Why I wrote a book on accounting

An insight into my first book, Stark Naked Numbers.

Go to your local bookstore and you will see shelves stacked with business books on everything you want to learn about business.

Want to learn how to build a high-performing team? Check out Good To Great by Jim Collins. Want to be a better marketer? Read Purple Cow by Seth Godin. Want to work less than ‘4 hours a week’? Sure, there’s a book by Tim Ferriss about that, too.

And if you wanted to learn about practical accounting and finance for business?

The closest I could find were university textbooks. Oh, and of course the inevitable ‘for dummies’ guides.

So why isn’t there a practical business book on accounting? That’s the question I asked myself as I scoured the shelves of my local bricks and mortar Dymocks bookshop, February 2017.

And then, I realised why. No-one intentionally reads a book on accounting.

Here’s the thing — accounting is fkn boring. Outside of text books prescribed for universities, a book on accounting would be too much of a gamble for publishers. It’s hard to make a best-seller from subject matter that makes most snooze.

And I can see why. Traditional accounting concepts are complete with corporate jargon and confusing acronyms like EBITDA, FCF, and ROCE. Alphabet soup.

It’s a domain closely guarded by academics who’ve spent decades rewriting university textbooks for ever-changing accounting standards. The profession is complete with ‘practitioners’ that want to charge hundreds of dollars per hour just to give you long-winded, confusing answers to the most basic of questions. No, thank you.

As legendary investing icon Warren Buffett says:

“Accounting is the language of business”

If you can’t speak the language, how do you know where you are heading?

If knowing your numbers is such a critical ingredient to your success as a business owner, why the hell don’t people pay more attention to them!?

These were questions I asked myself and the reason why I wrote Stark Naked Numbers.

Yep, it’s a book on accounting.

Being an accountant and business owner myself, I’ve found that the number one reason why accounting is so confusing is that none of us was ever taught functional literacy with numbers. Most content out there is pregnant with academic concepts and jargon that are largely irrelevant to your business. There’s no practical guide to help you understand, plain and simple, what’s important to your success.

I wrote this book for two reasons. Firstly, to help other entrepreneurs make their numbers work for them. To eliminate the noise and simplify the concepts that are truly meaningful and relevant to their business.

And, secondly, I wrote it for me. To scratch my own itch. Because although I am an accountant and CEO of an accounting business, I am also human.

With the barrage of stresses and anxiety that come with running a high growth business, I needed reference material. A reminder to ‘practice what I preach’. This book was built upon a tried and tested set of principles and tactics that I actually lean upon.

It’s complete with actionable, practical insights into how entrepreneurs can improve and grow their business, using their numbers. I share techniques to help business owners improve cash flow, grow profitability, scale and even predict the future.

No jargon, no stuffiness, no bullshit. Just useful tools, methods, and insights used by the very best that small businesses owners can implement in their very own business — irrespective of size, industry, or geography.

This is my first-ever book project and my imposter syndrome is off the fkn charts.

But personally, I’m fighting the lizard brain for a bigger purpose. I am doing this because I believe business owners can run a better business by improving their financial literacy.

Scott Pape of the Barefoot Investor has helped every day people, like you and me, improve their personal financial literacy. To help them demystify and simplify concepts often guarded by ‘professionals’. To break down concepts into digestible, practical nuggets that ordinary people can implement themselves.

My goal is to do the same, for business owners.

This book is not about ‘getting rich quick’. I do not promise killer sales funnels or data-driven Facebook marketing hacks to help you scale your businesses revenue.

What I can promise is that after reading it, you will be on a journey to master your business finances.

You will understand the core tactics that you can implement to improve your profit and unlock your cash.

You will be able have a conversation with your accountant/CFO about your company’s financial performance, and understand exactly what they are saying.

You will be equipped with core financial principles that will make you a more effective CEO.

Your numbers tell a story, you just need to learn what they are trying to tell you.

Stark Naked Numbers is available on Amazon.com

If you are in Australia, you can save on FX and international shipping by ordering a copy here that will be posted from yours truly :)