immediate strategic issue at work； perhaps concerned with an acquisition；
divestment； entering a new market or changing direction； go straight to
the chapter on strategy。 While reading that； you will almost certainly need
to refresh yourself on some aspects of the first four chapters。 This chapter
will probably need a further three or four days to assimilate。 The middle
chapters you can read in order of personal preference； or alphabetically as
set out。 That should take up the remaining 10 days or so of your schedule。
By way of a bonus you will find that a number of the tools and concepts
straddle disciplines。 For example； while Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is
covered in the marketing chapter； it is equally applicable in dealing with
employees or negotiating with suppliers。 Break…even analysis is equally
applicable in accounting； marketing and economics。
This weighting corresponds closely to the emphasis you will find put
on these subjects at top business schools。 Also； as at school； you should
tackle the subjects in bursts of an hour or so and certainly not in whole
days and weeks。 You need to take time to assimilate the subject and try
the concepts out in live situations。 So； for example； you could spend a
couple of hours reading the section on balance sheets； then get your own
pany’s balance sheet and check out your understanding of it。 If you
need any further clarification you could talk in an informed way with your
pany’s accountant。
You should draw up a timetable spread over the time period allocated
for your 30…day MBA； say 12； 24 or 36 weeks。 Then mark out the hours
Introduction 15
allocated for each subject； not forge。。ing to leave an hour or so to review
each area。 You will also need to build in a couple of days for revision before
you take your final exam。
The subject areas within each chapter correspond to what you would
find in the syllabus at major business schools in terms of theoretical
underpinning and the practical application of that theory that you would
pick up from fellow students。
At the end of the book is an appendix covering personal development
and lifetime learning。 You should visit this on a regular basis to ensure
you have all the advantages that an MBA would hope for in terms of
career progression。 Here you will find out how to update your skills and
knowledge by taking short courses at top business schools around the globe。
The cost of these ranges from a few hundred pounds to several thousand
and； by a。。ending； you may well get onto the school’s alumni list； plugging
into a valuable business network in the process。
TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS
You will find a dozen short tests on the Kogan Page website （
koganpage/resources/books； password： TT8005）。 Use these to check
your understanding of each subject。 If there is anything you are not clear
on； go back over the relevant chapters。
As a rough guide you should be aiming to get six out of every ten questions
right。 MBAs； unlike undergraduate degrees； don’t e with grades。
You either pass or fail。 Also the ‘pass’ mark can vary with the quality of
those taking the exams。 Read up on the normal distribution curve to see
how this works。
Accounting
。 Accounting conventions and principles
。 The bookkeeping process
。 Cash…flow forecasts and statements
。 Calculating profit
。 Balancing the books
。 Finding financial facts
。 Business ratios
Sometime before 3000 。。。。 the people of Uruk and other sister…cities of
Mesopotamia began to use pictographic tablets of clay to record economic
transactions。 The script for the tablets evolved from symbols and provides
evidence of an ancient financial system that was growing to acmodate
the needs of the Uruk economy。 There is detailed evidence that almost
every country had some form of record keeping； from China to ancient
Rome； where the heads of families maintained daily entry of household
receipts and payments in an adversaria or daybook； and monthly postings
were made to a cashbook known as a codex accepti et expensi。 Accounting
is the process of recording and analysing transactions that involve events
that can be assigned a monetary value。 By definition； financial information
can be only a partial picture of the performance of an enterprise。 People；
arguably a business’s most valuable asset； don’t appear anywhere in the
accounts； except for football clubs and the like where people are the subject
of a transaction。
Although accounting has bee more plex； involving ever more
regulations； and has moved from visible records wri。。en in books to key
strokes in a so。。ware program； the purpose is the same：
。 to establish what a business owns by way of assets；
。 to establish what a business owes by way of liabilities；
。 to establish the profitability； or otherwise； at certain time intervals； and
how that profit was achieved。
1
Accounting 17
Pacioli； about whom we will hear more in the bookkeeping section below；
claimed wisely that ‘frequent accounting makes for long friendship’。 But
accounts must not only be timely； but should be reliable too； and no ma。。er
where accounting is studied you can be certain that the general principles
will be universally applied。
An MBA is unlikely to be required to perform the recording side of the
accounting process。 But it is only by knowing how accounts are prepared
and the rules governing the categorizing of assets and liabilities that you can
gain a good understanding of what the figures really mean。 For example；
it is not obvious to the uninitiated that a pany’s shares are classed as
a liability and that there is not the remotest possibility that the assets as
recorded will realize anything like the figures shown in the accounts。
THE RULES OF THE GAME
Accounting is certainly not an exact science。 Even the most enthusiastic
member of the profession would not make that claim。 There is considerable
scope for interpretation and educated guesswork as all the facts are rarely
available when the accounts are drawn up。 For example； we may not know
for certain that a particular customer will actually pay up； yet unless we
have firm evidence that they won’t； for example if the business is failing；
then the value of the money owed will appear in the accounts。
Obviously； if accountants and managers had plete freedom to
interpret events as they wished； no one inside or outside the business would
place any reliance on the figures； so certain ground rules have been laid
down by the profession to help get a level of consistency into accounting
information。
FUNDAMENTAL CONVENTIONS
These are the enduring principles that govern the way in which the accounting
profession assembles and presents financial information。
Money measurement
In accounting； a record is kept only of the facts that can be expressed in
money terms。 For example； the state of the managing director’s health and
the news that your main petitor is opening up right opposite in a more
a。。ractive outlet are important business facts。 No accounting record of them
is made； however； and they do not show up on the balance sheet； simply
because no objective monetary value can be assigned to these facts。
Expressing business facts in money terms has the great advantage of
providing a mon denominator。 Just imagine trying to add puter
18 The Thirty…Day MBA
equipment and vehicles； together with a 4；000 sq m office； and then arriving
at a total。 You need a mon term to be able to carry out the basic
arithmetical functions； and to pare one set of accounts with another。
Business entity
The accounts are kept for the business itself； rather than for the owner（s）；
bankers； or anyone else associated with the firm。 The concept states that
assets and liabilities are always defined from the business’s viewpoint。 So；
for example； were a business owner to lend his business money it would
appear in the accounts as a liability； though in effect he might see it as
his own money。 Anything done with that money； say buying equipment；
would appear in the accounts as an asset of the business。 The owner’s stake
is accounte