There are some very good accounting for non-accountants and finance for non-finance people books and methods, but these are still too technical and intimidating for many people. There are some good visual methods, but they are expensive and not accessible to all.
This book aims to fill these gaps. It aims to improve your mental clarity, give you the confidence to speak the language, learn more about the concepts, and look at things in a different way. It can be used as pre-reading to other in-depth introductions to the topic.
We also hope to give the world some simple symbols and drawings to use that will help people communicate with one another. The method should work whether you have a four-coloured BIC pen and Moleskine notebook, a stick and a dirt ground, and everything in between and beyond.
The intention is for this method to be available to everyone, without exception, who wants to learn basic accounting and finance.
In these ways, we hope to improve understanding within and among people.
This is the beta edition, so it is meant to be read by power users and early adopters who can give constructive feedback. Complete beginners might want to wait for the next edition. Brave beginners may wish to volunteer to test out the method.
Here are some questions for readers: What worked and why? What didn't and why? Was anything factually or ethically wrong and what is the right thing? What is debatable and why?
This is a sourcebook because it will be the source of many spin-offs and remixes. Therefore, it touches on everything and has something for different types of people. Do not be alarmed. We have even thrown in the kitchen sink.
Our current economic and financial system is, for better or worse, the best we have so far. It needs to continue to function, but also to change - and quickly. Whether you are part of the current system, want to run it as it stands, or are striving to change it, it will help greatly if you know the basics of what we have today.
It's difficult. But it's not all that difficult if you find a way in that suits you.
The hope is that this will be an easy gateway into the beautiful world of accounting and finance.
Facts have been checked by experts. Any mistakes that survived the editing process are the author's. Where there are debates, we bring them up.
The price of the paperback and e-book includes a donation to the Easy AF Intro project to make basic accounting and finance skills learnable by everyone, without exception.