The 7 Best Accounting Books for Accountants and Bookkeepers [2022 list]
Whether you’re a solo business owner, a seasoned CPA, or a budding bookkeeper, having the right accounting books will help ensure that your finances are on point.
That is why we’ve rounded up some of the best accounting books that should be part of any beginner to advanced accounting library.
7 Best Accounting Books in 2022
1. Accounting for the Numberphobic: A Survival Guide for Small Business Owners
This book covers a wide range of accounting topics, including revenue systems, net income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow systems.
In a satirical way, Fotopulos also questions business owners about why they treat accounting as a drag. “Why do so many business owners dread looking at the numbers?” she asks. However, as business owners, having an intimate knowledge of financial statements, profit, and loss reports, and ledgers can equip them to survive in the highly competitive marketplace of the 21st century.
Written in plain English, the author convinces the readers about the importance of knowing the numbers themselves as it is not just about seeing how the business is doing but also knowing where it is going. Doing the accounting task yourself, she explains, will help you guide the company toward the highest profits possible.
Overall, this easy-to-follow accounting guide about income statements and cash flow will help demystify your company’s financial dashboard.
About the Author
Dawn Fotopulos is an associate professor at The King’s College and an experienced entrepreneur and small-business turnaround expert. Leading an accomplished 20-year career in business and by sharing her knowledge in books and her blog, Dawn has rescued hundreds of small businesses from financial disaster.
Buy now from the Book Depository
2. Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making
This book provides a practical introduction to financial accounting. Authors Paul D. Kimmel, Jerry J. Weygandt, and Jill E. Mitchell explain accounting concepts and emphasize the importance of decision-making.
Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making also contains topics to help students earn a better understanding of accounting basics. Even more helpful, the examples used are easy to understand. A plus point for us about this book is its writing style—it is student-friendly, approachable, and easy to read.
About the Authors
Paul Kimmel, Ph. DCPA is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin. He was also a former public accountant with Deloitte & Touche, Minneapolis, and has published papers incorporating critical thinking into accounting.
Donald E. Kieso, PhD, CPA gained his public accounting experience with Price Waterhouse & Co. (San Francisco and Chicago) and Arthur Andersen & Co. (Chicago). He is also a Professor of Accounting at Northern Illinois University.
Jill Mitchell, MS, MEd, CIA, is a Professor of Accounting at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and the previous president of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA).
Buy now at Wiley.com
3. Wiley Practitioner’s Guide to GAAP 2022: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
If you’re looking for a comprehensive guide to GAAP, then this book is a great choice.
With complete coverage of the Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Codification, the Wiley Practitioner’s Guide to GAAP 2022: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles is a must-have for accountants and bookkeepers.
This 2022 guide contains in-depth coverage of recent changes on leases, goodwill impairment, credit losses, non-for-profits, and income taxes. It likewise contains 300 practical examples to help explain how the generally accepted accounting principles and the latest changes to them can be applied in the real world.
Each chapter of this 2022 book includes a discussion of perspectives, sources of GAAP, and accurate definitions of terms, rules, and concepts. It also includes comprehensive topic-specific appendices and cross-references.
About the Author
Joanne M. Flood, CPA, is an independent consultant on accounting and auditing technical topics. She worked as an auditor in both a local and international firm and worked as a senior manager in The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA’s) Professional Development group.
Buy now on Amazon
4. Warren Buffett Accounting Book: Reading Financial Statements for Value Investing
Warren Buffett Accounting Book: Reading Financial Statements for Value Investing is authored by Stig Brodersen and Preston Pysh. They believe that accounting won’t be complete without thinking about investing and that’s exactly what they discussed in this book.
This book can put you through the nitty-gritty of investing without the difficulty or usual boredom when coming across heavy financial concepts and complex terms. It aims to enlighten investing professionals, accountants, and bookkeepers who want to fully analyze financial statements.
We can say the authors have done a great job in providing a link to various metrics of financial statements and thoroughly explaining why some metrics are used and what they represent.
As a bonus, you get to learn to analyze firms and when you should buy or sell stocks. Some readers even commented they wish they had read this book first before buying their first stock.
About the Authors
Stig Brodersen is a Danish value investor, author, owner of investment company Stig Brodersen Holding, and a former college professor. Before he took up stock investing, he worked for one of the leading energy trading companies in Europe.
Preston Pysh is the founder of BuffettsBooks.com and someone who enjoys taking complex ideas and making them accessible. He is an investor, author, entrepreneur, and cryptocurrency proponent. His videos on financial investing have been viewed by millions of people around the world.
Buy now at the Book Depository
5. Accounting All-in-One For Dummies
The Accounting All-in-One For Dummies is a culmination of efforts from these authors Kenneth Boyd, Lita Epstein, Mark P. Holtzman, Frimette Kass-Shraibman, Maire Loughran, Vijay S. Sampath, John A. Tracy, Tage C. Tracy, Jill Gilbert Welytok.
And how could we not include this as one of the best accounting books for accountants and bookkeepers when it is such a powerful one-stop accounting reference? In fact, it’s like 9 books in one.
