Want to make sense of accounting basics? This plain-English guide helps you speak your accountant's language with ease, minimizing confusion as you maximize profits.

Includes index.

pt. I. Opening the books on accounting -- 1. Accounting : the language of business, investing, finance, and taxes -- 2. Financial statements and accounting standards -- 3. Keeping the books -- pt. II. Exploring financial statements -- 4. Reporting profit -- 5. Reporting financial condition -- 6. Reporting cash flows and changes in stockholders' equity -- 7. Accounting alternatives -- pt. III. Accounting in managing a business -- 8. Deciding the legal structure for a business -- 9. Accounting in managing profit -- 10. Budgeting -- 11. Cost accounting -- pt. IV. Preparing and using financial reports -- 12. Getting a financial report ready -- 13. How lenders and investors read a financial report -- 14. Filling out the financial statement for business managers -- pt. V. The part of tens -- 15. Ten accounting tips for managers -- 16. Ten tips for reading a financial report.