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in three groupings。 Accounting； finance； marketing and organizational
behaviour are together at the start of the book。 These contain
the basic tools that an MBA will use or need to refer to more or less every
working day。 Strategy es at the end of the book as the coordinating
discipline。 It could just as easily e at the beginning； but to understand
strategy you need a reasonable grasp of the four first disciplines。 The five
bookend disciplines are in something of a chicken and egg situation。 You
can’t have any one of these without the other； but where it all begins is
more academic than useful as a point for debate。
The remaining disciplines are covered； also in alphabetical order； in the
middle of the book。 Ideally you should read the first four chapters first； these
will take about half of your 30 days。 If you are an accountant； have taken
a business or economics degree； or have a marketing or human resources
professional qualification； that time will be scaled back。 Then if you have an
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 accounted for only by the increase or decrease in net worth of the enterprise
as a whole。
Cost concept
Assets are usually entered into the accounts at the cost at date of purchase。
For a variety of reasons； the real ‘worth’ of an asset will probably change
over time。 The worth； or value； of an asset is a subjective estimate on which
no two people are likely to agree。 This is made even more plex； and
artificial； because the assets themselves are usually not for sale。
So in the search for objectivity； the accountants have se。。led for cost as
the figure to record。 It does mean that a balance sheet does not show the
current worth or value of a business。 That is not its intention。 Nor does
it mean that the ‘cost’ figure remains unchanged forever。 For example； a
motor vehicle costing ￡6；000 may end up looking like Table 1。1 a。。er two
years。
The depreciation is how we show the asset being ‘consumed’ over its
working life。 It is simply a bookkeeping record to allow us to allocate some
of the cost of an asset to the appropriate time period。
Table 1。1 Example of the changing ‘worth’ of an asset
Year 1 Year 2
Fixed assets ￡ Fixed assets ￡
Vehicle 6；000 Vehicle 6；000
Less cumulative
depreciation
1；500 Less cumulative
depreciation
3；000
Net asset 4；500 Net asset 3；000
Accounting 19
The time period will be determined by factors such as the working life
of the asset。 The tax authorities do not allow depreciation as a business
expense； so this figure can’t be manipulated to reduce tax liability； for
example。 A tax relief on the capital expenditure； known as ‘writing down’；
is allowed； using a formula set by government that varies from time to time
dependent on current economic goals； for example to stimulate capital
expenditure。
Other assets； such as freehold land and buildings； will be revalued from
time to time； and stock will be entered at cost； or market value； whichever
is the lower； in line with the principle of conservatism （see later in this
chapter）。
Other methods for recording assets
While cost at date of purchase is the norm for accounting for assets in conventional
enterprises； there are certain types of businesses and certain
situations when other methods of recording a monetary figure are used：
。 Market value： This is usually used when an asset is actually to be sold
and there is an established market for that particular type of asset。 This
could arise when a business or part of a business is to be closed down。
。 Fair value： This is described as the estimated price at which an asset
could be exchanged between knowledgeable but unrelated willing
parties who have not； and may not； actually exchange。 This basis is
o。。en used in the due diligence process； where； because of particular
synergies； a price higher than market value （resulting in goodwill）
could reasonably be set。
。 Market to market： This is where market value is calculated on a daily
basis； usually by financial institutions such as banks and stockbrokers。
This can result in dramatic changes in value in turbulent market
conditions； requiring additional assets； including cash； to be found
to cover a fall in market price。 This approach is blamed for helping
to create liquidity ‘black holes’ by forcing banks to sell assets to meet
liquidity targets； which in turn forces prices lower； requiring yet more
assets to be sold。
Going concern
Accounting reports always assume that a business will continue trading
indefinitely into the future – unless there is good evidence to the contrary。
This means that the assets of the business are looked at simply as profit
generators and not as being available for sale。 Look again at the motor
vehicle example above。 In year 2； the net asset figure in the accounts；
prepared on a ‘going concern’ basis； is ￡3；000。 If we knew that the business
20 The Thirty…Day MBA
was to close down in a few weeks； then we would be more interested in
the car’s resale value than its ‘book’ value： the