This work tackles one of the most important problems besetting the modern commercial world, the fact that in all countries accounts have become so complex that they are unintelligible not only to the public at large, but also many of the experts supposedly skilled in financial matters. The author"s proposed solution to this crisis in accounting practice is to recast the format of the main accounting statements into a more understandable form. He illustrates his ideas with extracts from actual UK public company accounts, and shows how to approach such questions as: what is a company"s real total indebtedness; how the company"s cash flow covers its working capital requirements; what lies beneath "restructuring provisions"; and the valuation of goodwill. This book is not only a critique of modern accounting practices, but is also designed to help readers of accounts, rather than dismissing accounting as an arcane subject beyond the comprehension of most people.