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Boost your AAT studies with these essential reads! Equip yourself with the supplemental knowledge needed to excel throughout your studies and into a finance career with our top 7 choices for accounting and finance books.
Besides your AAT training course and resources, reading additional finance books is an excellent way to add to your study programme as you work through your AAT qualifications. They also offer professional perspectives that deepen your understanding of key accounting concepts. With countless accounting finance books available worldwide, which finance books should you read to help support your studies?
In this article, we'll share our top 7 picks for accounting and finance books that you must read.
Accountancy is more than just dealing with numbers, balancing the books, or solving maths problems. Unlike other business programmes, it involves following accounting practices, adhering to frameworks, paying attention to detail, and critical thinking. These qualities make accountancy subjects technical and complex, and that's also what professors Nishat Azmat and Andy Lymer want to address.
In their book Basic Accounting: The Step-by-Step Course in Elementary Accountancy, they simplified complex foundational accounting concepts into more straightforward topics. The book also breaks down the concepts into bite-sized chapters that progress with difficulty, making it easy for beginners and non-accounting students to read.
Some of the topics and concepts discussed in this accountancy book are:
Basic Accounting by Azmat and Lymer can be valuable learning material for AAT Level 2 students. The book makes the accounting concepts more digestible and introduces the topics to students better.
Becoming a self-employed Bookkeeper is a rewarding opportunity to practice your profession as a business owner and earn money around your other commitments or goals. If you plan on working as a Bookkeeper within your own business, consider reading The Bookkeeper Rises: Build a Successful Bookkeeping Business that Works for You and Gives You the Life You Really Want.
The Bookkeeper Rises helps bookkeepers like you become self-employed and be your own boss. This book teaches you how to set up your business and earn revenue by providing bookkeeping services to multiple clients. The book also covers 35 inspirational stories from self-employed accountants and bookkeepers to motivate you with their success stories.
Some of the topics and concepts discussed in this book are:
The Bookkeeper Rises: Build a Successful Bookkeeping Business that Works for You and Gives You the Life You Really Want is one of the best books for AAT Level 3 and 4 students with AATQB designation. This book helps aspiring professionals build a business once they apply for an AAT licence.
Anyone wanting to enter the finance world should learn how to read financial statements, but learning accounting is even more beneficial. As Warren Buffett, one of the most successful value investors and founder of Berkshire Hathaway, once said, "Unless you are willing to put in the effort to learn accounting—how to read and interpret financial statements—you really shouldn't select stocks yourself."
Consider Mary Buffet and David Clark's book on interpreting financial statements to explore Warren's success and deep appreciation of financial statements.
The book Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements dives deep into the contents of financial statements. Not only that, but the book also details how every figure in the report can indicate the business' financial health.
Some of the topics and concepts discussed in this book are:
Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements book is perfect for AAT Level 4 students because they have a unit on drafting and interpreting financial reports. It's also a helpful resource for taking AAT Level 3, as the book reminds you of the importance of financial statements in businesses.
Finance books are often filled with technical jargon, but for those concerned with becoming overwhelmed while starting out, 'The Finance Book: Understand the Numbers Even If You're Not a Finance Professional' successfully avoids complex language and confusing terms. Written by Stuart Warner and Si Hussain, they aim to bridge the gap between financial knowledge and individuals with no background in this profession.
The book removes the unnecessary complexities of the subject, making the topics easy to understand. It also provides the information in a beginner-friendly and concise format. Further, the book's modular structure helps you pick chapters that you only want to learn or that are relevant to you.
Some of the topics and concepts discussed in this accounting and finance book are:
The Finance Book: Understand the Numbers Even If You're Not a Finance Professional is helpful for AAT students taking the level 4 qualification. Since students can take finance course units at AAT level 4, this finance book can complement and solidify your understanding of financial concepts.
Whether you aspire to become a business owner or not, those looking to work in finance should know how to read and write business plans. These skills are needed to understand a company's financial viability and evaluate investment opportunities.
Written by Alastair Thomson, this book outlines a comprehensive guide on how to put your entrepreneurial ideas into writing. How to Build a Better Business Plan provides actionable frameworks to help you create a data-driven business plan and attract high-value investments. It also focuses on developing your ideas, determining influencing factors, identifying potential problems, and developing solutions in your business.
Some of the topics and concepts discussed in this finance and accounting book are:
How to Build a Better Business Plan is one of the top finance books, and AAT students of all levels can benefit from it. Business plans are valuable aspects of costing and management accounting.
There is more to money and personal finance than just earning and spending. Human psychology is a decisive yet underlying factor in how people handle cash. That is what the book 'The Psychology of Money' by Morgan Housel tries to expand on.
Housel's book is a New York Times bestseller that examines the effects of human behaviours and mindsets on financial management. The book explores your biases, emotions, and outlooks and how they collectively influence your finances.
Some of the topics and concepts discussed in this best finance book are:
Ultimately, this book aims to improve your relationship with money and even help you achieve financial independence.
'The Psychology of Money' is one of the best finance books for students, with over 4 million copies sold worldwide. AAT students from all levels will gain insights from this book, but it's more relevant to AAT Level 4 students. This is because students taking AAT Level 4 have optional finance units like Cash and Financial Management and Credit and Debt Management.
An organisation's cash assets and ability to generate cash are the two most important aspects of any business. Available cash means the company can anticipate future opportunities and crises. Sir Richard Branson once said, "Never take your eyes off the cash flow because it's the lifeblood of businesses."
To help improve the business's cash flow, consider reading 'Cash Flow Surge: 101 No-Cost and Low-Cost Fast Action Strategies to Boost Your Business Cash Flow'.
'Cash Flow Surge' by Alastair Thomson explores the skill of managing your business's cash flows and delves into strategies that improve your company's sales and revenue while minimising and reducing expenses.
Some of the topics and concepts discussed in this book are:
'Cash Flow Surge: 101 No-Cost and Low-Cost Fast Action Strategies to Boost Your Business Cash Flow' is a great finance book for AAT Level 4 students studying interpreting financial statements. Having equipped with insights on identifying bottlenecks and potentials, Level 4 students can better analyse cash flow statements and give better recommendations.
Strong reading habits are essential when you are pursuing your AAT studies. Reading exposes you to a broader range of information, further solidifying your understanding of crucial accounting concepts. It also hones your critical thinking skills, allowing you to dissect information, identify key points, and apply them to your AAT assessments. All these benefits from reading can improve your test performance, eventually helping you pass your exams.
Your AAT studies should go beyond your lectures and class sessions, and you can start now by investing in books on finance. This process of dedicated study can help you pass your AAT assessments and broaden your knowledge in accounting.
Let us help you kickstart your AAT accounting journey! Our comprehensive AAT courses include a best-in-class eLearning platform, live classes, AAT-approved learning materials, and Kaplan books offered at the most competitive prices. We also recently won the AAT Tutor of the Year award and the PQ Magazine Editor's Choice award.
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