Top 10 Basic Accounting Books for Beginners [Updated 2023]

The objective of accounting is to systematically record financial transactions in the books of accounts to determine the financial position of any organization. Below is the list of books on basic accounting that you must read in 2023 –

  • Accounting Made Simple ( Get this book )Accounting for Non-Accountants ( Get this book )Financial Statements ( Get this book )Accounting Handbook ( Get this book )Schaum’s Outline of Principles of Accounting ( Get this book )Accounting All-in-One For Dummies ( Get this book )Accounting: The Ultimate Guide to Accounting for Beginners ( Get this book ) Accounting QuickStart Guide ( Get this book )The Accounting Game ( Get this book )Bookkeepers’ Boot Camp ( Get this book )

Let us discuss each of the beginner accounting books that cover the fundamentals and its key takeaways and reviews.

#1 – Accounting Made Simple

Author of this Accounting Book: Mike Piper

Book Review:

This short book offers a basic introduction to accounting principlesAccounting PrinciplesAccounting principles are the set guidelines and rules issued by accounting standards like GAAP and IFRS for the companies to follow while recording and presenting the financial information in the books of accounts.read more and terminologies. The author’s brief explanations and numerous concise examples make it the perfect reference book for people from a non-accounting background.

Key Takeaways

A few of the major takeaways from this book are listed below:

  • Accounting EquationAccounting EquationAccounting Equation is the primary accounting principle stating that a business’s total assets are equivalent to the sum of its liabilities & owner’s capital. This is also known as the Balance Sheet Equation & it forms the basis of the double-entry accounting system. read more and its significanceConcepts and assumptions behind Generally Accepted Accounting PrinciplesGenerally Accepted Accounting PrinciplesGAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) are standardized guidelines for accounting and financial reporting.read more (GAAP)Calculating and interpreting several different financial ratiosFinancial RatiosFinancial ratios are indications of a company’s financial performance. There are several forms of financial ratios that indicate the company’s results, financial risks, and operational efficiency, such as the liquidity ratio, asset turnover ratio, operating profitability ratios, business risk ratios, financial risk ratio, stability ratios, and so on.read morePreparing journal entries with debitsDebitsDebit represents either an increase in a company’s expenses or a decline in its revenue. read more and creditsCalculating depreciationCalculating DepreciationThe Depreciation Expense Formula computes how much of the asset’s value can be deducted as an expense on the income statement. Formula for Straight-line depreciation method= Cost of an asset - Residual value/useful life of an asset.read more and amortization expenses

#2 – Accounting for Non-Accountants

Author: Wayne Label

This well-written book is focused on people who are new to account principles, as it lays out, for instance, different sequential snapshots of the balance sheet to demonstrate how individual adjustments should be treated.

Apart from providing the basics of the books of accounts, the author focuses on a few major topics like:

  • Dealing with audits and auditorsAuditorsAn auditor is a professional appointed by an enterprise for an independent analysis of their accounting records and financial statements. An auditor issues a report about the accuracy and reliability of financial statements based on the country’s local operating laws.read more interpret financial statementsManaging budgetsControlling cash flowsCash FlowsCash Flow is the amount of cash or cash equivalent generated & consumed by a Company over a given period. It proves to be a prerequisite for analyzing the business’s strength, profitability, & scope for betterment. read moreUsing accounting ratiosAccounting RatiosAccounting ratios measure the company’s financial health by comparing the various elements of the financial statements to gauge the organization’s progress over the period. There are four types of accounting ratios- liquidity, solvency, profitability and activity ratios.read more

#3 – Financial Statements

Author: Thomas Ittelson

Every term is defined in simple, understandable language. Concepts are explained with basic, straightforward transaction examples. The author aims to provide a solid foundation for its readers to understand the concepts.

Few takeaways from this book:

  • How do the balance sheetBalance SheetA balance sheet is one of the financial statements of a company that presents the shareholders’ equity, liabilities, and assets of the company at a specific point in time. It is based on the accounting equation that states that the sum of the total liabilities and the owner’s capital equals the total assets of the company.read more, income statementIncome StatementThe income statement is one of the company’s financial reports that summarizes all of the company’s revenues and expenses over time in order to determine the company’s profit or loss and measure its business activity over time based on user requirements.read more and cash flow statementCash Flow StatementA Statement of Cash Flow is an accounting document that tracks the incoming and outgoing cash and cash equivalents from a business.read more work together to present any company’s financial healthThe visual approach to see exactly how each transaction affects the three key financial statements of the enterprise

#4 – Accounting Handbook

Author: Jae K. Shim

A very informative and relevant book that takes an interesting approach to account. The author aims to focus on the accountants, bookkeepers, and business students as it provides perfect examples and material for referring.

Few of the topics that the book addresses are as follows:

  • Short-entry definitions of everythingA detailed explanation of accounting termsCost managementCost ManagementCost management is an integral part of business management that works on the basis of estimates, where various activities such as data collection, data analysis and mechanisms, process evaluation, and event reporting are carried out so that the decision-maker can plan and control the organization’s budget requirements, allowing the decision-maker to make informed decisions.read more, taxation forms, and their preparationFinancial reportingFinancial ReportingFinancial reporting is a systematic process of recording and representing a company’s financial data. The reports reflect a firm’s financial health and performance in a given period. Management, investors, shareholders, financiers, government, and regulatory agencies rely on financial reports for decision-making.read more requirements and compliance, and U.S. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards)

#5 – Schaum’s Outline of Principles of Accounting

Author: Joel J. Lerner

The book comprises a collection of solved problems in accounting principles so that readers can easily connect the dots.

