The Ultimate Guide to Learn Financial Accounting

This guide for students learning accounting principles. This also is helpful for entrepreneurs that want to have a better grasp of financial accounting concepts.

This guide is organized by topics typically covered in an introductory financial accounting textbook. It covers the material in the following college courses:

• Financial Accounting
• Principles of Accounting I
• Intermediate Accounting

Managerial accounting topics are on a separate page. See The Ultimate Guide to Learn Managerial Accounting.

---

Lesson 1: Introduction to Accounting

Lesson 1: Introduction to Accounting

Accounting is a financial system that records transactions in accounts.

The five types of accounts are:

Assets – economic resources owned by a company

Liabilities – debts of the company; what the company owes

Equity – claim on the assets by the owners; calculated as assets – liabilities = equity

Revenues – when a company receives assets from selling a product or service

Expenses – when a company uses or consumes assets

---

There are three financial statements that each company prepares. The financial statements are:

Income Statement – Revenues minus expense equals net income or net loss

Balance Sheet – lists all the assets, liabilities, and equity of a company

Cash Flow Statement – cash inflows and cash outflows

---

Lesson 2: Recording Business Transactions

Lesson 2: Recording Business Transactions

Recording transactions in accounting uses a system called debits and credits. You need to learn the accounts and how to make journal entries into the accounts.

We use the debit and credit rules to record business transactions. These are called journal entries.

We use the debit and credit rules in recording transactions. All the transactions are recorded in a journal. A journal shows all the transactions.

See Debits and Credits Explained: A Helpful Illustrated Guide.

---

Lesson 3: Adjusting Entries

See Adjusting Entries

Adjusting entries are entries made at the end of the period to update the accounts.

---

Lesson 4: Merchandising Companies

---

Lesson 5: Inventory

---

Lesson 6: Time Value of Money

---

Lesson 7: Cash

---

Lesson 8: Receivables

---

Lesson 9: Long-term Assets

---

Lesson 10: Investments

---

Lesson 11: Current Liabilities

---

Lesson 12: Long-Term Liabilities

---

Lesson 13: Stockholders’ Equity