Who We Are:
Providers of Basic Financial Accounting Content
Worthy and James Publishing is a company created from the concept that introductory financial accounting and related learning resources should and can be made available at moderate cost without sacrificing academic-quality, comprehensive content. This means content that is clearly written, addresses different learning styles, contains extensive practice with detailed solutions, and includes all necessary ancillary materials required for an introductory study of financial accounting.
If you are a student, accounting staff employee, accounting or non-accounting manager, entrepreneur, investor, job seeker, teacher, or information resource professional, we think that you will find our resources to be of interest. These resources include innovative book publications and special purpose reports for accounting self-study, and basic accounting and essential business math assessment systems. The links above will guide you to learning resource details.
What is Basic Accounting Content?
Basic accounting education consists of two fundamental elements:
- learning to prepare accounting information
- learning to use accounting information
Preparing accounting information requires an understanding of the complete accounting cycle, which in turn means developing good skills in event (transaction) analysis, recording in a traditional accounting system (use of debits and credits, journals, ledgers), periodically adjusting and closing the accounting records, and the ability to correctly apply generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) throughout the process. The culmination of these skills is the ability to prepare financial statements that properly and fairly report financial condition and the results of operations.
Learning to use accounting information means developing the ability to interpret and apply financial information, particularly as reported in financial statements such as the balance sheet, income statement, statement of owner’s or stockholders’ equity, and statement of cash flows. For example, using financial ratios to analyze key relationships in the balance sheet and income statement is an important skill. The ability to properly prepare accounting information (above) greatly enhances the ability to use accounting information; in fact, both skills are mutually reinforcing and intimately related. A complete introduction to financial accounting develops both of these skills.
Finally, two key components of basic accounting education always require inclusion in the accounting skillset:
- The ability to understand and apply a system of internal control (a process that helps safeguard assets from theft and error — for example, preparing a bank reconciliation)
- An Appreciation of the importance of high ethical standards that ensure reliable and fair reporting (without which, accounting would have little practical use.)
Introductory Accounting Education
Forum for Learning Accounting Principles
Learning is a lot more fun when we can share what we know with others. Both students and educators may enjoy a visit to the Professor’s Office for discussions about teaching methods and tools, study techniques, and other practical academic topics.
The Professor’s Office
Accounting and the Credit Crisis of 2007/2008 – Part I
During the summer of 2007 the financial managers of large U.S. corporations, particularly large investment banks, began to notice a disturbing trend. Each time their companies tried to borrow money using short-term loans (called commercial paper) it became more difficult to locate willing lenders, and for loans that could be obtained, interest rates were becoming noticeably higher. By the fall of 2007, the credit problem had worsened and begun to spread. At the same time that the commercial paper market continued to deteriorate, banks had begun cutting off loans to each other and many mortgage lenders could not obtain funds by borrowing. The problem became especially severe for businesses that were directly or indirectly connected to real estate: home builders, residential lenders, and world-wide banks and investment companies holding securities related to real estate loans as part of their assets. As investors became aware of the problem, they immediately began liquidating their investments in these companies; as the credit fears grew, waves of selling began to wash away values in other companies’ stocks that investors were forced to sell in order to obtain cash. By January of 2008, investment values estimated at more than two hundred billion dollars had disappeared.
