Intentionally limited in scope; presents useful information on receivables.
A debut guide offers a detailed explanation of receivables.
Receivables, or “impending cash collections,” are essential to the financial health of most businesses and a basic component of any accounting system. The intent of this simply written manual is to explain the myriad types of receivables and show how they relate to the accounting cycle. Hall begins at the most basic level, illustrating the accounting equation of “Assets = Liabilities + Equity.” He briefly explains the accounting cycle to provide context for the subsequent discussion of receivables, a broad category that is then subdivided by topic. Each subject consists of a short chapter—sometimes just a few paragraphs—covering specifics, including sales returns and allowances, credit card payments, rent receivable, sales on installment, and more. Some topics, such as cash advances to employees, rebates, and loans receivable, are likely to be lesser known or perhaps even overlooked by those who lack experience with accounting systems. Often, the author will add some explanatory text to highlight the benefits of a particular element; for example, in discussing the disposition of accounts receivable, Hall writes: “A quick way to improve the cash flow position is achieved by the selling of the accounts receivable or pledging them as security for loans.” The primary strength of this brief book is the multitude of examples—over 50 of them—used by the author to illuminate various aspects of receivables. These balance sheets, journal entries, tables, sample invoices, and the like are extremely helpful in depicting how receivables function in accounting. Included at the end of the manual are four “mini cases,” in which Hall poses some problems to solve; these cases demonstrate real-world application of the material. A legitimate criticism of this guide involves its restricted content; “receivables” is just a single class recorded in a business accounting system, and focusing on it in isolation may obscure a wider understanding of fiscal procedures. Still, for those who want a quick introduction to receivables alone, this book should prove to be a suitable choice.
Intentionally limited in scope; presents useful information on receivables.Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4582-1433-1
Page Count: 164
Publisher: AbbottPress
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.
A well-constructed critique of an economic system that, by the author’s account, is a driver of the world’s destruction.
Harvard Business School professor Henderson vigorously questions the bromide that “management’s only duty is to maximize shareholder value,” a notion advanced by Milton Friedman and accepted uncritically in business schools ever since. By that logic, writes the author, there is no reason why corporations should not fish out the oceans, raise drug prices, militate against public education (since it costs tax money), and otherwise behave ruinously and anti-socially. Many do, even though an alternative theory of business organization argues that corporations and society should enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutual benefit, which includes corporate investment in what economists call public goods. Given that the history of humankind is “the story of our increasing ability to cooperate at larger and larger scales,” one would hope that in the face of environmental degradation and other threats, we might adopt the symbiotic model rather than the winner-take-all one. Problems abound, of course, including that of the “free rider,” the corporation that takes the benefits from collaborative agreements but does none of the work. Henderson examines case studies such as a large food company that emphasized environmentally responsible production and in turn built “purpose-led, sustainable living brands” and otherwise led the way in increasing shareholder value by reducing risk while building demand. The author argues that the “short-termism” that dominates corporate thinking needs to be adjusted to a longer view even though the larger problem might be better characterized as “failure of information.” Henderson closes with a set of prescriptions for bringing a more equitable economics to the personal level, one that, among other things, asks us to step outside routine—eat less meat, drive less—and become active in forcing corporations (and politicians) to be better citizens.
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5417-3015-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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