News
ENLARGE
Bob Follett was a history major in college, so when he started moving up the rungs of the corporate ladder in the publishing world, he needed to know more about the accounting game.
So Follett studied. He was asked to conduct seminars for others like him. And then there was a book, published in the late 1970s. That book, “How to Keep Score in Business: Accounting and Financial Analysis for the Non-Accountant,” was just revised by Follett, a longtime Summit County resident, and re-released last month.
“The book is intended for people like I was,” Follett said. “We needed a book like this then, and the same is still true.”
“How to Keep Score” has 11 chapters of lessons for the accounting newbie, including instruction on balance sheets, income statements, return on investment and cash flow budget. But Follett said the most important lesson is the first: Scores are not real dollars. That figure written on the last line of an income statement usually entitled “net income” is not the amount of money a business has to use, but a score. The number is not accurate in real cash because it includes invoices or purchases that may not yet have been paid.
“These are scores, they do not represent cash you can go out and spend,” Follett said. “If (readers) walk away with that in their heads, then I figure I got my main lesson across.”
In his introduction, Follett writes that while the book won't make the reader an accountant, it will help them talk to accountants and bookkeepers and understand the financial reports they produce. And that's why it is important it was written by a non-accountant — Follett said while there are numerous other books on the subject, they're all written by accountants from their point of view. Oftentimes, there's a lot of jargon those new to the subject won't understand.
“Some of the concepts are confusing. Some of the computations are a bit complex,” Follett writes in his introduction. “There is nothing here that a good high school student cannot understand or handle. But it will take time. The time you spend will be repaid with a basic understanding of business accounting.”
This is Follett's ninth published book, most on business-related topics. When he is not skiing or hiking he continues to work on book projects.
The book costs $19.99, and is available through www.ftpress.com or www.amazon.com
So Follett studied. He was asked to conduct seminars for others like him. And then there was a book, published in the late 1970s. That book, “How to Keep Score in Business: Accounting and Financial Analysis for the Non-Accountant,” was just revised by Follett, a longtime Summit County resident, and re-released last month.
“The book is intended for people like I was,” Follett said. “We needed a book like this then, and the same is still true.”
“How to Keep Score” has 11 chapters of lessons for the accounting newbie, including instruction on balance sheets, income statements, return on investment and cash flow budget. But Follett said the most important lesson is the first: Scores are not real dollars. That figure written on the last line of an income statement usually entitled “net income” is not the amount of money a business has to use, but a score. The number is not accurate in real cash because it includes invoices or purchases that may not yet have been paid.
“These are scores, they do not represent cash you can go out and spend,” Follett said. “If (readers) walk away with that in their heads, then I figure I got my main lesson across.”
In his introduction, Follett writes that while the book won't make the reader an accountant, it will help them talk to accountants and bookkeepers and understand the financial reports they produce. And that's why it is important it was written by a non-accountant — Follett said while there are numerous other books on the subject, they're all written by accountants from their point of view. Oftentimes, there's a lot of jargon those new to the subject won't understand.
“Some of the concepts are confusing. Some of the computations are a bit complex,” Follett writes in his introduction. “There is nothing here that a good high school student cannot understand or handle. But it will take time. The time you spend will be repaid with a basic understanding of business accounting.”
This is Follett's ninth published book, most on business-related topics. When he is not skiing or hiking he continues to work on book projects.
The book costs $19.99, and is available through www.ftpress.com or www.amazon.com
