ISE Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts

Students are often overwhelmed by the amount ofinformation presented in the introductory financial accounting course, whileinstructors often want their students to better grasp the big picture of therole financial accounting plays in business. Fundamentals of FinancialAccounting Concepts takes a unique approach to building accounting skills, focusingstudents on financial statement effects while maintaining a more traditionaluse of debits and credits. With this method, the authors drive studentcuriosity and inspire them to ask the “why” questions that get at the heart ofhow accounting works.

Through use of the financial statements model andhorizontal transaction analysis, students quickly see how any given businessevent affects the financial statements. With straightforward writing, popular lecturevideos, and a unique approach, Fundamentals of Financial Accounting Concepts equipsstudents with the critical thinking skills needed by future businessdecision-makers and leaders. 

Thomas P. Edmonds, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Accounting at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He has been actively involved in teaching accounting principles throughout his academic career. Dr. Edmonds has coordinated the accounting principles courses at the University of Houston and UAB. He has taught introductory accounting in mass sections and in distance learning programs. He has received five prestigious teaching awards, including the Alabama Society of CPAs Outstanding Educator Award, the UAB President’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and the distinguished Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for excellence in classroom teaching. He has written numerous articles that have appeared in many publications, including Issues in Accounting, the Journal of Accounting Education, Advances in Accounting Education, Accounting Education: A Journal of Theory, Practice and Research, the Accounting Review, Advances in Accounting, the Journal of Accountancy, Management Accounting, the Journal of Commercial Bank Lending, the Banker’s Magazine, and the Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance. Dr. Edmonds has served as a member of the editorial board for Advances in Accounting: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations and Issues in Accounting Education. He has published five textbooks, five practice problems (including two computerized problems), and a variety of supplemental materials including study guides, work papers, and solutions manuals. Dr. Edmonds’s writing is influenced by a wide range of business experience. He is a successful entrepreneur. He has worked as a management accountant for Refrigerated Transport, a trucking company. Dr. Edmonds also worked in the not-for-profit sector as a commercial lending officer for the Federal Home Loan Bank. In addition, he has acted as a consultant to major corporations, including First City Bank of Houston (now Citi Bank), AmSouth Bank in Birmingham (now Regions Bank), Texaco, and Cortland Chemicals. Dr. Edmonds began his academic training at Young Harris Community College in Young Harris, Georgia. He received a B.B.A. degree with a major in finance from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. He obtained an M.B.A. degree with a concentration in finance from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. His Ph.D. degree with a major in accounting was awarded by Georgia State University. Dr. Edmonds’s work experience and academic training have enabled him to bring a unique user perspective to this textbook.



Christopher T. Edmonds, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance at the UAB Collat School of Business. He also is the course coordinator for the face-to-face and online principles of accounting courses. Dr. Edmonds specializes in teaching and developing engaging face-to-face and online introductory accounting courses. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and universities on best teaching practices and has delivered over 40 professional teaching workshops. His passion for helping students learn inspired him to create hundreds of short videos teaching the fundamental concepts of accounting. This work led to the publication of the first interactive video textbook for introductory accounting.

Dr. Edmonds has received seven prestigious teaching awards including the UAB President’s Outstanding Teaching Award, UAB Faculty Student Success Award, UAB Transformative Online Course Award, UAB Loudell Ellis Robinson Classroom Teaching Award, UAB Disability Support Recognition Award, and the Virginia Tech Favorite Faculty Award. He has published four textbooks and has written numerous articles that have appeared in publications including The Accounting Review, Auditing: A Journal of Theory and Practice, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Issues in Accounting Education, Advances in Accounting Education, Advances in Accounting, and Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting. He currently serves on several editorial boards. Dr. Edmonds started his career as a web application developer creating software solutions to put newspapers online.

He began his academic training at Colorado State University. He obtained an MBA from UAB. His PhD with a major in accounting was awarded by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.




Professor Olds is associate professor of accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He serves as the coordinator of the introduction to accounting courses at VCU. Professor Olds received his AS degree from Brunswick Junior College in Brunswick, Georgia (now Costal Georgia College). He received a BBA in accounting from Georgia Southern College (now Georgia Southern University), and his MPA and PhD degrees are from Georgia State University. After graduating from Georgia Southern, he worked as an auditor with the U.S. Department of Labor in Atlanta, Georgia. A former CPA in Virginia, Professor Olds has published articles in various professional journals and presented papers at national and regional conferences. He also served as the faculty adviser to the VCU chapter of Beta Alpha Psi for five years.

In 1989, he was recognized with an Outstanding Faculty Vice-President Award by the national Beta Alpha Psi organization. Professor Olds has received both the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the VCU School of Business. Most recently, he received the university’s award for maintaining High Ethical and Academic Standards While Advocating for Student-Athletes and Their Quest Towards a Degree.


Mark A. Edmonds, Ph.D., CPA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He has taught principles and advanced accounting classes in face-to-face, flipped, and online formats.

Dr. Edmonds is currently spearheading the effort within the Collât School of Business to integrate data analytics into the accounting curriculum. He has developed business analytics teaching tools at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Several contributions have been made to this text revolving around the data analytics concepts Dr. Edmonds incorporates into his classes. He is the recipient of the Loudell Ellis Robinson excellence in teaching award.

Dr. Edmonds began his career providing assurance services for the internationally recognized accounting firm Ernst & Young. He utilizes this professional experience to bring a practical approach to the concepts covered in this text. At the conclusion of his professional service, he obtained his PhD from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He serves as the education adviser on the board of the Institute of Internal Auditors Birmingham Chapter. Dr. Edmonds’ research focuses on alternative learning strategies in accounting. He frequently publishes in prominent journals such as Issues in Accounting Education and Journal of Accounting Education.




Jennifer Echols Edmonds, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Collat School of Business. Her primary teaching areas are financial and managerial accounting. She has experience teaching in the Undergraduate, MAC, and MBA programs.

Dr. Edmonds is passionate about increasing engagement and creating a community for all students. She has spoken at numerous conferences such as the AAA Annual Meeting, AAA Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting, AAA Teaching, Learning & Curriculum section, Teachers of Accounting at Two-Year Colleges, and Annual Accounting Educators’ Symposium. She has received the UAB Loudell Ellis Robinson Classroom Teaching Award, as well as teaching grants from Deloitte, UAB, and Virginia Tech. She created teaching resources for incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into Intermediate Accounting. The teaching resources were published online at the American Accounting Association.

Also active in the research community, Dr. Edmonds serves on the editorial board for Advances in Accounting and Journal of International Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation. She has published articles in prominent journals such as Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Advances in Accounting, Research in Accounting Regulation, and The CPA Journal.

Dr. Edmonds received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Birmingham-Southern College and completed her master’s and PhD degrees in accounting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.