The text adopts a questioning attitude to the subject, asking why accounting practices exist and how they work, without lingering on the technicalities. For those who favour the 'why' over 'how to' approach, Financial Accounting is the ideal introductory core text for first-year financial accounting students.

The text is deliberately and positively accessible for first-time students, with frequent exercises in all chapters, and answers to these supplied straight after the questions. These do not so much test understanding of the subject as develop understanding through self-testing and repetition.