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Contents
Plain-language edition · nine chapters and a glossary
The chapters are ordered so that each one uses what came before: taxation as a system first, then the records that produce the figures, then the statements those records lead to. Reading straight through takes an evening; each chapter also stands on its own.
Taxation
- What taxes are forThe four jobs a tax system is asked to do, and why they pull against each other.
- The main families of taxClassifying taxes by what they are levied on: income, payroll, spending, property, transactions and transfers.
- How taxation changedFrom tolls and tithes to income tax, withholding at source, value-added taxation and digital filing.
- Tax years and filing cyclesWhy continuous activity is cut into periods, and how the yearly cycle repeats.
Keeping records
- Bookkeeping basicsThe record trail from source document to day book to ledger, and what it is actually for.
- Double entry in practiceThe accounting equation, debits and credits, a worked example and a trial balance.
- Records a small business keepsCash basis and accrual, the everyday books, and a month-end procedure.
Reading accounts
- Reading a set of accountsThe profit and loss account, the balance sheet and the cash flow statement, and how they tie together.
- Checks and questionsMargins, working capital, reconciliation, and the questions a careful reader asks.
Reference
- GlossaryEvery term used in the manual, defined in one line, with the chapter that works it through.