New Features:

• Reorganization of Chapters 3, 4, and 5. Based on extensive market feedback, the authors rearranged these chapters so that the basic financial statements are presented contiguously in Chapters 3 and 4. Consequently, the balance sheet is now covered before presenting the income measurement material.
• Chapter 4 - Early coverage of Earnings Management/Earnings Quality. Part "A" of this chapter, the income statement, has been restructured by framing the discussion of income statement presentation within the context of earnings quality/earnings management. As one of the HOTTEST topic in the news today, Earnings Quality refers to the ability of reported earnings (income) to predict a company's future earnings. Financial analysts evaluate a company's earnings quality by attempting to separate a company's transitory earnings effects from its permanent earnings. This analysis is critical to investment decisions.
• Decision Makers' Perspective - sections added to various chapters throughout the text to help students learn how to apply the knowledge they learn in class to the real world after graduation. Earnings Management topics are often revisited in these sections of the text. This text addresses the issues of how creditors use information about accounts receivables and inventories, determine which information is useful to investors, and why managers choose a particular accounting method over an allowable alternative. By the end of this course, students will be able to use accounting information to make decisions, understand financial reporting issues, and most importantly, critically evaluate reporting alternatives.
• Updated real-world examples featuring a variety of companies such as Microsoft, Ford, and Gap, Inc. help students understand theoretical concepts by studying the decisions made by progressive companies.
• Updated FASB Pronouncements - 130, 131, 132, 133, 137, 141-146-all incorporated throughout the text with material detailing the impacts of these pronouncements.
• Revenue Recognition - Revenue recognition has become one of the hottest financial reporting issues. The most frequently cited issue in federal class action litigation is improper revenue recognition. Complex business transactions, particularly for high technology companies, make revenue recognition a difficult task, one that needs to be thoroughly understood by students.
• Chapter 14, Bonds and Long-Term Notes, has been reorganized to create greater flexibility in the choice of topics to be covered. 3 Parts: Postretirement Benefits Other than Pensions, Stock-Based Compensation Plans, and Other Compensation Prior to Retirement.
• Coverage of accounting errors expanded in Chapter 22-Using Enron's error correction experience as backdrop. These topics will show the relevance of accounting to students.
• Updated Computerized Test Bank - Each chapter of the TB has a planning grid that classifies each question according to the primary learning objective and the level of learning that it tests.  Learning levels, based on a form of Bloom's educational taxonomy, divides questions as follows: Level One - Knows terms & facts. Level Two - Understands Principles and Concepts. Level Three - Applies Principles and Concepts. Many questions have been revised or updated from the 2e test bank, several redundant ones have been eliminated and many new ones have been included.  The new questions emphasize more critical thinking and increased emphasis on interpreting information from real world financial statements and disclosures.
• Online Learning Center- The OLC is a dynamic website providing students with added material that traditionally has been available at an additional cost. The Spiceland OLC includes quizzes, practice exams, articles, Excel Templates, PPT Slides, Check Figures, FASB Pronouncement Summaries, links to Relevant News and References, and Flash Cards. There are also 60 Real-Time, Real-World Electronic cases. Each case has solutions and links to other websites. The OLC is free with the purchase of a new text. (www.mhhe.com/spiceland3e)
• Expanded coverage of comprehensive income. Comprehensive income, as covered in the first and second editions, will now include real-world disclosure examples and presentations.

Retained Features:

• Coach CD-ROM - The Coach CD-ROM is an interactive CD-ROM that is fully integrated throughout the text, helping students understand some of the more difficult topics surrounding Intermediate Accounting. This CD-ROM includes audio & video clips to help visual learners comprehend difficult topics in an environment that is more suitable to their learning needs. There are also animated illustrations, electronic cases, review exercises, and additional journal readings.
• Author-written supplements-The Spiceland author team writes all primary supplements to ensure a perfect fit between the text and supporting materials.
• Conceptual Emphasis - Spiceland is more conceptual in how it successfully explains not just how to account for something, but why you account for it in a particular manner.
• Flexibility - The author team has organized the chapters modularly so basic concepts are covered early in the chapter, while more difficult concepts can be studied later, or skipped completely. With other encyclopedic texts, this can be very difficult for instructors to accomplish.
• Chapter opening Financial Reporting Cases - Each chapter opens with a Financial Reporting Case that places the students in the role of the decision-maker. These cases help students understand why and how the material covered in a given chapter is applied in business. Questions relating to these cases are placed appropriately throughout the chapter where the learned concepts can be applied. Solutions to these questions are located in the End-of-Chapter material.
• Ethical Dilemmas - Ethical boxes are integrated throughout the text and are intended to create an awareness of accounting issues with ethical ramifications. This timely information is great for classroom discussions and ask students to consider situations dealing with fraud, accounting for contingencies, and post-retirement pension plans.
• Global Perspectives - International boxes integrated throughout the text to give students a sense of how accounting is use in other countries. Students will get some insight into how income tax regulations are handled in other countries, how investments are reported, and uniformity of accounting standards in a global marketplace.
• Additional Consideration boxes provide students with more detail on selected topics such as understanding ratios, LIFO/FIFO, and goodwill.
• Broaden Your Perspective Cases-An integral part of each chapter, these cases prepare students for the New Uniform CPA exam by helping them develop these four critical skills: research, analysis, judgment, and communication. These cases allow students to apply the knowledge they are gaining in the course.
• Concept Review Exercises w/solutions - reinforces the understanding of chapter material, and allows students to apply concepts and procedures learned in earlier chapters prior to their homework assignment. Some chapters will discuss more than one distinct topic, and in so doing, a concept review exercise will immediately follow.
• Extensive Online Learning Center (Website) - http://www.mhhe.com/spiceland3eStudents can find helpful resources such as quizzes and practice exams, practice sets, articles related to chapter topics, Real-World Electronic Cases, Excel Templates, links to FASB pronouncement summaries, links to Relevant News and References, Check Figures, and Flash Cards. Faculty will find additional assignment materials, the Instructor's Resource Manual, Solutions Manual, digital figures from the text, modifiable teaching transparency masters, PowerPoint Presentations, FASB updates, including complete, revised chapters if new FASB pronouncements are issued. The unique quality of this website is that the authors update all content on a regular basis. This makes making changes to such items as the FASB's and supplement package easy and allows students and instructors to have the most up-to-date material available.