Understanding the Financials-and What Lies Behind Them
Managers in every business are expected to use financial data to make
decisions, allocate resources, and budget expenses. But the truth is,
many are uncomfortable applying the most basic financial tools in their
day-to-day work. Even managers who consider themselves financially
savvy may not understand what goes into a financial statement, and so
may take the numbers as gospel when they should be questioning them.
In Financial Intelligence, Karen Berman and Joe Knight present the
essentials of finance, but with an extra dimension. Succinct,
easy-to-read chapters teach the fundamentals in a way that everyone can
understand and put to work right away. But the authors also take you
behind the scenes, to show where the numbers come from. Since nobody
can quantify everything, accountants and finance executives always rely
on estimates, assumptions, and judgment calls, which can skew the
numbers in one direction or another. This book helps you recognize and
understand those biases, challenge or correct for them when necessary,
and use this information to be a better manager.
Based on their work training tens of thousands of managers and
employees at many leading organizations, Berman and Knight provide
readers with a deep understanding of:
* The basics of financial measurement: reading income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and more
* The art of finance: separating hard data from assumptions and estimates
* The mechanics of analysis: calculating ratios, return on investment, and working capital
* Cash and profit: knowing the difference between them, and why cash is
suddenly the “hot” number in corporate boardrooms and on Wall Street
* Financial literacy and transparency: recognizing how they can boost performance
Accessible, jargon-free, and filled with entertaining stories from real
companies, Financial Intelligence will help nonfinancial managers add
substantially more to their companies’-and their own-success. If you
have ever wanted to "talk numbers" confidently with your colleagues,
this is the book for you.
This
accessibly written text introduces business managers, entrepreneurs,
and students to the fundamentals of financial statements. Using a
variety of illustrative case examples, the authors explain how to
decipher and analyze financial documents and how to then make informed
decisions based on that information. They also discuss financial
transparency requirements. Berman and Knight are the owners of the
Business Literacy Institute, a consulting firm offering customized
financial literacy training programs. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc.,
Portland, OR
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