"Accounting Principles" review by Rosalie Harms is under a CC BY-ND 4.0 Licence.

Review of Accounting Principles: A Business Perspective

Date submitted
2016-05-22 11:19:33

Reviewer Information

Textbook that was reviewed

Accounting Principles: A Business Perspective (No longer open for review)

For what level would this textbook be appropriate?

Postgraduate

My name
Rosalie Harms

My title/position
Department Chair - Business and Administration

My institution
University of Winnipeg

Comprehensiveness

The text covers all areas and ideas of the subject appropriately and provides an effective index and/or glossary.
This is a very difficult question to answer. This is an accounting text with only US content and it is relatively old - 2009. It is not an
appropriate text for any Canadian accounting courses that are CPA accredited - the content does not match the required
coverage. It could possibly be adapted for an MBA program course, but again it is USA content, it is incorrect in some areas from
a Canadian context.
How do you rate the book's overall comprehensiveness?
2

Content Accuracy

Content, including diagrams and other supplementary material, is accurate, error-free, and unbiased.
I can not say - I am not upto date on US accounting standards and lending policies. It is not accurate from the Canadian
perspective. The accounting framework is not current - textbook is referencing 1972 standards ie page 216. Seriously outdated
and not relevant.
Overall, how do you rate the accuracy of the content?
1

Relevance/Longevity

page 1 / 3
Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written
and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement.
It is my humble opinion that this textbook is already out of date and should not be used in a Canadian classroom.

Overall, how do you rate the relevance/longevity of the book?

1

Clarity

The text is written in lucid, accessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used.
This text is a rather heavy read with a lot of theoretical reference and content. There is little white space, examples and
illustrations are buried into the text. And it is far to long with too much content for a 3 credit hour course.
Overall, how do you rate the clarity of the book?
2

Consistency

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

I think that it is consistent, just no longer relevant.

How do you rate the overall consistency of the text?

4

Modularity

The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e.,
enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The text should not be overly self-referential, and should be
easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting too much disruption to the reader.
I think the chapters are well broken down into manageable components. As indicated earlier I think it is a very heavy read and not
use friendly as an accounting textbook. I would say the content coverage (if relevant and updated from the Canadian context) for
chapters 1 - 16 would align with an Intro to Financial Accounting course, while chapters 17 - 26 would lined itself to a financial
management course for MBA students.
Overall, how do you rate the modularity of the text?
3

Organization/Structure/Flow

The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion.

Yes the topics themselves are clearly defined and outlined and do have a rather logical flow. The writing style is I think overly
academic for a subject that at a first year level is relatively applied.
Overall, how do you rate the organization/structure/flow of the text?
4

Interface

page 2 / 3
 The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display
features that may distract or confuse the reader.
I think the illustration themselves are not very good and seems to blend into the text. I think this makes it harder to ready and
comprehend the materials.
Overall, how do you rate the textbook's interface?
3

Grammatical/Spelling Errors

The text contains no grammatical or spelling errors.

No apparent errors that I identified.

How do you rate the grammar and spelling of the text?

4

Diversity and Inclusion

The text reflects diversity and inclusion regarding culture, gender, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation,
education, religion. It does not include insensitive or offensive language in these areas.
Not really relevant in an accounting or financial text. There are no companies names or examples that were used that I classify as
insensitive or demeaning.
Overall, how do you rate the diversity and inclusion of the text?
4

Recommendation

Do you recommend this book? If not, why?

This is not a Canadian Textbook - all of the authors and participants are American. Therefore, this has very limited relevance in
the Canadian context from a number of perspectives particularly as it relates to designating bodies, the accounting designations
themselves, the accounting framework. Given this I think this would be a very poor choice of textbook in a classroom of Canadian
students. This would be confusing.

This textbook is also nearly 8 years old. Even if it was Canadian I would likely not use or adopt it. There are far superior relevant
products available in the market place. This has been my first exposure to the Manitoba Open Textbook offerings and I am
concerned at the lack of quality of the textbooks available in my disciplinary area (Accounting).

page 3 / 3

Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)