Why is financial accounting the language of business? Financial statements are one of the few business reports that are standardized around the world. This allows a manager in Thailand to evaluate a company from France or an investor from Poland to assess the performance of a firm in Argentina. Financial accounting communicates the value and performance of an enterprise. As with any language, there are rules. The accounting principles are similar to grammatical rules because they provide a foundation for how to express things. The accounting terminology is a set of common words that we use to describe the many things that happen in the business world. This book will teach you the ABCs of financial reporting so you can join the conversation.