Jeanette Harris's story about Accounting For Non-accounting Students

Hardly an inspired choice you might think and how typical for a sometimes geeky general manager who enjoys poring over spreadsheets and statistics. So why did I choose this book and why was it life-changing?

My first job in the arts was almost 20 years ago now, part-time, in an artist studio complex, where I was the very first paid member of staff. I had experience of setting up and running a small business, so had a broad understanding of small business finance and had worked in public relations for ten years, so had good marketing and PR skills and a great contacts book.

An “office” had been prepared for me, ie an ancient and dusty desk in the middle of the workshop, a phone and an electric typewriter which needed to be warmed up with a fan heater before it would spring into action. It was winter and I quickly understood why most of the artists were dressed like Michelin men – no heating in the building.

The studio founders, all working artists, had been trying to balance running the organisation with keeping up their own practice, and although they had done an amazing job in setting up, none of them had any business finance knowledge, and the books were, well, unbalanced.

Expectations of the new administration manager were high, but funds were very low. This really was cutting edge management with a very simple equation: failure to improve finances of organisation = cutting of administration manager’s job.

A board meeting took place on my second day in post, attended by representatives of the City Council and Scottish Arts Council, who had agreed to give extra funds to employ a manager. Grant-giving bodies were a new phenomenon for me, and although I was able to give a financial overview, the searching questions from the SAC officer revealed gaping holes in my financial knowledge.

I quickly signed up for a beginners’ accounting course and for a whole year, spent every Wednesday at Esk Valley College where the main text book was Accounting for Non-Accounting students. This was a strange course for someone who had studied modern languages and who failed to get any further than “O” level maths. But I loved that course and discovered an unexpected affinity with the logic of accounts. I even went on to do a business studies degree, enthusiastically embracing other new subjects such as economics, management science and employment relations.

The book had an immediate effect on my career in the arts. I could dip into it before finance meetings and select a few choice phrases with which to explain the finances and impress those around me. I could even understand some of the terminology, and in a short time gained a true and proper understanding of balance sheets, profit and loss accounts. I have kept Accounting for non Accounting Students by my side whilst progressing to more senior and financially demanding jobs. Who knows where my career might have gone had I not found this book and I would recommend it to anyone who has to deal with budgets and finance even at a very basic level.