ACCOUNTING
A subject guide to research
Accounting has
existed much longer than other fields that are
similar to it. Indeed, accounting is the reason why humankind
ever
bothered to start actually writing things down at all. Accounting
is the
part where things actually get done rather than just talking about
doing them--
although it involves some of that, too. Accounting is also
sometimes
known as "accountancy."
The subject guides
for business, finance, and insurance
or others may be of interest as well.
DATABASES
EBSCO
As ever, EBSCO is
a great way to do research. It is
actually an aggregator, and that means that it searches lots of
different
databases at the same time. For business-related information, one
might
want to select these particular ones (to avoid getting irrelevant
hits):
Academic
Search Premier
Business
Source Complete
Legal
Collection
Newspaper
Source
Regional
Business News
Vente et
Gestion (business journals in French)
Economia y
Negocios (business journals in Spanish)
Hospitality
& Tourism Index
Academic
Search Complete
Electronic
Journals
This allows you to
browse ULM’s available journals by name,
so you can know very quickly whether or not we have the publication you
want.
JSTOR - The
scholarly journal archive
There are many
journals on JSTOR-- it means "Journal
storage." You can search by issues and genres, and inside the
article text itself. JSTOR brings you journal pages just as they
appear
in print-- and just about as usefully.
LexisNexis
Academic Search
LexisNexis has
devoted a specific part of its powerful
database interface to Business research (accessible by clicking the
corresponding link on the left of the front-page). Using it will
be extremely
useful as it has detailed company information, news, journals, and
more.
Also, don't forget the general news or the Legal Research option.
MathSci
Net
I don't suppose it
would be too much of a stretch to say
that mathematics resources may be of interest. This is most
useful for
obtaining citations from journals.
Mergent
Online
This resource can
produce a lot of things, including very
detailed profiles of companies with codes, numbers, recent stocks,
contact
information, summaries of what they are, financial info, competitors,
and
more. Do remember, though, that it only goes back as far as
1997.
If you want to dates earlier than that, you'll have to use the
print. As
this time, they are shelved in the stacks.
RIA Tax Services
Checkpoint
Thomson/RIA's
Checkpoint is a tool for tax and financial
research that may seem a little similar to Westlaw (if you've seen
that).
It can help you find Federal Cases, Federal Code & Regulations,
forms,
tables and rates, and much more.
GOVERNMENTAL
INTERNET
RESOURCES
Chief Financial
Officers Council
The CFO is meant
to promote financial management government,
and includes Chief Financial Officers from many government
agencies. The
site includes an FAQ, calendar, links, news, and a member list.
Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
This organization
is meant to stop money from getting dirty
and dirty money from getting clean. It gives information on law
related
to this, news, how to report problems, and more.
Financial Management
Service
This is the body
that does the accounting for the federal
government. Here they make available statements and reports and
give
access to various useful resources, such as a glossary, news, and information
on specific topics.
The Internal
Revenue Service
This is the
website of the IRS. Unsurprisingly, the
IRS website can be used to do a lot of things. You can find
forms,
information on what the IRS expects from all kinds of entities,
different kinds
of news, and more.
Office of the Law
Revision Counsel
This website has a
fast and simple design, and can be used
to view the U.S. Code in plain text or .pdf. There is a search
option,
and it can be browsed by title. The site also has CD-ROM ISO
images of
older versions of the code. Title 26 is the Internal Revenue
Code.
The U.S. Government
Accountability Office
This is an
independent governmental entity that examines how
tax dollars are spent. The site has news, reports and testimony
(as RSS
Feeds, also), and more. There is also FraudNET, which can be used
to
report wrongdoing. Incidentally, the GAO was formerly called the
"General Accounting Office."
The U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission
The SEC's mission
is to "protect investors, maintain
fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital
formation." On the front-page are links to useful SEC pages (such
as
EDGAR), news, regulatory actions, and more. The Office of the
Chief
Accountant should be most
interesting.
INTERNET
RESOURCES
accountingeducation.com
Becoming a
registered user of this site is free. It
has news, a journal search, book selections, job postings, and more.
CPAnet
This is a fairly
useful hub of links related to accounting, finance,
assurance, and other subjects. The links displayed initially are
not only
links but are for pages of more links to pages of even more specific
links. It also has an RSS feed news ticker.
The
Emanuel Saxe
Distinguished Lectures in Accounting
This is digital
archive of a lecture series that has been
going on since the 1970s to present day. The topics cover a
variety of
topics.
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
was started in the U.K., but this site offers free information for a
variety of developed countries on a
variety of topics. Related topics are hyperlinked within
documents,
making it easy to move around.
Financial Ratios
Calculator
The
Foster Business Library of the University of Washington Libraries has
made a rather generous web page with Instructions and Information
explaining what financial ratios are, what they mean, and an online
calculator
you can use to make them.
