More Than a Numbers Game - (Wiley Finance) by Thomas A King (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The world certainly suffers no shortage of accounting texts. The many out there help readers prepare, audit, interpret and explain corporate financial statements. What has been missing is a book offering context and discussion for divisive issues such as taxes, debt, options, and earnings volatility. King addresses the why of accounting instead of the how, providing practitioners and students with a highly readable history of U.S. corporate accounting. More Than a Numbers Game: A Brief History of Accounting was inspired by Arthur Levitt's landmark 1998 speech delivered at New York University. The Securities and Exchange Commission chairman described the too-little challenged custom of earnings management and presaged the breakdown in the US corporate accounting three years later.

Somehow, over a one-hundred year period, accounting morphed from a tool used by American railroad managers to communicate with absent British investors into an enabler of corporate fraud. How this happened makes for a good business story. This book is not another description of accounting scandals. Instead it offers a history of ideas.

Each chapter covers a controversial topic that emerged over the past century. Historical background and discussion of people involved give relevance to concepts discussed. The author shows how economics, finance, law and business customs contributed to accounting's development. Ideas presented come from a career spent working with accounting information.

From the Back Cover

Praise for MORE THAN A NUMBERS GAME

"More Than a Numbers Game is a revelatory history of how accounting conventions have shaped business reality, for good and ill."
--Justin Fox, Editor at Large, Fortune

"Mr. King's book should be of interest to both those who have lived through the accounting debates and debacles of the past half century and those just beginning their business careers. By focusing on a dozen or so major developments, particularly those with negative consequences, the book helps explain why good financial information is so critical to capital markets. Equal doses of insight and humor make this an easy-to-read, but hard-to-forget summary of an important business topic."
--Dennis R. Beresford, Ernst & Young Executive Professor of Accounting, The University of Georgia, and former chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (1987-97)

"More Than a Numbers Game is a must-read for accounting students looking for a supplement to traditional textbooks. It offers a business perspective to accounting, providing readers with a holistic overview of taxes, cost accounting, regulation, as well as more traditional financial reporting topics."
--Philip A. Laskawy, retired chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young

"Tom King provides even the non-accountant a fascinating look at how accounting rules and practices have evolved into the way corporations are valued today. He is particularly effective in analyzing the 'earnings game' and the growing role of intangible assets in the valuation process."
--Louis M. Thompson Jr., President and CEO, National Investor Relations Institute

"Tom King takes a very important topic in today's world, accounting, and puts it into a perspective that sheds an entirely new light on the importance of accounting and the intrinsic shortcomings of the profession. Whether you use GAAP accounting, do quarterly earnings, or are a private company, there is more than meets the eye to the accounting profession. King's book is an invaluable piece of work to demystify what tends to be a mystery."
--Jeff Joerres, Chairman and CEO, Manpower Inc.

"Tom King's splendid history of accounting, accounting standards, and accounting manipulation will persuade you that the differences between 'reported' earnings, 'operating' earnings, and 'pro forma' earnings don't really matter. The numbers we see are designed to meet an objective, not to measure its achievement. The scandal, it turns out, is not what's illegal. It's what's legal. No intelligent investor can afford to ignore this timely book."
--John C. Bogle, founder, The Vanguard Group, and author, The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism

Review Quotes

"With his solid credentials--a CPA, CMA and Harvard MBA, as well as the current treasurer of Progressive Insurance--King proves himself to be the insider, the historian, the yenta of the accounting profession. "More Than a Numbers Game"offers enough insights to give occasional pause even to those who have a real grasp of the wheres and whys behind the regulations that are dear to the heart of every practitioner." ("Journal of Accountancy," May 2007)

"The author is at his best when telling stories, whether of the twists and turns in specific accounting standards from the 1940s to the present, of the accounting transgressions of Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and HealthSouth, or of the factors leading to the demise of Arthur Andersen. ... King's gift for rendering complex ideas into easily understandable explanations, all in a conversational style, makes this book accessible to the general investing public as well.... This refreshing book is a well-researched, well-written, and intelligent explanation of modern-day U.S. accounting and how it has evolved to its present state." ("The CPA Journal," April 2007)

"King's chapter on volatility shows how U.S. companies can account for transactions in foreign currencies three different ways, all of them legitimate. His chapter about the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate disclosure laws has an astute analysis of the accounting frauds at Enron and WorldCom that begat that legislation." ("Newsweek," April 16, 2007)

"This demystifying book is likely to interest corporate folk who want to understand better the "whys" of the accounting practices they use, as well as inquiring investors." ("Harvard Magazine," November-December 2006)

