Best Books for New Accountants and Finance Professionals

Are you a new accountant or someone entering the world of finance for the first time?  Well it is not surprise but you must make sure you are well read on some of the basics, but also on emerging, industry disrupting technology (side note – this goes for seasons accountants and finance professionals as well).  You may be tired of the same old, boring accounting and finance books so we put together this list of the best books for new accountants and finance professionals. Take a look!

1) Profit First

Mike Michalowicz is an author and serial entrepreneur who specializes in small businesses and startups. His latest book is an updated version of his 2014 book, where he flips the traditional model of a profitable business.

The following is the description from the book, “Conventional accounting uses the logical (albeit, flawed) formula: Sales – Expenses = Profit. The problem is, businesses are run by humans, and humans aren’t always logical. Serial entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz has developed a behavioral approach to accounting to flip the formula: Sales – Profit = Expenses.

Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by taking profit first and apportioning only what remains for expenses, entrepreneurs will transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to profitable cash cows.”

2) Mastering Bitcoin for Dummies: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies, Mining, Investing and Trading

Alan T. Norman is a proud, savvy, and ethical hacker from San Francisco. Alan firmly believes that the future will heavily rely on computer “geeks” for both security and the successes of companies and future jobs alike.

His latest book is a dummies’ guide to everything Bitcoin. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are gaining popularity, so it is important for accountants to get ahead of this growing trend.

The following is an excerpt from the book:

“Bitcoin. What is it? Where did it come from? How do you use it? Is it really just fake Internet money created by drug dealers? That is precisely what we will be answering in this book.”

Although it has been a couple years since bitcoin’s boom, it is still important to understand the underlying technology and its uses.  THat is why this book ended up on our list of best books for new accountants and finance professionals

3) Accounting Made Simple: Accounting Explained in 100 Pages or Less

Mike Piper is the author of 8 personal finance books and the popular blog Oblivious Investor. Mike’s writing has been featured in many places, including The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, AARP Magazine, Forbes, CBS News, MarketWatch, and Morningstar.

Accountants are really busy, so picking up one of these short reads is a great way to learn something on the go. Mike has several other similar books with the same format that are also must read.

The following is and excerpt from the book, “Like the other books in the ‘…in 100 Pages or Less’ series, this book is designed to give you a basic understanding of the topic (in this case, accounting), and do it as quickly as possible.”

4) The Tax and Legal Playbook: Game-Changing Solutions to Your Small-Business Questions

Mark J. Kohler, M.Pr.A., C.P.A., J.D., is a best-selling author, national speaker, radio show host, blogger for Entrepreneur.com, real estate investor, and partner at the law firm Kyler, Kohler, Ostermiller & Sorensen (www.kkoslawyers.com), as well as the CPA firm of Kohler & Eyre (www.ke-cpas.com).

Kohler’s book answers the leading tax and legal questions facing small business owners across all stages of business.

The following is an excerpt from the book:

“I realize this may sound cliché or even crazy, but during my 15 years as an attorney and CPA, I have learned that the first step toward building wealth and saving taxes is to start a small business, which could certainly involve some rental real estate as well. My successful clients have always had a small business at some point on their path to financial independence.”

5) Your First CFO: The Accounting Cure for Small Business Owners

Pam is a financial officer, coach, visionary, and leader. In her extensive career from Fortune 50 companies to start-ups, she has transformed organizations during periods of major change, including crisis-level situations, rapid growth, and significant resource constraints.

This book is great for accountants who want to get some insight into the daily struggles of their clients. It’s also a great teaching tool to give more power and financial knowledge to small business owners.

The following is an excerpt from the book:

“In the coming chapters, I’ll cover how to find answers to every single question Nathalie was asked about her business and her finances. Those answers are attainable, and they are enlightening. I will also help you understand that you already possess all the intellect and energy required to get a handle on your finances. By the time you finish this book, you’ll know how easy your finances can be to manage, and how powerfully and positively they can enlighten your business decisions.”

As a new accountant of finance professional, you may decide to try your own thing and start a small business.  This book details some very important topics that you will need to know and is the reason it landed on our list of best books for new accountants and finance professionals.

Best Books for New Accountants and Finance Professionals – Summary

Reading is a great thing to do in your free time.  Be sure to make time for it as it will strengthen your knowledge, increase your awareness of what is going on in different industries, as well as broaden your perspective on different topics. We hope that our list of best books for new accountants and finance professionals helped you out.

Have any books that you think we should add to our list? Be sure to leave a comment below.  For more articles on professional development, check out this section of the blog.