Pretty good reference book.
I bought this for book for an accounting course at school. It's PRETTY detailed for the most part, the reading itself was really cut and dry. However, for someone that might not be THAT familiar with accounting, some of the exercises at the end of the chapter are based on assumptions, or, for some, might take some extra legwork outside of the book to come up with an answer. It could probably be written better, if anything. But for the most part, good book for referencing.
Not for students
This textbook will only confuse anyone coming to intermediate accounting for the first time. It is extremely obtuse in its discussions and hardly provides any examples for the reader to learn from. Instead it is highly discursive about exceptions and rare instances, but never adequately teaches the basics before moving on to these topics.
If you are coming to intermediate accounting for the first time and actually want to LEARN accounting, get Horngren's "Accouting". It may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts!
Kieso's book I belive is useful for those who already know accounting, but are seeking an advanced discussion. I believe professors chose this text because they are bored with the basics that they already know. For the student, this book will leave you unprepared for both the exercise problems at the end of each chapter and for your tests, including the CPA exam.
If you are assigned this text and the problems from it, I recommend reading the same topics in Horngren first (usually he breaks Kieso's topics into two short chapters) and then reading the same material in Kieso [shudder] before taking on the problems.
NOT easy to use
Got this book for my intermediate accounting 1 class. VERY hard to follow. Some homework questions are not even discussed within the chapters! Some are phrased in a way that you have to dig for the answer because it doesn't match how it was explained in the text (ie you're looking for potato and the text refers to spud - same thing but you have to really *look* for it). Mix with a professor who doesn't explain things well and you'll struggle a bit. Plan on reading each chapter twice to fully comprehend.
Side note: book is INSANELY heavy. If you plan on keeping the book and are going to use it again for other classes, it's WELL worth spending $10 at a kinko's to have them cut the binding off and three hole punch the text to carry just what you need for the semester with you. This book will cause serious shoulder/neck/back problems if you try to carry it around along iwth everything else. Just note the pages are kind of thin so you need to handle with care.
don't buy from this seller!!!!!
My book has never came after I made payment. The seller indicated that the payment was received. However, I waited a month and book has never came. I sent quite a few emails to this seller regarding my book, I only got one reply which was at very beginning saying that "book was sent right after the payment was received". And, I never see my book. After I check recent reviews of this person on website again and I found there are quite a few persons have the same experience. I want my money back (even though I doubt it)!!
Don't buy anything from this seller!!!
Overall helpful
I'm using this book for my intermediate accounting class this fall. It's straightforward in the overall layout although certain aspects of particular chapters aren't covered until later (example: chapter 3 material requires look-aheads to chapter 8).
I was pleased by the speed of arrival and the price compared to the local campus bookstore.
(11 reviews)
