at the University of Edinburgh and then the University of Bristol, where he was also head of the Department of Economics and Dean of the Social Science Faculty. He is currently a part-time member of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, and Academic Adviser to the Accounting Standards Board.