Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts

Students are often overwhelmed by the amount ofinformation presented in the introductory financial accounting course, whileinstructors often want their students to better grasp the big picture of therole financial accounting plays in business. Fundamentals of FinancialAccounting Concepts takes a unique approach to building accounting skills, focusingstudents on financial statement effects while maintaining a more traditionaluse of debits and credits. With this method, the authors drive studentcuriosity and inspire them to ask the “why” questions that get at the heart ofhow accounting works.

Through use of the financial statements model andhorizontal transaction analysis, students quickly see how any given businessevent affects the financial statements. With straightforward writing, popular lecturevideos, and a unique approach, Fundamentals of Financial Accounting Concepts equipsstudents with the critical thinking skills needed by future businessdecision-makers and leaders. 

Thomas P. Edmonds, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Accounting at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He has been actively involved in teaching accounting principles throughout his academic career. Dr. Edmonds has coordinated the accounting principles courses at the University of Houston and UAB. He has taught introductory accounting in mass sections and in distance learning programs. He has received five prestigious teaching awards, including the Alabama Society of CPAs Outstanding Educator Award, the UAB Presidents Excellence in Teaching Award, and the distinguished Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for excellence in classroom teaching. He has written numerous articles that have appeared in many publications, including Issues in Accounting, the Journal of Accounting Education, Advances in Accounting Education, Accounting Education: A Journal of Theory, Practice and Research, the Accounting Review, Advances in Accounting, the Journal of Accountancy, Management Accounting, the Journal of Commercial Bank Lending, the Bankers Magazine, and the Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance. Dr. Edmonds has served as a member of the editorial board for Advances in Accounting: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations and Issues in Accounting Education. He has published five textbooks, five practice problems (including two computerized problems), and a variety of supplemental materials including study guides, work papers, and solutions manuals. Dr. Edmondss writing is influenced by a wide range of business experience. He is a successful entrepreneur. He has worked as a management accountant for Refrigerated Transport, a trucking company. Dr. Edmonds also worked in the not-for-profit sector as a commercial lending officer for the Federal Home Loan Bank. In addition, he has acted as a consultant to major corporations, including First City Bank of Houston (now Citi Bank), AmSouth Bank in Birmingham (now Regions Bank), Texaco, and Cortland Chemicals. Dr. Edmonds began his academic training at Young Harris Community College in Young Harris, Georgia. He received a B.B.A. degree with a major in finance from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. He obtained an M.B.A. degree with a concentration in finance from St. Marys University in San Antonio, Texas. His Ph.D. degree with a major in accounting was awarded by Georgia State University. Dr. Edmondss work experience and academic training have enabled him to bring a unique user perspective to this textbook.



Christopher T. Edmonds, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance at the UAB Collat School of Business.  He coordinates the mass section face-to-face and online principles of accounting courses. Dr. Edmonds specializes in developing flipped and online accounting courses and frequently speaks on these topics at universities and conferences. His passion for helping students learn inspired him to create hundreds of short videos teaching the fundamental concepts of accounting. Dr. Edmonds has received six prestigious teaching awards including the UAB Faculty Student Success Award, UAB Transformative Online Course Award, UAB Loudell Ellis Robinson Classroom Teaching Award, UAB Disability Support Recognition Award, and the Virginia Tech Favorite Faculty Award. He has published three textbooks where he is the lead video author and has written numerous articles that have appeared in publications including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Issues in Accounting Education, Advances in Accounting Education, Advances in Accounting, and Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting. Dr. Edmonds began his academic training at Colorado State University. He obtained an M.B.A. degree from UAB. His Ph.D. degree with a major in accounting was awarded by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.



Professor Olds, PhD, is associate professor of accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He serves as the coordinator of the introduction to accounting courses at VCU. Professor Olds received his AS degree from Brunswick Junior College in Brunswick, Georgia (now College of Coastal Georgia). He received a BBA in accounting from Georgia Southern College (now Georgia Southern University); his MPA and PhD degrees are from Georgia State University. After graduating from Georgia Southern, he worked as an auditor with the U.S. Department of Labor in Atlanta, Georgia. A former CPA in Virginia, Professor Olds has published articles in various professional journals and presented papers at national and regional conferences. He also served as the faculty adviser to the VCU chapter of Beta Alpha Psi for five years. In 1989, he was recognized with an Outstanding Faculty Vice-President Award by the national Beta Alpha Psi organization. Professor Olds has received both the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the VCU School of Business. Most recently he received the universitys award for maintaining High Ethical and Academic Standards While Advocating for Student-Athletes and Their Quest Towards a Degree.


Mark A. Edmonds, Ph.D., CPA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has taught principles and advanced accounting classes in face-to-face, flipped, and online formats. Dr. Edmonds began his career providing assurance services for the internationally recognized accounting firm Ernst & Young. At the conclusion of his professional service, he obtained his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He serves as the education adviser on the board of the Institute of Internal Auditors Birmingham Chapter. Dr. Edmonds's research focuses on alternative learning strategies and auditor decision making.



Jennifer Echols Edmonds, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the UAB Collat School of Business. Her primary teaching areas are financial and managerial accounting. She has experience teaching in the Undergraduate, MAC, and MBA programs and currently serves as the course coordinator for the managerial accounting sequence at UAB. She has received the UAB Loudell Ellis Robinson Classroom Teaching Award, as well as teaching grants from Deloitte, UAB, and Virginia Tech. She created teaching resources for incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into Intermediate Accounting. The teaching resources were published online at the American Accounting Association. Dr. Edmonds is also active in the research community. She has published articles in prominent journals such as Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Advances in Accounting, Research in Accounting Regulation, and The CPA Journal. Dr. Edmonds received a Bachelors in Accounting from Birmingham-Southern College and completed her Masters and Ph.D. in Accounting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.