Starting Accounting next year, help to get ahead!

*Tripper*

Im starting a Finance degree next year and was wondering if anyone could help me pick some book or anything to help me for when I start. I haven't done AC in years!

Cheers!

Hanley

Try and find some way to teach yourself double entry.

Every debit MUST be matched by a credit of an equal amount somewhere in the books (it may be several credits to total tho). The reverse also applies.

Very basically, when you credit a creditor's account you increase a liability (ie credit balances are by and large liabilities) and when you debit a debtor's account you increase you assets (debits balances = assets).

So by crediting an asset account you reduce the amount of THAT asset. But you may increase an asset somewhere else.

A simple example is a customer pays you money.
You CREDIT their account (because they owe you less, that asset is decreased)
You DEBIT your bank account with the money received (that is you're increasing you bank account, an asset, because you debited you see!)

It gets really complicated really quickly, but if I ever get confused I always think back to a credit in a creditors account is a liability and work it from there.

Hope this helps!