The guide was developed to help people working in the micro-finance field to obtain basic accounting and financial management skills. It is intended for field and Head Office staff of micro-finance organizations; micro-finance consultants; and members of the donor community who would like to understand how micro-finance organizations report and monitor their activities. The guide is not meant to be an in-depth accounting course. It is designed simply to provide users with the basics of accounting, so that they can understand financial statements better.

The Accounting guide explains how transactions are recorded and summarized and outlines the three most commonly used financial statements: the Balance Sheet; the Income Statement; and the Statement of Changes in Financial Position. Each lesson contains questions and exercises, for which answers can be found in the accompanying Solutions to Exercises document. The final component of the guide is an accounting case study which enables you to consolidate your learning by completing a General Journal, a General Ledger, Trial Balance, Income Statement and Balance Sheet for a lending organization.

Currencies used in the examples and exercises include: Bolivia Boliviano (Bs); Philippines Peso (P); Vietnam Dong (VD); Bangladesh Taka (Tk); American or Canadian Dollar ($); South Africa Rand (Rd); Guatemala Quetzal (Q); Kenya Shilling (Ksh); Dominican Republic Peso (RD$).