Accounting & Financial Statements Study Guide
A practical, no-fluff guide to reading the three financial statements — built for investment-banking and markets interview prep, and for self-study. It assumes you are analytically strong (CS, stats, econ, or quant finance) and have never taken an accounting course, so it teaches why a number moved rather than how to post a journal entry.
How to use this guide
- Each topic in the left nav is a standalone page you can read in ~10 minutes.
- Every page follows the same shape: why it matters, core concepts, a mental model, interview questions with brief answer keys, and a short watch list of verified YouTube videos.
- Topics run foundational → applied. Read them in order the first time, or jump straight to the topic you need.
- Interview badges tell you where to spend prep time: 🎯 Frequent, Occasional, or Background.
- Nothing here requires a backend, a data feed, an API key, or a login — it’s just reading.
Roadmap
| # | Topic | Interview |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | The accounting equation | 🎯 Frequent |
| 02 | Accrual vs. cash | 🎯 Frequent |
| 03 | Journal entries, lite | Occasional |
| 04 | Income statement | 🎯 Frequent |
| 05 | Balance sheet | 🎯 Frequent |
| 06 | Cash flow statement | 🎯 Frequent |
| 07 | Linking the three statements | 🎯 Frequent |
| 08 | Revenue recognition basics | Occasional |
| 09 | Expenses & matching | Occasional |
| 10 | Working capital | 🎯 Frequent |
| 11 | Ratios (liquidity, profitability, leverage) | 🎯 Frequent |
| 12 | Depreciation & amortization | Background |
| 13 | Inventory & COGS | Background |
| 14 | Interview hotspots | 🎯 Frequent |
Suggested path for a banking screen
If you have two hours: 01 → 02 → 04 → 05 → 06 → 07, then rehearse 14 out loud until it’s smooth.
Scope
In scope: the accounting equation, accrual accounting, the three statements, how they link, revenue recognition, expense matching, working capital, ratios, D&A, inventory/COGS, and interview delivery.
Out of scope (by design): CPA exam prep, tax accounting, consolidations and M&A purchase accounting, and anything requiring a login.
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md. Short version: keep topics tight, verify every link yourself, don’t invent scope.