Rutgers
Accounting Web
This website is
meant for research and pedagogical purposes
and provides news and information. It's The Database of
Accounting Literature
is free to use, and along the left-hand side of the page are links to
other
related (either by association or geography) Accounting sites that can
be
useful. For instance, the Academy
of Accounting Historians has
a membership directory and links related
to Accounting and business history.
Tax and
Accounting Sites Directory
This site is a hub
filled with links divided by subject (Tax,
Accounting, Payroll/HR). The "Academia" link collection is
particularly large, and can lead to journal lists, associations, and
more.
ValuationResources.Com
This website links
to resources specifically about business
valuation. Links are grouped by subject so they're easy to
navigate, but
there are a lot of ads on the page so watch out for them.
ASSOCIATIONS
WEBSITES
The American
Accounting Association
This association
was started in 1916, and still publishes
journals and more. Its newsletter can be read for free, but most
other
materials are only indexed. Since it is fairly large, the
AAA has
other more specific sections that could be of more interest. The American Taxation Association,
for instance, is a part of the AAA.
American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
AICPA
has been around since 1887 (!), making it quite
important. Its newsletter is free and other publications are
indexed. There is also conference information, a Financial
Literacy
Resource Center, and many related sites on specific subjects, like Audit
and Attest Standards, the AICPA Code of
Professional
Conduct, and CPA Links.
American Society of
Women Accountants
ASWA has been
around since 1938 and is meant to help female
accountants grow professionally. Here there are job postings,
links, and
news that could be useful.
The Association of
Certified Fraud Examiners
This website keeps
a variety of anti-fraud information
resources, but most of them are not free. One that is free,
however, is
its large page of links.
The association does offer student memberships, though.
Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB)
This organization
is recognized by the SEC as authoritative
and creates standards of financial accounting and reporting. The
site
includes an FAQ on how to use it, Articles, Reports, Presentations,
news,
activities and more.
Governmental
Accounting Standards Board
"The mission of
the Governmental Accounting Standards
Board is to establish and improve standards of state and local
governmental
accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful
information for
users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including
issuers,
auditors, and users of those financial reports." As much of what
is
here isn't free, its related site Performance
Measurement for Government,
which focuses on financial reporting and
accounting for governmental entities, is a bit more useful.
The National
Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA)
This is the
official website of the organization, although
there are others for local chapters. NABA promotes minorities
entering
accounting, supports those already doing it, and more. There are
job
listings in the Career Center portion of the site, and it is free to
view them.
Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board
The PCAOB monitors
those who do accounting for companies and
makes sure they are performing responsibly. This website has
access to
their standards (as created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), rules
of the
board, news, and more. There are also instructions on how to
contact them
to report a possible violation.
State
Board of Certified Public Accountants of Louisiana
This site shows
who the board members are, and gives a
little information on LA state law, the CPA exam, and CPE (Continuing
Professional Education). The links page includes some useful
phone
numbers and addresses.
Of
course, there are many more associations
and other groups specific to one’s needs. Rutgers
has a long list, and a lot more besides.
BOOKS
AT ULM
Reference Books
These
are
located in the reference section on the first floor
Accounting
handbook for nonaccountants
Author:
Nickerson,
Clarence B., 1906-
Publisher:
Van Nostrand
Reinhold,
Pub
date: c1986.
Call: HF5635 .N63 1986
If you need a more
readable explanation of a concept, this
could help. The chapters are divided by subject and it reads a
bit like a
textbook. There are footnotes on pages, tables, summaries at the
ends of
chapters, and an index.
Budget
/ State of Louisiana, Office of the Governor,
Division of Administration
Author:
Louisiana. Division of Administration.
Publisher:
State of Louisiana, Office of the Governor, Division of
Call: HJ11 .L84
This is
an itemized budget for the state of Louisiana, with projects and
agencies listed with how much money they have been given,
where the money was derived from, etc. It is in printed
spreadsheet
form.
A
dictionary for accountants
Author:
Kohler, Eric Louis, 1892-1976.
Publisher:
Prentice-Hall,
Pub
date: [1975]
Call: HF5621 .K6 1975
This is rather
old, but it can still be useful, as many of
the entries are on mathematical subjects. There are "see"
referrals to other entries, tables, equations, and graphs.
Dictionary
of accounting terms
Author:
Siegel, Joel G.
Publisher:
Barron's,
Pub
date: c1995.
Call: HF5621 .S54 1995
This works like
any other dictionary you know, but it is about
business worldwide. It compact and concise, and has an
abbreviations and
acronyms section, tables, and a few small sample forms with some
definitions. This title is also available in an e-book
(if this
link doesn’t work, try looking the title up in the catalog)
published in the year 2000.
Dictionary
of banking terms
Author:
Fitch, Thomas
P.
Publisher:
Barron's
Educational Series, Inc.,
Pub
date: 1997.
