BASIC ACCOUNTING

Mostyn’s (Accounting/Mission College) update to his original edition, published in 2007, covers foundational topics of basic accounting in eight sections.

Subjects range from definitions of businesses, corporations, and partnerships to understanding transactions, financial statements, and the use of a basic accounting system. The author explains all concepts in detail, uses a simple, informal style, and enhances the text with many images. The book itself is well-designed—oversized with easy-to-read text that makes exceptional use of a second color to highlight key titles, subheads, and graphics. Each section features individual “Learning Goals” keyed to specific competencies, such as “Analyze Individual Transactions,” “Identify and Prepare a Balance Sheet,” and “Explain the Accounting Cycle.” The Learning Goal chapters are made up of not just text, but also tables, copious examples, tips, and question-and-answer exercises. At the end of each Learning Goal is “Practice,” a test with multiple choice questions and problems to solve. Some sections close with a “Cumulative Test” that assesses the student’s knowledge of the material; answers for the test are provided along with a “Help Table” that assists the student in identifying strengths and weaknesses. Mostyn maintains an authoritative voice throughout but manages to energize the content with unexpected and welcome additions; for example, he employs a three-part “historical fable” to illustrate several accounting principles, inserts cleverly captioned vintage illustrations, and includes a CD with supplemental resources. The purpose of the book is clearly to impart the fundamentals of accounting in a highly structured, step-by-step manner in which every lesson builds on the one before it. In this regard, the book mightily succeeds, almost to the extent of replacing the need for a live instructor.

Comprehensive, graphically pleasing, and expertly constructed; an outstanding teaching and learning tool.