To what extent has the need for prudence been overridden by the need to be objective?

This is a most important chapter. Apart from preparing the foundation for what follows in the rest of the book, it provides you with a number of important accounting issues that are extremely relevant and important in the real world. While you may be advised by your accountants, ultimately you will be responsible for any action taken by the entity you work for. So it is important that you know what your accountants have done and why.
Some of the accounting rules outlined in this chapter are fairly non-controversial. The entity, periodicity, quantitative, money measurement, matching and dual aspect rules do not normally cause too much of a problem. The application of the remaining rules can cause a problem, so you must question the application of them.