Call: HG151 .F57 1997
This reads very
much like any other dictionary, and is
concise. There are "see" referrals to other entries, and it is
sometimes illustrated by graphs. There is also a useful
abbreviations and
acronyms section in the back.
Emerson's
directory of leading U. S. accounting firms, 1998-99
Author:
Emerson, James C.
Publisher:
The Emerson
Company,
Pub
date: c1998.
Call: HF5616.U5 E47 1998
It's a bit older
than I would prefer, but it still could be
useful for finding very good accounting firms. This is a top 500
of firms
ranked and listed by various criteria (for fast access). There is
also
profile information on the firms and names of those who lead them.
Management
of an accounting practice handbook
Author:
American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Pub
date: 1975-
Call: HF5616.U5 A582S
This is a bit
aged, but not so badly, as much of the content
in this loose-leaf set is in narrative form and can be taken as advice
on
accounting firm management. The pages are tabbed for easy access,
and
there is an index.
The
New Palgrave dictionary of money & finance
Author:
Newman, Peter, 1928-
Publisher:
Stockton Press,
Pub
date: 1992.
Call: HG151 .N48
This is best
described as an encyclopedic dictionary, as it
fills several volumes has very long signed entries with large
bibliographies. There are lengthy "see also" referrals to other
entries and "see" referrals to different words. However,
"Accounting and Finance" are the same entry…
Books
.
. . located
in the stacks or Net library
Accounting
demystified [electronic resource]
Author:
Haber, Jeffry R., 1960-
Publisher:
AMACOM,
Pub
date: c2004.
e-Book
(if this link doesn’t work, try looking it up in the catalog)
This e-Book reads
a lot like a handbook and has chapters
divided by subject, with some tables. The glossary is arranged in
such a
way that it can be used as an index and quick reference to account
types.
The index can also hyperlink to given pages, as this is an e-Book.
Accounting
theory : essays by Carl Thomas Devine
Author:
Devine, Carl Thomas.
Publisher:
Routledge,
eBook
(if this link doesn’t work, try looking it up in the catalog)
This is a book
about accounting itself rather than how it is
done (there are other books like this). It contains essays on
various
topics, such as academic publications or ethics, and sometimes
discussed
important literature in the field. There is also an index.
Advanced
accounting
Author:
Beams, Floyd A.
Publisher:
Prentice Hall,
Pub
date: c2000.
Call:
HF5635 .B41517 2000
This book is quite
serious, with a monochrome black and
white layout, and is meant for intermediate accounting students.
There
are many tables, portions of working papers in shaded boxes, plenty of
exercises, summaries at the ends of chapters, selected readings, a
glossary,
and index.
Auditing
: an integrated approach
Author:
Arens, Alvin A.
Publisher:
Prentice-Hall,
Pub
date: c2000.
Call:
HF5667 .A69 2000
This tricolor
textbook frequently uses case examples to show
how auditors go thorough the process of auditing. Its paragraph
headings are in
the page margins, making pages easier to browse. There is a lot
of extra
information in shaded boxes, many charts, questions, and an index.
Financial
accounting
Author:
Antle, Rick.
Publisher:
South-Western, a
division of Thomson Learning,
Pub
date: c2002.
Call:
HG5635 .A723 2002
This is a
comparatively small and colorful textbook that
often uses real-life examples to explicate concepts. In the page
margins
are definitions for words and "objectives" showing what the reader
needs to know the most. There are key terms at the ends of
chapters,
review questions and answers, appendices with extra topics, worksheets,
many
tables, a glossary, and an index.
Financial
& managerial accounting
Author:
Needles, Belverd E.
Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin
Co.,
Pub
date: c2002.
Call:
HF5635 .N33 2002
This textbook is
meant for students who are new to business
or accounting. The book comes with detailed instructions on how
to use
it. Key terms are in blue and bold, "objectives" appear in the
margins to focus on what is relevant, and there are many chapter
assignments. There is also an index for company names and another
for
subjects.
Introduction
to accounting : an integrated approach
Author:
Ainsworth, Penne.
Publisher:
Irwin
McGraw-Hill,
Pub
date: c2000.
Call:
HF5635 .I655 2000
A short summary
and objectives appear at the beginnings of
chapters, and at the ends of them, key terms with definitions,
summaries,
answers to questions asked in the chapter, and even more
questions.
Throughout, there are paragraph topics in the margins for fast
browsing.
There are tables throughout and an index.
As ever, there is always
more to find, especially if you have a specific topic to
research. Don't forget that NetLibrary is a big part of the
collection, and that Interlibrary Loan can get you even more materials.
I’d be a cretin if I didn’t acknowledge the
following
sources; they are quite useful:
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/general_library/files/subject/accounting.html
http://www.seattleu.edu/lemlib/ResearchPath/SubGuides/Accounting.htm
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/research_guides/busi/account.shtml
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