Company Accounting 6th edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect the numerous and profound changes as a result of Australia adopting the International Accounting Standards. The new edition succinctly documents the recent changes to accounting standards, particularly disclosures in income statements and balance sheets, accounting for income tax and revaluation and impairment of non-current assets.

The text is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and practical grounding in the practice of company accounting, under the new International Standards, whilst providing essential information on why and how company accounting entries and disclosures are made.

NEW TO THIS EDITION
The 6th edition is substantially different from previous editions:

• There are new chapters on:
  • property, plant and equipment, following AASB 116 Property, Plant and Equipment
  • intangible assets, following AASB 138 Intangible Assets
  • impairment of assets, following AASB 136 Impairment of Assets.
• New sections are included on the regulation of companies and on the impact of the definitions contained in the IASB's Framework for external and internal reporting by companies. Particular attention has been paid to the definitions of income and revenue as contained in the Framework and in AASB 118 Revenue.
• There are revised chapters on:
  • accounting for income tax following AASB 112 Income Taxes, using the balance sheet approach
  • accounting for the acquisition of assets and entities, following AASB 3 Business Combinations
  • consolidated financial statements, following AASB 127 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements.
• Four chapters are devoted to external financial reporting and have been amended to include not only the balance sheet and income statement under AASB 101 Presentation of Financial Statements but also the statement of changes in equity. The chapter on cash flow statements has been amended to be consistent with the application of AASB 107 Cash Flow Statements. Other accounting standards considered in detail in the area of disclosure are AASB 108 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors, AASB 110 Events after the Balance Sheet Date and AASB 1031 Materiality.
• The treatment of dividends declared and paid by a company has been amended significantly to reflect the change in policy as to when such dividends become liabilities.
• Chapters have been rearranged to provide a more logical flow of ideas, particularly with the inclusion of new material - for example, the chapter on liquidation is now placed at the end of the text.

Besides the changes to content, other pedagogical changes are:

• a more accessible and student-friendly writing style
• new chapter organisation, ensuring students are not overwhelmed by the more challenging aspects of company accounting
• structured and achievable learning objectives set out for each chapter
• new graded end-of-chapter material enhancing the existing range and diversity of exercises and problems, with a star rating system to indicate the degree of difficulty
• end-of-chapter summaries and key terms, with a glossary at the back of the book to reinforce student learning.

In writing the new edition, the authors were careful to retain the strengths and hallmarks of this book:

• Attention to detail. Students are expected to learn key concepts and definitions and to use the terms in the accounting standards when considering issues and writing reports.
• Practical application of accounting standards. Students must be able to apply accounting standards. Illustrative examples are used to demonstrate practical application, and extensive problems and exercises are available for student practice.
• Conceptual basis. It is not sufficient for students to learn practical examples by rote. To be able to apply accounting standards in unseen situations, students must understand the rationale behind the standards. This book emphasises the conceptual rationale behind the practice of accounting.
• Depth of analysis. Many current books and courses cover only the very simplest of practical situations, which are not representative of real-world practice. We have provided a variety of practical situations in which an accounting standard may be applied. This increases the complexity of the book, but makes the learning appropriate for future employment. By adopting a modular approach, particularly in the areas of external reporting and consolidated financial statements, the book enables teachers and students to learn progressively or selectively.