"Inspired by a 1998 speech by former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, this book addresses the why of accounting instead of the how, providing practitioners and students with a highly readable history of U.S. corporate accounting." ("SmartPros Accounting News & Insights," September 2006)

"With his solid credentials—a CPA, CMA and Harvard MBA, as well as the current treasurer of Progressive Insurance—King proves himself to be the insider, the historian, the yenta of the accounting profession. "More Than a Numbers Game"offers enough insights to give occasional pause even to those who have a real grasp of the wheres and whys behind the regulations that are dear to the heart of every practitioner." ("Journal of Accountancy," May 2007)

"The author is at his best when telling stories, whether of the twists and turns in specific accounting standards from the 1940s to the present, of the accounting transgressions of Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and HealthSouth, or of the factors leading to the demise of Arthur Andersen. ... King’s gift for rendering complex ideas into easily understandable explanations, all in a conversational style, makes this book accessible to the general investing public as well.... This refreshing book is a well-researched, well

"With his solid credentials-- a CPA, CMA and Harvard MBA, as well as the current treasurer of Progressive Insurance-- King proves himself to be the insider, the historian, the yenta of the accounting profession. "More Than a Numbers Game"offers enough insights to give occasional pause even to those who have a real grasp of the wheres and whys behind the regulations that are dear to the heart of every practitioner." ("Journal of Accountancy," May 2007)

"The author is at his best when telling stories, whether of the twists and turns in specific accounting standards from the 1940s to the present, of the accounting transgressions of Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and HealthSouth, or of the factors leading to the demise of Arthur Andersen. ... King' s gift for rendering complex ideas into easily understandable explanations, all in a conversational style, makes this book accessible to the general investing public as well.... This refreshing book is a well-researched, well-written, and intelligent explanation of modern-day U.S. accounting and how it has evolved to its present state." ("The CPA Journal," April 2007)

"King's chapter on volatility shows how U.S. companies can account for transactions in foreign currencies three different ways, all of them legitimate. His chapter about the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate disclosure laws has an astute analysis of the accounting frauds at Enron and WorldCom that begat that legislation." ("Newsweek," April 16, 2007)

"This demystifying book is likely to interest corporate folk who want to understand better the "whys" of the accounting practices they use, as well as inquiring investors." ("Harvard Magazine," November-December2006)

"Inspired by a 1998 speech by former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, this book addresses the why of accounting instead of the how, providing practitioners and students with a highly readable history of U.S. corporate accounting." ("SmartPros Accounting News & Insights," September 2006)

"Inspired by a 1998 speech by former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, this book addresses the why of accounting instead of the how, providing practitioners and students with a highly readable history of U.S. corporate accounting." -- ("SmartPros Accounting News & Insights," September 2006)

"This demystifying book is likely to interest corporate folk who want to understand better the "whys" of the accounting practices they use, as well as inquiring investors." -- Harvard Magazine (November-December 2006)

"King's chapter on volatility shows how U.S. companies can account for transactions in foreign currencies three different ways, all of them legitimate. His chapter about the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate disclosure laws has an astute analysis of the accounting frauds at Enron and WorldCom that begat that legislation." -- "Newsweek" (April 16, 2007)

"The author is at his best when telling stories, whether of the twists and turns in specific accounting standards from the 1940s to the present, of the accounting transgressions of Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and HealthSouth, or of the factors leading to the demise of Arthur Andersen. ... King' s gift for rendering complex ideas into easily understandable explanations, all in a conversational style, makes this book accessible to the general investing public as well." "--" Stephen A. Zeff/CPA Journal (April 2007)

With his solid credentials-- a CPA, CMA and Harvard MBA, as well as the current treasurer of Progressive Insurance-- King proves himself to be the insider, the historian, the yenta of the accounting profession. "More Than a Numbers Game"offers enough insights to give occasional pause even to those whohave a real grasp of the wheres and whys behind the regulations that are dear to the heart of every practitioner." -- "Journal of Accountancy" (May 2007)

About the Author

THOMAS A. KING is treasurer of Progressive Insurance, which is regarded as one of the most innovative companies in the insurance business. He grew up in Racine, Wisconsin, and studied liberal arts at Harvard College. King worked for three years on the New York audit staff of Arthur Andersen & Co., earned an MS in accounting from New York University, and obtained CPA and CMA certification. After receiving an MBA from Harvard Business School, he joined Progressive Insurance in Cleveland. King spent ten years in marketing and general management before returning to accounting. Since then, he has served as corporate controller, investment strategist, and treasurer. At Progressive, King helped craft financial policies that support business objectives and managed investor relations when the company became the first to report monthly financial results.