Intermediate Accounting For Dummies

Part I

Introducing Financial Accounting and Standards

In this part . . .

You get a refresher course on financial accounting basics. This tutorial includes briefly going over the three financial statements: the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. You review the nuts and bolts of accounting for financial transactions that show up on these financial statements.

In addition to explaining the financial statements, Chapter 1 provides info on how the financial statements are used. You explore the three standard-setting agencies that offer guidance to financial accountants and dictate how to handle all the transactions in your intermediate accounting course. Before you finish the chapter, you read over the accountant’s code of professional conduct.

Chapter 2 explains the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) conceptual framework of accounting, which defines the boundaries of accounting. Along the way, you find out who the external users of the financial statements are and identify the objectives of financial reporting. Plus, you find out what basic assumptions users make when reviewing financial statements.

How to value financial transactions on the balance sheet is the subject of Chapter 3. I explain fair value, which is the price an asset will fetch in an open marketplace. You also dig into the future of fair value, especially in the international ...