A few of the major topics covered in this book are as follows:

  • Debits, credits, the chart of accountsChart Of AccountsA chart of accounts (COA) lists all the general ledger accounts that an organization uses to organize its financial transactions systematically. Every account in the chart holds a number to facilitate its identification in the ledger while reading the financial statements.
  • read more, the ledger, inventory measurement, net realizable value, recovery of bad debts, and methods for computing interestFixed assets, depreciationDepreciationDepreciation is a systematic allocation method used to account for the costs of any physical or tangible asset throughout its useful life. Its value indicates how much of an asset’s worth has been utilized. Depreciation enables companies to generate revenue from their assets while only charging a fraction of the cost of the asset in use each year.
  • read more and scrap value, methods of depreciationPayroll and payroll taxesPayroll TaxesPayroll taxes are statutory deductions made by the employer from an employee’s regular salary and wages, and usually, such withholdings mostly have both employer and employee equal contributions. These taxes are collected by tax authorities from respective employers and paid for human welfare schemes, infrastructure development.read more

#6 – Accounting All-in-One For Dummies

Author: Kenneth W. Boyd

As the book promises on its cover with its title, it offers to impart learning in simple and layman’s terms. The author consistently uses examples and analogies to make the topics interesting and relatable.

Some of the aspects of accounting that the book covers are as follows:

  • Setting up accounting system; recording accounting transactionsRecording Accounting TransactionsAccounting Transactions are business activities which have a direct monetary effect on the finances of a Company. For example, Apple representing nearly $200 billion in cash & cash equivalents in its balance sheet is an accounting transaction. read moreAdjusting and closing entriesClosing EntriesClosing Entries in Accounting are the journal entries made at the end of an accounting period to nullify the balances of temporary accounts by transferring the amount to the permanent accounts. read moreAuditing and detecting financial fraudPlanning and budgeting for businesses

#7 – Accounting

The Ultimate Guide to Accounting for Beginners

Author: Greg Shields

Providing a general overview of financial statementFinancial StatementFinancial statements are written reports prepared by a company’s management to present the company’s financial affairs over a given period (quarter, six monthly or yearly). These statements, which include the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flows, and Shareholders Equity Statement, must be prepared in accordance with prescribed and standardized accounting standards to ensure uniformity in reporting at all levels.read more, analysis, and principles followed by the accounting practice, this book offers simple explanations that are easy to follow to relate the accounting terms and concepts in business usage.

Few major topics that the book covers are as below:

  • The Cash Flow StatementThe CPA and Public AccountingTax AccountingTax AccountingTax accounting is the framework that considers the tax returns instead of public financial statements disclosure while recording and presenting the business transactions in the books of accounts. It complies with the rules and policies of the company’s Internal Revenue Code.read moreAccounting ReportsAccounting ReportsAccounting reports are created using a company’s accounting data to check ledger-by-ledger transactions over a given time period. Accounting reports also include financial statements such as cash flow statements, profit and loss statements, and balance sheets.read more: The Income Statement

#8 – Accounting QuickStart Guide

Author: Josh Bauerle CPA

It is a very thorough book that covers almost all major topics and terms in accounting; The book is very helpful for small business owners as it outlines the procedures to handle accounting for a small business.

A few of the major topics covered in the book are as follows:

  • The Principles of Financial AccountingFinancial AccountingFinancial accounting refers to bookkeeping, i.e., identifying, classifying, summarizing and recording all the financial transactions in the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. It even includes the analysis of these financial statements.read more, Managerial Accounting, and Tax AccountingBusiness Entity Types; Their Pros, Cons and Their Financial StatementsGAAP Standards and their relevance to AccountantsThe Logic and Methods of Classic Double-Entry Accounting

#9 – The Accounting Game

Author: Darrell Mullis

Using the world of a child’s lemonade stand to teach the basics of managing finances, this book makes the subject enjoyable and understandable. The author makes readers use their senses, emotions, and critical thinking skills to learn. The book mainly focuses on business owners/managers and budding entrepreneurs.

A few of the key learnings that the book imparts are as follows:

  • Business accounting proceduresAccounting ProceduresThe accounting procedure is the process of standardized nature that performs a specific accounting function designed to incorporate better risk management policies to complete these functions efficiently. It includes billings, invoices to suppliers, bank reconciliation, requiring comprehensive and streamlined procedures.read more and creating financial reportsFinancial AccountingStep-by-step processes for managing to account in business

#10 – Bookkeepers’ Boot Camp

Author: Angie Mohr

This book shows small business owners the essentials of record-keepingRecord-keepingRecordkeeping is a basic accounting stage that teaches us how to keep track of monetary business transactions with the goal of keeping a permanent record of all transactions, knowing the correct picture of assets-liabilities, profits and losses, etc., keeping control of expenses with the goal of minimizing expenses, and having important information for legal and tax purposes.read more, and why it’s crucial to a business’s success to track financial data. The author shows the business owners how to sort through the information and paperwork, record what is important, and use that information to grow a business for success.

Some of the main learnings that the book imparts are as follows:

  • Purpose of record/bookkeepingAnalyzing and tracking financial informationFinancial InformationFinancial Information refers to the summarized data of monetary transactions that is helpful to investors in understanding company’s profitability, their assets, and growth prospects. Financial Data about individuals like past Months Bank Statement, Tax return receipts helps banks to understand customer’s credit quality, repayment capacity etc.read moreStarting a business, growing a business, and exiting a businessExiting A BusinessA business exit strategy is a plan by which an individual running an existing business plans to liquidate his/her stake through sale or another transfer mechanism in order to make either a loss-making exit or meet immediate cash requirements.read more

Here is the guide to Accounting Books for Beginners. Here we provide the list of Top 10 Basic Accounting Books to read in 2023 & a sneak peek at what those books propose & takeaways. You may refer to the following books to learn more –

  • Accounting BooksAccounting Standards BooksManagement Accounting BooksFinance Books

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