Economics

Financial Economics and Accounting

5 books for Financial Economics and Accounting, part of the Economics course map, listed from introductory to advanced. 1 of them have an official free edition.

Suggested reading compiled by this site for university students and independent learners. This is not an official university reading plan. Check your own syllabus before buying; editions and exercise numbers differ.

Books in this reading list · 5
  1. Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists
  2. Accounting: A Very Short Introduction
  3. Financial Strategy for Public Managers
  4. Intermediate Financial Theory
  5. Principles of Financial Economics

Reading order

  1. Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists

    Peter Atrill; Eddie McLaney Beginner

    An introductory textbook that covers financial accounting, management accounting and business finance in one volume for students who are not training to become accountants. It explains how financial statements are prepared and read, how costing and budgeting support decisions, and how businesses appraise investments and raise and manage finance.

    Prerequisites: No prior knowledge of accounting or finance is assumed; basic arithmetic is enough.

  2. Accounting: A Very Short Introduction

    Christopher Nobes Beginner

    A short, non-technical introduction to what accounting is, how financial statements are put together and why accounting rules matter. Written by a specialist in international accounting, it explains the key ideas behind balance sheets and income statements, the standard-setting process, auditing and the ways accounts can be manipulated.

    Prerequisites: No prior knowledge of accounting, finance or economics is needed.

  3. Financial Strategy for Public Managers

    Sharon Kioko; Justin Marlowe Beginner Open access

    Read the official free edition ↗

    A free public finance textbook connecting accounting statements, cost analysis and budgets with decisions in government and nonprofit organisations.

    Prerequisites: Comfort with percentages, elementary algebra and a spreadsheet is sufficient to begin. No accounting course is assumed. Practise reading a simple balance sheet before attempting the larger financial analysis cases.

  4. Intermediate Financial Theory

    Jean-Pierre Danthine; John B. Donaldson; Samuel Danthine Intermediate

    A graduate bridge from introductory finance to models of risk, portfolio choice, equilibrium pricing and arbitrage.

    Prerequisites: A background in economics, basic calculus, probability and elementary portfolio concepts is useful. Be able to interpret expected payoffs and an optimization problem.

  5. Principles of Financial Economics

    Stephen F. LeRoy; Jan Werner Advanced

    A graduate text connecting security-market equilibrium, portfolio choice and arbitrage with the foundations of financial economics.

    Prerequisites: Be comfortable with microeconomic optimization, matrix algebra, multivariable calculus and probability. Review state-contingent payoffs before attempting the proofs.