Title: Financial Accounting and Reporting Eighth edition
Author: Barry Elliott and Jamie Elliott
Publisher: FT Prentice Hall
Price: £37.99
ISBN: 0273 68540-6
Reviewer: Dr Jeff Wooller
Any problems there may have been with this book have been ironed out in the previous seven editions and technically the book is very sound. It is one of the best-selling and leading texts in the field.
Barry Elliott is a training consultant with extensive teaching experience particularly in the Far East. Jamie Elliott is a director with Deloitte & Touche. He has previously had much lecturing experience in the UK. We are not informed of their relationship, if any.
The corporate governance chapter has been updated and this edition includes an overview of the progress and current position of the International Accounting Standards Board. However, the book is fully updated only to May 2003.
The book is very heavy at approaching 1,000 pages. The reason is probably because there is a tendency for new editions to add without taking away. I am not sure of the usefulness of some of the chapters. For example, we have 34 pages of inflation accounting. Why anyone should be interested in this topic I do not know unless they are into the history of accounting failures.
A quick reference to the website quoted above indicates that this work has been superseded by the ninth edition, published in September 2004. This later edition includes coverage of international accounting standards and international financial reporting standards and is claimed to be the most up-to-date work on the market.
Why should anyone want to purchase the eighth edition which is dated 2004 but is already superseded? Perhaps there are students taking examinations based on the old standards and need something relatively up-to-date on corporate governance.
The cover prices of the eighth and ninth editions are the same. However, hefty discounts on this eighth edition will no doubt become available shortly as both editions appear side by side on the booksellers’ shelves.
Dr Jeff Wooller is President of the Institute of Professional Financial Managers
