Prologue Sarah Sarah is the owner and sole employee of a company called Silk Bloomers Limited (known as SBL). Just over a year ago, she went on a business trip to the Far East where, by chance, she came across a company producing silk plants and flowers of exceptional quality. On her return to the UK she immediately quit her job and set up SBL (with £10,000 of her own money) to import and distribute these silk plants. Sarah is a born entrepreneur and the prospects for her business look extremely good. Her only problem is that, since the company has just fin- ished its first year, she has to produce the annual accounts. She has kept good records of all the transactions the company made during the year, but she doesn't know how to translate them into the required financial statements. She is determined not to pay her accountants a big fee to do it for her.