That’s because it covers 9 major topics:
- setting up your accounting system,
- adjusting and closing entries,
- recording accounting transactions,
- reporting on your financial statements,
- preparing income statements and balance sheets,
- planning and budgeting for your business,
- auditing and detecting financial fraud,
- handling and making purchase decisions,
- making savvy business decisions.
As you open the book, you’ll also find the basics on debts, credits, and journal entries, details on employee payroll and benefits, how to develop end-of-period procedures, the lowdown on depreciation and amortization, a guide to analyzing financial statements, and an overview of government financial regulations, tips to detect and prevent accounting fraud, and how to plan for long-term debt obligations.
About the Authors
Kenneth W. Boyd, CPA, is the author of various popular “For Dummies” books. He has over 30 years of experience in accounting and financial services and he also runs an accounting blog where you can gain insights into all things related to accounting.
Lita Epstein, MBA, takes great pleasure in helping people develop good investing, tax planning, and financial skills. Before writing accounting and financial books, she worked as a daily newspaper reporter, a press secretary for a US Congressman, a magazine editor, and a fundraiser for former President Jimmy Carter so he can continue his international work through The Carter Center.
Mark P. Holtzman is the Chair of the Department of Accounting and Taxation at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He has a world in the Audit Department of the New York Office of Deloitte and in his academic work, he actively works to innovate in the classroom by creating effective and engaging learning experiences for his students.
Buy now on Amazon
6. Taxes Made Simple: Income Taxes Explained in 100 Pages or Less
Taxes Made Simple: Income Taxes Explained in 100 Pages or Less is a book written by Mike Piper. The author understands that the first baby step into the accounting world has to be cautiously trodden.
As such, he kept things simple with practical examples to help elucidate the accounting concepts without unnecessary legal jargon. Some of the things you’ll find in this book are how to know which tax forms to fill out, some money-saving deductions and credits to make sure you qualify for them, state income taxes, how to calculate your refund, capital gains and losses, accounting equation, business accounting practices, how to calculate and interpret several different financial ratios, and Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
Truly, Mike Piper is a master at simplification with this book about tax accounting. This will surely help even a beginner in accounting make better choices in their tax-filing years.
About the Author
Mike Piper is the author of various finance books and the blog Oblivious Investor. He is a CPA from Missouri, USA, and his writing has been featured in many places, such as Forbes, MorningStar, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and AARP Magazine.
Among his books are: Social Security Made Simple, LLC vs. S-Corp vs. C-Corp, Cost Accounting Made Simple, and Can I Retire?
Buy now on Amazon
7. Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports
What better way to learn how to detect accounting fraud than from someone who is a well-known figure in forensic accounting – Howard Schilit. His co-author in this book is Jeremy Perler, who will guide you into the corporate bag of tricks and will arm you with investigative tools.
Their book Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports contains various types of accounting fraud and provides practical examples and suggestions on how to detect fraud.
This book will moreover equip you to deal with cash flow statement shenanigans by discovering new techniques used by the management that allow it to manipulate cash flow and earnings. You can also learn tricks that firms use to exaggerate earnings and revenues.
See also how companies use an accounting game and misleading key metrics to fool investors of their financial performance. We like how the authors shed light on all the informative details by showing the most shocking financial miscreants and frauds in the global markets.
Overall, this book is best for not only financial professionals but even for the layman who wants to better understand the tricks used by head company makers to trick investors.
About the Authors
Dr Howard Schilit is the Founder/CEO of Schilit Forensics. He is a pioneer in detecting accounting tricks used in corporate financial reports that usually mislead investors. Dr Schilit moreover heads a training and investment research consultancy Schilit Forensics, which helps clients spot firms that use accounting tricks in their corporate filings.
Jeremy Perler, CFA, CPA, works as a Managing Director of Research at Schilit Forensics. It is an expert forensic accounting consultancy that provides advice to investors on financial shenanigans and accounting gimmicks in their portfolio companies.
Buy now on Amazon
Also, check out…
Management and Cost Accounting
Management and Cost Accounting by Colin Drury is one of the best European texts on management accounting and has even been redesigned in its 7th edition to make it easier to use and much shorter for readers.
The aim of the seventh edition of this accounting book is to explain the principle involved in the evaluation and design of management and cost accounting information systems. It also emphasizes management accounting systems – those used to classify, accumulate, report, and summarize information that will be used for decision-making purposes in an organization.
If you are studying for an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) advanced level qualification, then be familiar with this book because it explains your management accounting in great detail.
[Related Post: Top Forums for Accountants and Bookkeepers]
Buy now at the Book Depository
Refine Your Knowledge and Expertise in Accounting Today
In any business, its bottom line always depends on the way you handle your finances.
Reading some, if not all, of these accounting books, will help build your knowledge and expertise so you can make empowered business decisions based on best accounting practices.
So, go ahead and check out these great reads!
Balancing your books, business, and client relationships isn’t easy. Envoice.eu is expense management software that gives you the time and info you need to focus on your big picture – your team, your business, and your clients.
Articles you might like
STAY ALWAYS TUNED
Subscribe to newsletter
STAY ALWAYS TUNED
Still not sure?
- Don’t spend time on manual work
- Streamline processes with AI
- Automate your invoice flow
- Integrate with the tools you rely on every day
