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A review by sergek94
Accounting for the Numberphobic: A Survival Guide for Small Business Owners by Dawn Fotopulos
4.0
“The goal is to build a profitable business, not maintain an expensive hobby that will leave you in the poorhouse.”
As an accounting major myself, it was refreshing to read this book by Dawn Fotopulos, where she manages to take the dry and monotonous details of accounting and translate them into easily digestible basics any small business owner should be aware of. The author deep dives into the very basics of accounting, giving clear explanations on the crucial financial reports, namely the Income Statement, the Statement of Cash Flows and the Balance Sheet and their respective roles in allowing small business owners to see just where their company stands. She makes an important distinction between the income recorded in the Income Statement and the actual cash received, which is oftentimes the downfall of small business owners, who run for big figure sales with doubtful clients who don't meet their payment obligations. She explains how the Statement of Cash Flows is an essential statement any business owner should use to track their cash inflows and outflows, and how the Balance Sheet provides very crucial information on the health of the business at any point in time, especially its position when it comes to their current assets and their current liabilities.
Other extras I enjoyed were the perspectives of loan officers in banks on what criteria they use to assess whether a business is eligible for a loan or not. The fact that every detail matters, including customer relationships with the business and the personal Balance Sheet of the business owner is an under-looked aspect that is very important. The interview at the end of the book with Norm Brodsky was also interesting, reinforcing the points mentioned in the book.
One qualm I had with the book is the lack of references when it comes to certain sources of information and detailed explanations on the rationale behind some of the author's proposals. However, it's important to note that this book isn't supposed to be tackling with complex accounting theory, but making the accounting basics accessible to people not fluent in accounting language.
Overall, this was a fun and easy read.
As an accounting major myself, it was refreshing to read this book by Dawn Fotopulos, where she manages to take the dry and monotonous details of accounting and translate them into easily digestible basics any small business owner should be aware of. The author deep dives into the very basics of accounting, giving clear explanations on the crucial financial reports, namely the Income Statement, the Statement of Cash Flows and the Balance Sheet and their respective roles in allowing small business owners to see just where their company stands. She makes an important distinction between the income recorded in the Income Statement and the actual cash received, which is oftentimes the downfall of small business owners, who run for big figure sales with doubtful clients who don't meet their payment obligations. She explains how the Statement of Cash Flows is an essential statement any business owner should use to track their cash inflows and outflows, and how the Balance Sheet provides very crucial information on the health of the business at any point in time, especially its position when it comes to their current assets and their current liabilities.
Other extras I enjoyed were the perspectives of loan officers in banks on what criteria they use to assess whether a business is eligible for a loan or not. The fact that every detail matters, including customer relationships with the business and the personal Balance Sheet of the business owner is an under-looked aspect that is very important. The interview at the end of the book with Norm Brodsky was also interesting, reinforcing the points mentioned in the book.
One qualm I had with the book is the lack of references when it comes to certain sources of information and detailed explanations on the rationale behind some of the author's proposals. However, it's important to note that this book isn't supposed to be tackling with complex accounting theory, but making the accounting basics accessible to people not fluent in accounting language.
Overall, this was a fun and easy read.