Accounting Book

Download CFI's free accounting book

Written by CFI Team

Updated April 22, 2022

Accounting Book – bookkeeping, principles, and statements

CFI’s Principles of Accounting book is free and available for anyone to download as a pdf. Learn about the most important accounting concepts, such as bookkeeping, the double entry system, accruals and matching principles, how to prepare financial statements, and more!

Welcome to the official accounting eBook from the Corporate Finance Institute. In this 66-page summary, we walk through all the important bookkeeping and accounting principles. From general transaction keeping conventions to the full accounting cycle and finally to important accounts in the financial statements, this Accounting Book touches on all the major topics in accounting and managing a company’s financials.  We hope you find this book useful in reaching your future goals.

CFI’s book on accounting is divided into three chapters: bookkeeping, accounting principles, and financial statements.  Below is a detailed breakdown of what’s included in each chapter.

Accounting Book – Bookkeeping (chapter 1)

The bookkeeping section of CFI’s accounting eBook includes:

• What is Bookkeeping?
• Accrual vs Cash Basis of Accounting
• Accounts
• The Accounting Equation
• Debits and Credits
• Journal Entries
• T-Accounts
• Adjusting Entries
• General Ledger
• Summary of the Accounting Cycle
• Petty Cash
• Bank Reconciliations

Accounting Principles (chapter 2)

The accounting book includes:

• What is Bookkeeping?
• Financial Accounting Theory
• Financial Accounting vs Cost Accounting
• Assets
• Accounts Receivable
• Inventory
• PPE Accounting
• Depreciation of Assets
• Revenue Recognition
• Liabilities – Current & Non-Current
• Shareholder’s Equity

Accounting Book – Financial Statements (chapter 3)

The financial statements section of the accounting book includes:

• Balance sheet
• Income statement
• Statement of cash flows

Book review

Below is one of many reviews CFI received from satisfied readers of the Principles of Accounting Book:

“This accounting book breaks down everything you need to know to have a solid foundation in simple, plain language.  Even though I studied the subject extensively in school, I found the recap of foundational topics refreshing and learned several new things as well.”  – Jihoon Hahn

Additional Resources

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide on Accounting Book. To keep learning and advancing your career, the following resources will be helpful:

• All CFI eBooks
• Free accounting courses
• Accounting interview questions
• Career map