Archive for August, 2006
Your Bookkeeping Stinks! A book review
Your Bookkeeping Stinks!
By Scott Gregory, CPA
The world is filled with books about how to do your books. It is easy to find books on paying your taxes and balancing your checkbook. There are even books that introduce you to double-entry accounting. Understanding these books, however, is hardly ever easy. Rare is the book that is written to be understood by the average business owner. Luckily, “Your Bookkeeping Stinks!” is one of those rare gems that is both informative and easy to read, even if you are not a CPA.
Gregory is experienced at working with the owners of small businesses. This is evident in the simple and to the point topics that he covers in this 50 page book. You will not find a lot of “How-To’s” in this book. What is covered are the many pitfalls and time sinks that many new (and old) business owners find themselves caught in time after time.
The book is broken down in to 21 “Stinkers”. These topics range from balancing your checkbook to how to prevent fraud from occurring within your business. Gregory has even included a checklist at the back of the book to help readers ensure that all the “Stinkers” have been cleared from their business. The book also includes an appendix with a list of monthly reports to help business owners understand the health of their business.
I have two problems with “Your Bookkeeping Stinks!” First, it is too short. At only 50 pages, it is easily read in one sitting and just as easily forgotten. Second, at times is reads like a QuickBooks advertisement. The solution for a “Stinker” is most often, “Get good accounting software, like QuickBooks.”
However, these shortcomings aside, “Your Bookkeeping Stinks!” sets itself apart from the pack of self-help accounting books by ease of reading, and well categorized content. Scott Gregory’s “Your Bookkeeping Stinks!” is a good book for someone who wants to understand the world of accounting without being an accountant.